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Publisher's Point of View

Each week, Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News, will address the hottest industry topics. Sometimes hard hitting, his column will challenge the industry’s leaders to take action. At other times, he will lift up the industry’s environmental champions. “Point of View” is a column you will not want to miss. To contact Glenn Hasek, call (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com

Publisher's Point of View

Home Publisher's Point of View
Each week, Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News, will address the hottest industry topics. Sometimes hard hitting, his column will challenge the industry’s leaders to take action. At other times, he will lift up the industry’s environmental champions. “Point of View” is a column you will not want to miss. To contact Glenn Hasek, call (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com

Some Green Lessons to Take Away from the HD 2007 Expo & Conference

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? Well, I hope not. There were too many good ideas proposed at last week’s HD 2007 Expo & Conference to not take them home. Kudos to Hospitality Design magazine, the Network of Executive Women in Hospitality and all others involved in the organizing of the Green Luncheon, educational sessions and exhibits for putting on a successful event. Except for the sparsely attended session on the last morning of the conference, all of the environment-related sessions were packed with designers, architects, vendors and hoteliers interested in sustainable building and design. All of...

Think Green When Purchasing Products That Accent Hotel Design

This week I will be in Las Vegas at the Hospitality Design 2007 Expo & Conference. The event will feature numerous activities of interest to Green Lodging News readers: a Green Luncheon, sessions on sustainability and green building, and exhibits by hundreds of companies that consider their products green. I will be attending the sessions and speaking with as many exhibitors as possible during my visit. Please be sure to look for articles covering the Las Vegas event on the Green Lodging News website later this week. Lodging design, I admit, has never been a topic that I...

Supply Chain Management: An Important Part of Green Hotel Operations

During my time as an editor with IndustryWeek (IW) magazine, “supply chain management” (SCM) was mentioned a lot. It was such a hot topic, in fact, that the company that published IW at that time launched a publication dedicated to SCM. Supply chain management, as currently defined by Wikipedia, is the “process of planning, implementing and controlling the operations of the supply chain with the purpose to satisfy customer requirements as efficiently as possible. Supply chain management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption.” ...

Earth Day: A Perfect Time to Transform the Way You Do Business

This week could be the biggest week ever for the green lodging movement. Why? This Sunday is Earth Day and at no other time in our industry’s history has there been so much awareness of the problems facing our planet and what can be done to address them. If your company or hotel has not yet made a commitment to make a positive difference, Earth Day is the perfect day to get started. Even if you do not believe that global warming is real, there are so many other reasons to take action. One example: This past week...

What You Should Consider When Shopping for a Carbon Offset Provider

Over the past six months I have noticed a significant increase in the number of lodging establishments that have announced carbon offsetting and Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) purchase initiatives. In case you do not understand what carbon offsetting means, or what a REC is, according to Wikipedia, carbon offsetting is “the process of reducing the net carbon emissions of an individual or organization, either by their own actions, or through arrangements with a carbon offset provider.” According to San Francisco-based 3 Phases Energy Services, a REC represents one megawatt hour (MWh) of renewable electricity generated and delivered somewhere...

Green Lodging News Adds 17 RSS Feeds

I receive a lot of e-mails each week. I honestly don’t mind hearing from you so keep the e-mails coming. It is much better than receiving snail mail correspondence. (Got to save those trees!) Over the past several months I have received a number of messages from readers wondering when Green Lodging News would be adding RSS feeds. “RSS?” I asked myself. What in the world is that? Just kidding with you. For those of you who do not know, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. At the very top and bottom of the Green Lodging News home...

Allergy-Friendly Rooms Force Re-evaluation of What is ‘Clean’

To stay competitive, hotel companies always need to be on their toes. The trick is to offer amenities that do not hamper one’s ability to run a profitable operation. In recent years we have seen hotel brands introduce Heavenly Beds and even Select Comfort brand beds that allow one to adjust mattress firmness. Flat screen televisions are the next hot “got to have.” Each of these innovations is meant to elevate the guest experience. There was a time when the playing field was more equal but those days are gone. Having a 100 percent nonsmoking facility used to...

Already Looking Forward to 2008’s Green Hospitality Conference

Years from now, when our industry looks back at the green hospitality movement and notes those events that were benchmarks, I am sure Pineapple Hospitality and Lodging Hospitality’s first Green Hospitality Conference will be considered an important one. The one-day event was held last week in Dallas at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. About 175 people attended and some of the industry’s leading green lodging experts were on hand to participate in panel discussions. Pineapple Hospitality and Lodging Hospitality did not get serious about planning the event until early January so the turnout was impressive. I am convinced that...

Thank You for Your Support of Green Lodging News

Launching a new publication is not an easy task, especially when you do it on your own and without the support of a corporation behind you. To create a successful publication, you need talented designers and writers and a network of vendors willing to purchase display ads, directory listings and sponsorships. It has been eight months since I launched Green Lodging News and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those individuals who have supported my venture with their advertising dollars and article contributions. Green Lodging News would not exist without your help. So, thank...

Earth Day is the Perfect Opportunity to Celebrate Your Successes

In a little less than seven weeks, it will be earth day. It is a perfect time to celebrate your property’s environmental accomplishments. Environmentalism is not all about doom and gloom; it is about doing positive things on property and in the community as well. Don’t be afraid to party a little bit—responsibly, of course. Here in the Cleveland area, residents will congregate at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Exhibitors ranging from auto makers to local farmers will be on hand. I plan to be there. Hey, I always fit in at the zoo. What are you planning for...