The Hilton Vancouver, Washington likes being a ground breaker. It was the first Hilton hotel to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, one of the first hotels in the entire country to do so, and just announced that it has also obtained Green Seal certification. While LEED certification recognized the hotel’s efforts in areas such as sustainable site development, building materials selection, indoor environmental quality, water savings and energy efficiency, it did not provide a roadmap for improving ongoing operations in areas such as waste management, cleaning and maintenance, and...

The past few weeks were ones the travel industry could do without. One by one, the major airlines announced cutbacks in flight volume and increases in fares—and for good reason. The average price for a gallon of jet fuel climbed to $3.21, up from 33 cents a gallon 10 years ago. The cost of refining a gallon of jet fuel is up sixfold since 2000. Jet fuel costs now make up 30 percent to 50 percent of an airline’s operating costs. Many of the smaller airlines have been forced to shut down (24 in the last six months) and...

Because the dates for the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) annual Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago fell right on the heels of the HD 2008 Expo & Conference this year, I was unable to attend. However, there was an announcement made at the restaurant show that you should know about—especially if you operate any kind of food and beverage operation. The NRA announced the launch of “Conserve: Solutions for Sustainability,” an initiative designed to support the United States’ nearly one million restaurant and foodservice locations as they become more eco-friendly. “We are launching Conserve to raise awareness and provide resources...

Sometimes a little arm twisting can go a long way. Take Florida, for example. Last summer, Governor Charlie Crist—whose name has been tossed around as a possible running mate for Senator John McCain—issued an Executive Order requiring all state agencies and departments to do business only with Florida Green Lodging Program participants. The Executive Order went into effect on January 1 of this year and eventually will become a law. Faster than you can say “Go Gators,” hundreds of hotels got moving. “There is a very good chance we will have 500 Florida Green Lodging designated hotels by the end...

Last week was a busy one for Green Lodging News, with attendance at the Hospitality Design Expo & Conference in Las Vegas. The conference included Green Day last Wednesday. Be sure to read the two articles on Green Lodging News that provide summaries of Green Day, as well as some of the green products featured at the Expo. (Click here for article one. Click here for article two.) If you did not have an opportunity to attend these events this year, I strongly encourage you to do so in 2009. A total of 270 people attended Green Day and 450...

I have already had three trips to Las Vegas this year. I am beginning to think I should just go ahead and move there. So many events in our industry are held there throughout the year—and, for good reason. It is a great place for a meeting. I was fortunate to be asked to moderate four green panel discussions at the Choice Hotels convention this past week. It was exciting to see such a large organization dedicate so much time to energy conservation and other green issues. In at least one of the sessions, it was clear that some...

Well, I did it. I purchased a flat-screen LCD television. After weeks of research and too many encounters with salesmen at the big box stores, I gave in. Anyone who has tried to shop for these things can relate to what I am talking about. It is not easy to figure out the terminology and abbreviations attached to today’s TVs. There is also a bit of sticker shock. Gone are the days when you could pick up a TV for a couple hundred bucks and still feel like you are keeping up with the times. For those of you...

As an increasing number of cities (and states) adopt new building standards that require the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the writing on the wall just keeps on getting bigger. And what might that writing be? Plan to build green—to LEED standards—or your project will never get approved and off the ground. This past week, Los Angeles became the largest U.S. city so far to pass green-building legislation. Under the regulations, new commercial and residential structures of more than 50,000 square feet will have to be LEED certified. The law also applies to...

It would be easy to go negative this week, just like the presidential candidates we have been watching for months. But Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22, is not a day to go negative, even with all we know about the state of our planet. Let’s use that day to celebrate the good things our industry has accomplished so far, what it is planning for the future, and to be confident that our best days are ahead of us—even with all the challenges we face. The idea for Earth Day evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962. It...

Milestones are a good thing—well, most of the time. Last week I celebrated a birthday. I will let you guess how old I am. Let’s just say I have not yet gotten to the point where I am reading the instructions on Grecian Formula, but its location in the grocery store is memorized. In addition to my birthday, I celebrated another milestone last week—the addition of newsletter subscriber 8,000. I don’t know who it was exactly but if you signed up for the newsletter last week, you have my permission to feel a little more important than you usually...