Our industry’s two leading soap recovery and recycling organizations both had big news to share in the past two weeks. First, Global Soap was part of an announcement by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton revealed that it will invest $1.3 million in that organization over the next three years (see article). Second, Carlson announced an agreement between Carlson Hotels and Clean the World that will result in 607 Carlson properties participating in that organization’s recycling of soaps, shampoos, conditioners, lotions and gels (see article). Hilton expects its investment in Global Soap to result in the donation of more than one million new...

I am in the middle of a two-week stretch without a break thanks to the Third Annual Green Lodging and Hospitality Conference which wrapped up this past week and the International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show taking place from November 12 to 15. As reported on Green Lodging News, the Green Lodging and Hospitality Conference drew 135 attendees (including exhibitors) from 16 states and had an excellent lineup of speakers. (See article.) The event was hosted by the University of Florida/TREEO Center. The American Green Lodging and Hospitality Assn. and the Green Meeting Industry Council’s Florida/Caribbean Chapter also were...

The Convention Industry Council (CIC) announced this past week that eight of the nine APEX/ASTM Environmentally Sustainable Meeting standards are complete. The standards were conceptualized and initiated by the Green Meetings Industry Council (GMIC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Development has taken place through a partnership between CIC’s Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX), an initiative that focuses on industry best practices, and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International. The standards have been in development since 2007. The eight standards areas that have been ratified cover: Audio-Visual, Communication & Marketing Materials, Destinations, Exhibits, Food & Beverage, Meeting...

Will an allergy-friendly room ever become an expected option when a traveler books a hotel room? It just might. As detailed in an article posted on Green Lodging News this past week, there are now more than 250 hotels in North America that, as part of an allergy-friendly room marketing program, offer a block of guestrooms that include at least an air filtration device in each guestroom to eliminate airborne bacteria, viruses, and other pollutants. (See article.) Guests are paying up to $24 more a night to stay in these types of rooms. Last year Hyatt Hotels & Resorts...

I had an opportunity to stay at and tour the recently opened Hampton Inn & Suites Miami/Brickell-Downtown this past week. The 221-room property is yet another of Hilton Worldwide’s highly successful 1,850-property Hampton brand. The 100 percent nonsmoking Miami hotel was built new from the ground up and should receive at least LEED Silver certification. If you happen to be visiting Miami, I highly recommend stopping by or even staying at this hotel that is bound to gain not only a reputation for its eco-efficiency but also for its outstanding contemporary art collection—a passion of owner Bernard Wolfson. In a...

A number of years ago I attended an American Hotel & Lodging Association conference in Atlanta. Attendees were given the option of staying an extra day to participate in a work project that involved cleaning up the grounds of a community center. I participated in that event even though I knew I would miss another day in the office and would have to pay more for another night in a hotel. Fortunately the publication I was working for at that time did not mind me staying an extra day to volunteer. I will be attending a conference next month...

At the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo this past week I had an opportunity to see first hand some of the hands free faucets I wrote about in my new article on the faucets that are also known as electronic, touchless, or sensor faucets (click here for article). In one demonstration by a Sloan representative, I was shown a faucet that is part of the company’s BASYS line that on the topside of the faucet shows you the temperature of the water as well as the duration of water flow—ideal for not only healthcare applications but also back-of-house hospitality...

As reported in an August column, two books were recently released that address sustainability in hospitality. The first book, “Greening Food and Beverage Services: A Green Seal Guide to Transforming the Industry,” was reviewed in my August column (click here for that article). I highly recommend that book. The second book, “Hotel Sustainable Development: Principles & Best Practices,” is one I also strongly recommend. Edited by A.J. Singh, Ph.D (Associate Professor in The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University) and Hervé Houdré (Regional Director of Operations and General Manager of InterContinental New York Barclay), the book includes...

Several weeks ago Green Lodging News reported that the International Tourism Partnership (ITP) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) are collaborating on an initiative to unite hotel industry efforts to calculate and communicate carbon impact by agreeing on a standardized methodology and metrics (see article). A total of 12 hotel companies are involved in the effort—Accor, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International Inc., MGM Resorts International, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, Red Carnation Hotel Collection, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Premier Inn—Whitbread Group, and Wyndham Worldwide. All of...

Have you kicked the bottled water habit yet? If you run a hotel that has a restaurant, meeting space and that also offers room service, you definitely need to consider a water filtration/dispensing system to eliminate single-use plastic and glass bottled water. I learned about filtration/dispensing systems the last couple of weeks (see article) and highly recommend them. There are a number of vendors that supply these systems; the systems are available in different sizes. Typically, glass bottles are provided with either the vendor’s logo or a hotel property’s logo. When using a water filtration/dispensing system you can charge...