Twenty-three cubic feet of space. That is how much room an average mattress occupies after it has been discarded in a landfill. As described in an article now appearing on Green Lodging News, the U.S. lodging industry has about a 636-mile-high pile of mattresses in use and waiting to be discarded. That is one impressive mountain of foam, wood and steel. Where do you send your mattresses once they are no longer suitable for guests? If it is a destination other than a landfill, please let me know. I would like to share that information with my readers. I suspect,...

This week, Green Lodging News will turn one year old. I launched my new publication July 15, 2006. I am excited to report that it is has done nothing but grow since its launch. More than 6,000 lodging industry representatives now subscribe to the weekly newsletter and on some days more than 1,000 visitors stop by the website. In recent weeks I have been interviewed by many different national media—all of whom were eager to learn more about the green lodging movement. A lot of hours outside of a normal 8:30 to 5 p.m. day have been spent building my...

If you do not attend trade shows, you should. It is well worth the investment to learn about technologies that can reduce expenses, increase profitability, and conserve natural resources all at the same time. At the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition and Conference (HITEC) in Orlando last week, there were numerous vendors on hand demonstrating the latest and greatest resource-saving technologies. You can read about them in my article currently posted on Green Lodging News. Would you pay more than $20 for a light bulb? You might if it lasts more than 34 years (based on five hours of usage/day)....

Florida is in the middle of one of its worst water shortages in recorded history. The water level of Lake Okeechobee in the southern part of the state is down to 8.91 feet. The normal level is 18 feet. Images shown recently on ABC News depicted the problem clearly: boats stuck in the mud and a pier overlooking nothing but cracked, dry earth. In Flagstaff, Ariz., a community of 62,000 people, the man-made reservoir that provides the water for 40 percent of the population is down to 18 percent of normal level. It is the eighth straight year of...

Motel 6’s announcement last week that it will roll out a fluorescent light bulb and battery recycling program throughout its almost 900 properties was an important step that other companies should emulate. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which offer so many benefits, also include mercury, a hazardous substance. Not disposed of properly, liquid mercury quickly turns into a vapor that can be inhaled. Long-term exposure to it can damage the nervous system, the kidneys, lungs and other organs. Batteries are used throughout a hotel in items such as door locks, TV remotes and myriad other places. They consist of...

Green Lodging News commends Wen-I Chang and his company, Atman Hospitality Group Inc., for obtaining Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa in American Canyon, Calif. The property is the first in the United States to reach the LEED Gold level. For those of you not familiar with LEED, certification levels include Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. USGBC established a points-based system for LEED. To obtain Gold, a property must achieve from 39 to 51 points for sustainable steps taken in...

Sometimes good, green intentions are not good for the economy. Take Nevada, for example. In 2005 the Nevada Legislature approved a measure that cut property taxes up to 50 percent for 10 years and lowered sales taxes for building supplies to 2 percent for energy-efficient construction that meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. The tax incentives, the idea of a former state assemblywoman, were approved with little discussion by the Legislature. They never thought developers would actually want to participate in the program—at least to the extent they have. Original estimates put state abatement costs...

In one of my previous working lives I worked for a well-known pizza chain for about six months—as a waiter and delivery driver. One of my most vivid memories from that time is the volume of waste that was generated. Each night I would haul garbage bags full of unused pizza dough to the dumpster. In the hot weather it was quite a site—a huge container full of sticky, yeast-smelling dough just waiting to grow into something resembling the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. For all of those out there with restaurants, I hope you are doing a better...

While in Las Vegas for the HD 2007 Expo and Conference, I had an opportunity to visit the sales offices for CityCenter, MGM Mirage’s $7 billion project on The Strip. Thank you to Gordon Absher, vice president of public affairs for MGM Mirage, for giving up time in his busy schedule to chat about the project that is in pursuit of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. If you have not taken a close look at CityCenter yet, please do so—whether online or in person. I guarantee the quality and scope of the project will knock...

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...