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...

This past week MGM Resorts International released its first Environmental Responsibility Report. It details the company’s progress and goals in the five areas that make up its Green Advantage program: Energy and Water; Green Building; Waste and Recycling; Supply Chain; and Outreach and Education (see related article). MGM’s environmental footprint is large with its 17 resorts, 165 restaurants, 350 retail locations, and 3 million square feet of meeting space. I have written about the company’s green programs in the past and it is significant that MGM is documenting its activities in a formal fashion. Be sure to take a...

It is highly unusual for books having to do with sustainability to be published in our industry but in the last two weeks there were announcements about two new books. The books include: “Greening Food and Beverage Services: A Green Seal Guide to Transforming the Industry,” and “Hotel Sustainable Development: Principles and Best Practices.” Both books are published by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute. In this column I will address the first book; in a future column I will cover the second book. In Greening Food and Beverage Services: A Green Seal Guide to Transforming the Industry, author...

When it comes to energy and water waste at your property, is your kitchen your worst enemy or your friend? I recently spoke with Richard Young, senior engineer, director of education, Food Service Technology Center (FSTC), San Ramon, Calif., and he told me the average restaurant kitchen uses five to seven times more energy per square foot than the rest of the building. (See related article.) Do you really know how much energy and water is consumed in your kitchen(s)? If you are submetering, you will know. If you are not doing that, you are just guessing each month. If...

It was difficult to think about green lodging this past week so please bear with me as I relate what happened. My wife was almost a week overdue for the birth of our first child on Tuesday when we had an 8:15 a.m. appointment with her OB/GYN. My wife had begun to have contractions earlier that morning at 12:30 a.m. so we both knew she might be admitted to the hospital. That is indeed what happened. The doctor decided to induce labor. About 28 hours after my wife began having contractions (yes, 28 hours), she entered another stage of...

What does the Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Algonquin Eco-Lodge, Missouri Hilton Garden Inn, and Proximity Hotel have in common? They are all included in Green Lodging News’ inaugural Renewable Energy All Stars section. I am excited to announce that Green Lodging News has added this section to the left hand side of the Green Lodging News website. It is located just below the entry points for the Green Product & Service Directory and Founding Sponsors sections. Renewable Energy All Stars is divided into four lists: Wind Powered, Hydroelectric Powered, Geothermal Powered, and Solar Powered. There are 172 properties included in...