This past week was a busy one with a visit to Las Vegas for the Hospitality Design Expo and Conference. Preceding the event was Green Day, an afternoon filled with experts chatting about trends in sustainable development and design. Be sure to check out our coverage from Green Day (see article). I spent most of my time spent at the Expo walking the trade show floor, reconnecting with industry friends and visiting with representatives of companies in attendance for the first time. It was exciting to see so many new vendors offering green products. It would be impossible to...

Leather has long been used in our industry for furniture, wall and floor surfaces, and other design elements. Looking at the leather industry as a whole, only a small portion of leather produced ever ends up in a hotel. Most leather is used for shoes, hand bags, in the automobile industry, etc. Even though the purchase of leather pales in comparison to carpeting or mattresses in a hotel, it should be considered carefully. Historically, the tanning of leather has been a very dirty one because of the improper use of chromium—a toxic heavy metal. Lax environmental regulations here in the...

It was almost exactly a year ago that the Cumberland River’s waters knocked on the doors of the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville and “Tennessee Waltzed” right in. That flooding closed down the almost 2,900-room hotel until this past November. A total of $270 million was spent on the landmark property’s renovation. Just a few weeks before the flood, Andy Mims was hired as Gaylord Entertainment’s vice president of sustainability. Mims was charged with formalizing Gaylord’s sustainability initiatives—a long list of green steps now known officially as GET Green (GET is Gaylord Entertainment’s ticker symbol on...

I spoke with one of my clients this past week about social networking—Facebook, Twitter, etc. We, like everyone else in business, are still experimenting with social networking sites, trying to find the best way to use them to not only communicate but also drive traffic to our own websites and generate new revenue. Green Lodging News was recently asked to be part of a new social networking website for travel and other topics. I spent quite a bit of time setting up my community. I backed off however, when after numerous attempts, the organization would not return e-mails or...

Four is one helluva skinny number—the number of U.S organizations that have signed the tourism Code of Conduct (The Code), according to the code.org website. Four if you count Hilton Worldwide (see article), which recently signed The Code to demonstrate their commitment against the commercial sexual exploitation of children. For those of you not familiar with The Code, it is a travel industry driven responsible tourism initiative funded by UNICEF, run by ECPAT International (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) and supported by the United Nations World Tourism Organization. The Code is aimed...

In my travels I have stayed at many hotels that use disposable tableware in their breakfast areas. I have never felt comfortable tossing bowls, cups, plates and utensils in the trash. I am sure there are those who believe it is good business to use disposables. If you use them, what is your reasoning? To save on labor? Water? Energy? I spoke with Steve Mogck, executive vice president and COO, Country Inns & Suites by Carlson, this past week about his company’s decision to replace environment-unfriendly disposables with their washable counterparts in all 500 Country Inns & Suites by...

I spoke with Ryan Trainer, president of the International Sleep Products Assn. (ISPA) this past week about mattress recycling. It is a huge issue in our industry and throughout the world but one Trainer said his organization does not want to “take an ownership interest in.” I really don’t blame ISPA at all; getting a glove on mattress recycling is a gargantuan task. I contacted several of the leading mattress manufacturers also, wondering if they provide mattress recycling services for their customers. They all said no. One company spokesman said his company conducted a trial recycling program with one...

Standing tall behind the Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa in New Hampshire’s White Mountains is a 121-foot wind turbine that meets about 15 percent of the resort’s electricity needs. Up on the roof of the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa in Asheville, N.C., is a 12-panel solar thermal system that helps heat the water used by guests and staff. The new Hilton Garden Inn Springfield in Missouri has a geothermal HVAC system. The Algonquin Eco-Lodge in Markham, Ont., has a micro-hydro system that generates all of the electricity the lodge needs. Why am I mentioning these properties and...

It may not happen in the next few months but in the next year or two it is going to be much more likely to happen. It will not come as a flood but more of a trickle at first. What I am referring to is the inevitable guest requests for a place to plug in their hybrid or electric vehicles (EVs). When those requests come, will you be prepared? Or, will those travelers choose a competitor of yours that already has an electric vehicle charging station? I can see it now: guests being critical of your property on...

This past week I spoke with Kit Cassingham, owner of the Environmentally Friendly Hotels website (see article), about her decision to strengthen the criteria for inclusion on her seven-year-old site. At one time, a property needed to take just one green step to be included on Kit’s site. Given that low bar, the number of properties on Kit’s list had ballooned to 5,600 properties. Kit just decided to strengthen the requirements for inclusion. Now, properties must take 10 of the green action steps listed on her site in order to be included. This step could reduce the number of...