At first glance I thought it was a walk-in cooler. I quickly realized it was really a grow room for vegetables, flowers and herbs. What a great idea for chefs interested in using fresh ingredients in the kitchen. The grow room from Eden Grow Rooms was just one of the cool products I came across while walking The NAFEM trade show floor in Orlando. The event was held February 7 to 9 at the Orange County Convention Center. In my NAFEM Show wrap-up article I highlight many of the latest products that can help you save energy, water and...

As mentioned in my previous column, last week was a busy one for me with a trip to Orlando for The NAFEM Show (North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers) with stops at the headquarters for Clean the World (the nonprofit that collects new and partially used soap, shampoo, etc. for processing and distribution) and a visit with Dina Belon-Sayre, energy specialist at The Peabody Orlando. Be sure to watch Green Lodging News this week for coverage of The NAFEM Show and my visit to The Peabody Orlando.I have already posted an article summarizing the latest news from Clean...

This week will be a busy one for me with a visit to Orlando to attend The NAFEM Show at the Orange County Convention Center. For those of you not familiar with the event, it is produced by the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers and will include more than 500 exhibitors displaying items ranging from grease traps to ice makers to ovens.I will be walking the aisles of the show looking for new ways to save energy and water in the kitchen. Waste management will also be my focus. Be sure to watch the Green Lodging News...

I recently contacted 30 suppliers of green amenities and asked them to send me a summary of what new and “hot” products they will be making available to the lodging industry in 2013. Eleven companies responded to my query and I put together the collection of responses into an article posted on the Green Lodging News website this past week. While in a perfect green world all properties would be using dispensers to dispense soap, shampoo and conditioner, reality is that just is not going to happen any time soon. (According to the 2012 Lodging Survey, only 6 percent...

It is our industry’s largest collaboration on one cause since the launch of Clean the World. What I am referring to is WHOLE WORLD Water, which was announced through many media outlets this past week. Set to officially launch on World Water Day, March 22, 2013, WHOLE WORLD Water is an effort to raise funds to improve access to safe and clean water for approximately 1 billion people.WHOLE WORLD Water co-founders Karena Albers and Jenifer Willig believe the hospitality industry should be able to raise $1 billion each year for the WHOLE WORLD Water Fund. How? The business model...

There’s been a lot of talk over the years about guestroom cleanliness—in the media especially and most recently in the media in Canada. For a reporter, it seems like doing an exposé on poor hygiene in hotels is as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.Last year, Best Western introduced its “I Care Clean” program that utilizes UV wands and black lights to ensure guestroom cleanliness. I wrote about that program in a previous column. Best Western’s approach is just one example of a brand being big-time proactive about hygiene.This past week I posted an article about the use...

The events calendar for 2013 is filling up. Be sure to keep checking our Events page for updates throughout the year. Last year was the first year in a long time without a national or regional green lodging conference. (On a more local level, the Greater Boston Energy Efficient Hotels Conference was held in December and was successful.) I have been told that there are tentative plans to hold a green lodging conference in central Florida sometime this fall. I will provide more details when I have them.The first big event this year is the Americas Lodging Investment Summit...

I have always been a fan of Superman. It goes way back to when I was a child collecting comic books. (Interestingly, my office is located just a few miles from the home where Superman was first created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.) Every boy wants to be Superman at one time or another. Who wouldn’t want to have x-ray vision?In an article this week, I explore how an infrared camera can be beneficial to your property. While not exactly providing x-ray capabilities, an infrared camera can reveal valuable information unseen by the naked eye. Thank you to...

The calendar this year dictates the writing of this column in the midst of the holidays. I would like to take a moment to wish all of you a very happy and safe holiday season this year. Thank you to everyone for supporting Green Lodging News in 2012. It has been much appreciated!Looking back at 2012, it has once again been a very fascinating year in green lodging with new properties opening, a steady flow of hotels being green certified, an increasing number of companies measuring and reporting on their sustainability progress, a wide array of new green products...

The Super 8 Ukiah in Ukiah, Calif., is strong proof that you don’t need a wind turbine, solar panels or some other expensive investment in sustainability to create a lot—and I mean a lot—of green buzz about your property. (How many of you have properties with Facebook pages that come anywhere near 41,273 “Likes?”)  Over the past several years I have frequently seen mentions about the two-story, 54-room hotel. This past week I had a chance to chat with its owner, Raakesh Patel, to gain an understanding of what sets his hotel apart from others. What it really comes...