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...

Because green buildings—those certified as such by the EPA’s Energy Star program or U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program—are historically a relatively new phenomenon, data to back the energy and financial performance of these structures has been relatively difficult to come by. It is that way in the lodging industry because there are just a handful of hotels that are LEED certified and only about 250 properties that are Energy Star rated. For those wanting to build a case for building green, two recently released studies should help immensely. Even though the studies are not specific to lodging, I...

I write about a lot of hotel companies but I have to say that one of the companies that has impressed me most so far is Tifton, Ga.-based Stafford Hospitality. Greg Brosius, president of the company, and Susan Smith, controller, are Sherlock Holmes-like in their constant search for ways to save energy, water and reduce other operations-related costs. Stafford manages a collection of 12 hotels, eight of which it owns, and has two other hotels under development. Some of the brands represented in its inventory include: Hampton Inn & Suites, Comfort Suites, Howard Johnson, Holiday Inn Express, and Ramada...

With its cost at up to $10 a gallon, one would think we would stop buying it. I am not talking about oil; I am referring to bottled water. Whoever came up with the idea of selling it in small plastic bottles, in different flavors, and with vitamin enhancements, is a genius. We are all so gullible. In the United States, bottled water, including sparkling water, is a $5 billion industry. Some brands experienced triple-digit growth last year. You may have recently heard about the level of pharmaceutical drugs found in drinking water around the United States. It was...

This past week I attended the UNLV/JMBM Hotel Developers Conference in Las Vegas. Two articles on Green Lodging News highlight some of the most noteworthy comments made at the event. While not the first Hotel Developers Conference organized by JMBM’s Jim Butler, it was the first time he focused on green hotel development. I applaud Jim and his team at JMBM, as well as UNLV, for taking a chance on this first-time conference. Over the past two years, I have attended most of our industry’s green-themed conferences and I have to say that this past week’s event had the...

I picked up the business section of my daily newspaper this morning in search of some good economic news. It was not easy to find. Here are some of the headlines: “Commodities soar”; “Housing market in spiraling free fall—Foreclosures hit all-time high”; “Oil prices gush to record high as dollar falls”; “Dollar continues slide as euro climbs”. Is it time to worry yet? Or, maybe the headline writer just forgot to take his anti-depressant? Except for the fact that the strengthening euro is bringing more international travelers to the United States, the other trends are going to impact your...

This past week I attended the Hotel Association of Canada’s (HAC) annual conference in Toronto. In case you did not know, HAC runs the most widely accepted green hotel rating system in the world—the Green Key Eco-Rating Program. While at the conference, I took some time to chat with Walter Willett, director of business development for HAC. Walter explained that the rating program now has 740 hotels participating, up from 620 in November and 300 a year ago. By the end of this year, it is likely that more than 1,000 Canada-based properties will be Green Key members. In recent...

American Idle. No, not the show, which I admit I do not watch. American Idle, as in idling your vehicles. Do you do it? I recommend avoiding it as much as you can. I received an e-mail from a reader last week that dealt with vehicle idling. Here is what she wrote: “As a flight attendant, I am constantly staying in hotels and taking shuttles from the airport to the hotels. The hotel shuttles and private shuttle services constantly run their engines while they wait for passengers, while loading bags and otherwise. In the dead of winter or summer...