Happy new year! I hope that you had a relaxing holiday. I just returned from a week of vacation in Florida and it was great to see so many hotels doing so well. Here’s hoping that trend continues this year. The last couple of years certainly have not been easy for our industry, with an energy price spike followed by one of the worst recessions in U.S. history. For many the recession is far from over and that is why our industry’s experts are predicting only a modest recovery this year with better things to come in 2011 and 2012. Still, one has to wonder if the travel industry has experienced a paradigm shift—a transition to a new “normal.” Time will tell. What do you think?
What was clear in 2009 was that there was no retreat from the green lodging boom, even if fewer developers had the means to break ground on new projects. The number of states with their own green lodging programs continued to grow, national certification programs continued to add new clients, and the largest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified project in history—CityCenter—opened in Las Vegas. What was once a rare occurrence—a LEED hotel opening—became much more common in 2009. Major progress was also made in establishing green meetings standards.
For Green Lodging News, this past year was another year of growth, with newsletter circulation topping 11,000 and traffic to the website more than doubling. The Green Lodging News website now generates more than a million page views a year. Look for some exciting changes to the Green Lodging News site in 2010, including a new look and a section for videos. If you own a property or offer a product or service and have a green story to tell via video, be sure to watch for details on how your video can be posted at www.greenlodgingnews.com.
Certification Will Remain Hot Topic
From a green lodging standpoint, what can our industry expect in 2010? It certainly will not see another project the size of CityCenter open but it will see many more LEED projects than ever get started and completed. At least another two or three states will launch their own green lodging certification programs. National certification programs such as Green Seal, Green Leaf, Green Key and Green Globe will grow more than they ever have before throughout North America. An increasing number of hotels will become 100 percent nonsmoking properties, even as most certification programs fail to require it. New innovations will make it easier to save energy, water and reduce waste.
Will there be as many green lodging conferences in 2010 as there were in 2009? So far it looks like there will be fewer. The only one on the calendar so far: The Greening the Hospitality Industry Conference in Denver from February 9 to 11. Green lodging still is not getting the respect it deserves at the major investment conferences. The amount of time dedicated to sustainable development at the Americas Lodging Investment Summit this year? Just 40 minutes at the tail end of the three-day event.
The month of January is a time when resolutions are made. If you have not yet resolved to invest in the products and processes to make your property more efficient and environmentally responsible, this month is a great place to start. Going green is smart business. The Green Lodging News website is filled with examples of properties that have become much profitable because of their green commitments. If you already have a robust environmental program in place, resolve in the New Year to invest in even more employee training, products and technologies.
Resolve also to get involved with Green Lodging News. You are always welcome to submit press releases, news articles and guest columns for consideration. And, if you are a supplier to the industry, be sure to include Green Lodging News in your marketing plans for 2010. Contact me at (440) 243-2055 or at editor@greenlodgingnews.com for details. Be sure to have a happy, safe, healthy and prosperous new year!
Get in the Spotlight in 2010
Green Lodging News has been publishing the Green Supplier Spotlight each Wednesday since mid-2008. The e-blast reaches the list of Green Lodging News subscribers that currently stands at 11,057. If your company has a product or products it would like to feature in the e-mail Spotlight in 2010, be sure to contact me soon, as Wednesdays are filling up quickly. Call me at (440) 243-2055, or contact me by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com. The 2010 media kit is available by request or by clicking here. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
Green Lodging News Blog & Twitter
Be sure to bookmark the Green Lodging News Blog in your browser. The address for the blog is http://greenlodgingnews.blogspot.com. More importantly, participate with your comments. Green Lodging News is also now on Twitter. To follow my postings, go to http://twitter.com/greenlodging. Be sure to add Green Lodging News to those tweets that you follow. Green Lodging News now has 327 Twitter followers.
As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
