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Publisher's Point of View

Each week, Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News, will address the hottest industry topics. Sometimes hard hitting, his column will challenge the industry’s leaders to take action. At other times, he will lift up the industry’s environmental champions. “Point of View” is a column you will not want to miss. To contact Glenn Hasek, call (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com

Publisher's Point of View

Home Publisher's Point of View
Each week, Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News, will address the hottest industry topics. Sometimes hard hitting, his column will challenge the industry’s leaders to take action. At other times, he will lift up the industry’s environmental champions. “Point of View” is a column you will not want to miss. To contact Glenn Hasek, call (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com

The Hospitality Show, HITEC Highlight June Industry Events

This month has two key industry shows still to come—The Hospitality Show at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas from June 27 to 29 and HITEC at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from June 26 to 29. When The Hospitality Show was announced, the folks behind HITEC were not happy about the Show being scheduled concurrent to their event. It has created a situation where both hoteliers and suppliers have had to either pick and choose or send representatives to both events. Of course I look at every event through a sustainability lens and The Hospitality Show and HITEC both deliver...

Highlights from Chat with Choice Hotel’s Vice President, Sustainability

When Choice Hotels International released its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report two months ago, it caught the eye of many of you. (See article.) What Choice Hotels does in the ESG arena should catch your attention; the company has more than 7,400 hotels, representing over 625,000 rooms, in 45 countries and territories. That is quite an environmental impact and a huge opportunity to reduce resource consumption and waste. Following the release of its report, I reached out to Choice Hotels and interviewed Megan Brumagim, Vice President, Sustainability for Choice Hotels. Be sure to read her responses to my...

Take a Deep Dive into the Green Lodging Trends U.S. Market Report

AHLA last conducted The Lodging Survey with STR in 2018. It provided valuable information on numerous trends in lodging, including ones falling under Sustainability. AHLA and STR no longer conduct that survey. A very valuable replacement to that survey is the 2022 Green Lodging Trends U.S. Market Report. It is based on U.S.-specific data gathered for the 2022 edition of the global Green Lodging Trends Report (GLTR). The newly available U.S. report from AHLA—representing its Responsible Stay program—is based on data from 17,000 U.S. hotels. There were two data collection methods: direct participation by responding to the GLTR survey on...

LNG Electric, MD7 Join to Add EV Charging Stations at More Than 13,000 Hotels

If their goals are reached, LNG Electric along with partner MD7 will give the U.S. hotel industry a significant boost in electric vehicle charging presence in the coming years. According to a press release issued this past week, LNG Electric and design firm MD7 will place Level 2 and Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) EV charging stations at over 13,000 hotels in the next five to six years. The planned installations will also make LNG Electric one of the top three owner-operators of EV charging stations in the U.S. Based on the most recent data I have; I estimate at...

Washington State’s Plastics Reduction Bill Targets Single-Use Plastic Drinking, Amenity Bottles

It was just two days before Earth Day that Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed his state’s Plastics Reduction Bill. It requires water bottle filling stations in new buildings and eliminates single-use plastics for personal care products in hotels. “In any construction subject to the requirements of this chapter in which a drinking fountain is required under the international building code as amended and adopted by the building code council, the rules adopted by the building code council must also require the provision of a bottle filling station, or a combined bottle filling station and drinking fountain for each drinking fountain...

Green Design on the Mind This Week for Two Very Good Reasons

I have green design on the mind this week for two good reasons. First, I will be attending the HD Expo + Conference in Las Vegas (May 2-4). I wrote about the event in a previous column that highlighted some of the products that will be featured and the conference sessions that will address sustainability and wellness in one form or another. Be sure to watch for coverage of this event that will feature more than 600 suppliers in more than 25 product categories. HD Expo is truly one of the best marketplaces on the planet for products and...

A Toast to a Record Readership Month on Green Lodging News

One of the most difficult things about being an entrepreneur on your own in publishing—and working from home—is the lack of interaction with, and response from, my readers and suppliers. Occasionally I do hear from someone with a “great article” comment, or “I would like to purchase this ad campaign” but for the most part there is silence as each week ticks by. I get it. The hotel business can be “crazy busy”. I typically wait until the birthday of Green Lodging News to pat myself on the back for another successful year gone by but this year, I thought...

Be Responsible About the Lifecycle of the Cooking Oil You Use

Several years ago, my family purchased an air fryer. We have since used it many times—for anything we would typically fry using cooking oil, and even for baking. It is a “set it and forget it” machine until the food is ready. We have significantly reduced our use of cooking oil and are eating healthier as a result. I know life in a commercial kitchen is not as easy and that is why I wrote this past week how one company is helping hoteliers and restaurateurs manage their cooking oil—from purchase to recycling. There are many companies that provide...

HD Expo + Conference Filled with Sustainability-Focused Suppliers, Sessions

For me, one of the must-attend trade shows during the year is the HD Expo + Conference. This year it will be held May 2 to 4 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. I will be attending this year’s show. Hundreds of exhibitors will be there including more than 80 that identify themselves as being in the Sustainability/Sustainable Products category. Some examples include Tangent Sustainable Lumber, a maker of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) plastic lumber; PureWellness, which offers a variety of products to make a guestroom as clean and air-pure as possible; GrassTex, a synthetic turf maker that saves hotels...

Talking Travel Toilet Experiences—Share Yours with Me

Anyone who has traveled a lot over the years has accumulated their own share of toilet stories. Flushing on an airplane while at 35,000 feet is always an adventure. That loud sucking sound is due to the powered vacuum that sucks the contents out of the toilet—very efficient from a water use standpoint. I once stayed in a hotel room that had a pressure-assist toilet. When I flushed the thing, I just about jumped out of my shoes because of the loud noise—a flashback to my most recent airplane experience. Pressure-assist toilets “push” waste out. Like every traveler, most...