KOTA KINABALU, MALAYSIA—Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort & Spa, Kota Kinabalu has launched new immersive guest experiences within its 64-acre Rasa Ria Reserve to showcase the unique Borneo rainforest, home to numerous plants and animals found only on the island. Located in the 130-million-year-old jungles of Malaysian Borneo, the Rasa Ria Reserve’s enhancements focus on local nature conservation and education through scenic walking trails, hiking to the Ria Lookout, a Discovery Centre, Canopy Walkway, Waterfall Garden Area, and an Adventure Point with a climbing wall and playground. Through these new facilities and programs, guests can explore some of the world’s...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Rooms for Change, an online booking site, is gradually building a following thanks to its inclusion of only smaller, locally owned independent hotels and its commitment to donate a portion of profits to several charities. One of the site’s aims is to also be an advocate for sustainable tourism. Green Lodging News recently interviewed Gabriela Sijer, Co-founder of the site, to learn more about the site’s history and its owners’ ambitions for it. The following are the questions and answers from that e-mail interview. Please give me a brief history of the site, when it was launched, who launched...

CHICAGO—In honor of the upcoming Veterans Day holiday, Hyatt Hotels Corp. announced new benefits and programs that demonstrate a strengthened commitment to honoring those who have served or are serving in the United States military. These commitments include a new rate for U.S. veterans, active military personnel and their immediate family members, and reinforced veteran job placement and career development efforts. “Military personnel, veterans and their families have worked and fought hard to support their country and they shouldn’t have to settle when on the road or pursuing a post-military career,” said Mark Vondrasek, Hyatt’s Chief Commercial Officer and Veterans...

LONDON—Wellness tourism grew from a $563 billion market in 2015 to $639 billion in 2017, or 6.5 percent annually, more than twice as fast as tourism overall (3.2 percent).* And it’s forecast to grow even faster through 2022 (7.5 percent yearly) to reach $919 billion. North America drives the most wellness tourism revenues ($242 billion annually) and Europe the most wellness trips (292 million)—but Asia-Pacific is the eye-opening growth leader, with wellness trips growing a whopping 33 percent in the last two years. China and India rank No. 1 and No. 2 for growth: adding roughly 22 million and...

BUFFALO, N.Y.—Ashford Inc. and Pure Wellness Rooms announced that hospitality industry veteran Larry Hall joined Pure Wellness as its new CEO. Hall is taking the helm of Pure Wellness at a time when there is growing demand for health and wellness offerings in the hospitality industry. With a solid foundation in place, Hall will focus on driving significant growth for Pure Wellness as the company further solidifies its market position as a leading provider of wellness-oriented hotel rooms in the United States. Hall brings over three decades of leadership experience in global hospitality and service-based organizations. He has a solid...

PHILADELPHIA—Hersha Hotels and Resorts announced that EarthView, their corporate social responsibility platform, will be providing support to the Waterboys program—the hallmark initiative of the Chris Long Foundation. Hersha will donate $1 from the sale of each EarthView water bottle that is purchased at their hotels towards the funding of wells in East Africa. Launched in 2015 by Philadelphia Eagles’ Chris Long, Waterboys unites NFL players from across the league in service. The charity provides underserved rural communities in emerging economies with clean, safe and sustainable water per well by drilling wells serving up to 7,500 people at a cost of...

SCOTTS VALLEY, CALIF.—Green Spa Network (GSN) founder, owner of Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary, and activist Michael Stusser and United Nations award-winning rapper/filmmaker Aaron Ableman have collaborated on an urgent “call to action” film, “The Treetment”, about the significant role anyone can play in reversing climate change. The 6-minute short film was released on September 12, 2018 to correspond with the opening of California Governor Jerry Brown’s Global Climate Action Summit. Leaders from around the world gathered in San Francisco for the Summit. Stusser’s and Ableman’s partnership and film were also designed to support the Green Spa Network’s Tree Planting Initiative, a campaign to inspire...

NATIONAL REPORT—You may have seen the Fairtrade organization mentioned in connection with coffee. Or maybe chocolate. Now the Fairtrade logo can be found on amenity products. According to Paul Weber, Vice President Sales for ADA International Canada, his company is the first and only manufacturer in the world to team up with Fairtrade to launch an amenities brand for the hotel/resort industry. In fact, “Fair” is carried over to the product line’s name: FAIR CosmEthics. Fairtrade is a movement for change that works directly with businesses, consumers and campaigners to make trade fair for farmers and workers. The international Fairtrade...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, released the results of a return on investment (ROI) study showing the significant marketing impact of Brand USA’s first IMAX and giant-screen film, “National Parks Adventure,” on increasing international visitation and spend in the United States. Research by Phocuswright and Oxford Economics found that “National Parks Adventure” will generate $700 million in incremental spend and 172,335 incremental visitors to the United States from Fiscal Year 2017 through Fiscal Year 2019. The study includes an analysis of six markets—Canada, Mexico, Germany, China, Brazil, and United Kingdom—which finds a marketing...

To the untrained eye, a campground seems like the simplest business there could be. Most people just think you get a piece of land, mark it off in spaces, and start bringing in the money. Of course, for those of us who own such a property, it’s clear that this particular view of the enterprise is narrow and inaccurate. Despite the apparent simplicity of a campground, there are lots of considerations for management to deal with that can truly make or break the operation. For that reason, many owners and operators are using campground management software as a tool for...