LONDON—Travel and tourism can be (and in an increasing number of destinations already is) a catalyst for economic prosperity, nurturing the natural and cultural environment. The World Travel & Tourism Council is delighted to invite those who adopt in these principles to participate in the 2008 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards—the highest accolade in sustainable tourism. There are four categories for entry, allowing for applications from tourism destinations, businesses and organizations. The categories include: • Destination Award: for destinations of any size that show a commitment to responsible tourism development;• Conservation Award: for any tourism organization committed to the protection of natural...

BOSTON—Three additional hotels in the Boston area have earned an Energy Star label by documenting superior energy performance and efficiency. With the new designations, there are now eight hotels in the Hub metropolitan area that have made sufficient energy improvements to achieve an Energy Star label. At an event on Thursday, October 4, EPA honored Boston area hoteliers, recognizing each for their facilities’ superior energy performance. Together with Boston Green Tourism, the agency lauded local hoteliers for improving energy efficiency and implementing high quality measures that ultimately improve the guest experience. “We’re excited to see Boston’s hospitality industry take a...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Eco Crown Hospitality as a sponsor. The company, led by CEO Andrea Spiess, offers a comprehensive, globally recognized eco-certification program for the hospitality industry. Eco Crown participants receive global and local recognition in the company’s Eco Network through its 24-hour 1-877-ECO-STAY reservation system and online booking systems, industry Web links and eco organization links. Call (403) 609-2229, write to andrea101@ecocrown.com, or go to Eco Crown Hospitality to learn more about Eco Crown Hospitality’s many certification and marketing options.

LAGRANGE, GA.—Milliken Hospitality announced Trees for Carpet, an education program offering customer incentives for acts of stewardship, during HD Expo in Miami Beach. “We are committed to spreading the principles of sustainability along the supply chain and using these opportunities to educate our industry about the value of green building,” says business manager for Milliken Hospitality, Steve Hillis. “Trees for Carpet provides a simple platform for our customers to make a difference.” Milliken & Company, an international carbon negative manufacturer, has demonstrated its passion for stewardship for more than a century. Trees for Carpet is a program under Milliken’s Trees for...

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Ray Burger, president of Pineapple Hospitality, a company that markets and sells numerous green products and programs, has launched EcoRooms & EcoSuites. The online directory is a one part certification/one part marketing initiative for green hotels, resorts, inns, motels and B&Bs. The website is up and running with five properties: the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel & Spa, American Canyon, Calif.; Orchard Garden Hotel, San Francisco; The Ambrose Hotel, Santa Monica, Calif.; the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, Lake Placid, N.Y.; and the Habitat Suites Hotel, Austin, Texas. Burger and his board of advisors have set the bar high to...

SAN DIEGO—Oster and Associates, Inc., a San Diego-based marketing agency, has announced a shift in agency branding to a focus on green marketing. “Being environmentally conscious is not a new philosophy for us,” says Bev Oster, the agency’s president. “It has been at the core of much of the business the agency has done over the past 21 years.” “If we had announced that we were a ‘green’ agency five years ago, no one would have noticed,” she adds. “Today, green is attracting everyone’s attention. And that has triggered some significant growth for the agency.” The agency’s green...

BOSTON—The Royal Sonesta Hotel Boston has just received official Energy Star status in recognition of its energy conservation and efficiency efforts. The hotel, built in 1963, has just completed a year-long effort to achieve this status. To that end, building automation systems were used to efficiently control the building’s energy consumption, coordinating HVAC, boilers, chillers and common area lighting. The guestroom energy management system manages heating and cooling when guests are not in their rooms and guestrooms are now lit by compact fluorescent lighting. “The overall guiding principle in decision making for all projects over the last year has...

LEEDS, ENGLAND—The lodging industry has a new Web portal for green hotels to market themselves. The site, www.ecobookers.com, is a unique travel portal created so that the independent traveler can find a range of eco-friendly accommodations, obtain an instant price quote and book or request a room online. Finding eco-friendly accommodation can be hard work, especially because the term is so loosely defined. How do you know that a hotel or lodge really is eco-friendly and not just greenwashing themselves to cash in on a trend? That’s where www.ecobookers.com comes in. At www.ecobookers.com, there is a variety of carefully...

HERMOSA BEACH, CALIF.—Guido Bauer, an entrepreneur with significant hospitality industry experience and who first studied tourism and hospitality management at the University of Munich in Germany, is working hard to build a Green Hotel Certification program for the global lodging industry. Bauer launched his program in November 2006 and already has established a foothold for it in the Caribbean. With two others selling Green Hotel Certification and two support staff on board, Bauer now has his eyes set on the United States and beyond. Bauer says he started researching Green Hotel Certification several years ago after hearing over and over...

CANMORE, ALBERTA—Eco Crown Hospitality has announced an exclusive partnership with the Hotel Association of Canada and its Green Key Eco-Rating program. As part of Eco Crown, hotels and chains that are recognized by the organization as a certified environmentally responsible property are offered membership services including a 24/7 1-800 reservation system, GDS, products, and training specifically designed for the environmentally friendly lodging industry. “Eco is not just a trend," says Andrea Speiss, CEO of Eco Crown Hospitality. "It is a lifestyle and the hospitality industry needs to be ready for it. We are now all measured by the footprints we...