PORTLAND, ORE.—A conference content portal designed as a one-stop knowledge source on green meetings practice, policy and technology was launched this week by the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC), in partnership with The Conference Publishers Inc. Organizers expect the site to bring together key content from at least a dozen conferences in its first six months of operation. Coverage will continue for at least a year. The portal went live thanks to a generous Platinum sponsorship from the Vancouver Convention Centre. “With the whole rationale for meetings under serious attack, the Green Meetings Portal reinforces the incredible value participants...

SEATTLE—The GreenHotels Directory, an online reservation system designed for travelers seeking environmentally-friendly hotel accommodations, was launched by a partnership between Environment News Service and ARES Travel Network. Business and vacation travelers are able to instantly locate and make online reservations at hotels offering responsible conservation features. Thousands of hotels have participated in the launch of the GreenHotels Directory initiative and more are being added every day. ARES has documented the environmental contributions of hotels and attractions so that travelers are offered a way to identify green lodging when booking their vacations. Industry-wide surveys of more than 47,000 hotels have...

NEW YORK—As part of its commitment to the environment, Loews Hotels encourages even its furriest guests to do their part in promoting responsible, sustainable consumption (literally). The new Loews “Grrreen Dog” package features a specially created “Dog Gone Green” room service meal, a veterinarian approved healthy feast which mixes locally grown ingredients from neighborhood farms with a lot of love. The “Grrreen Dog” package will launch on Earth Day (April 22) and features several additional Earth-friendly components. Available April 22 to September 5, 2009, “Grrreen Dog” package rates vary by hotel, starting at $119 per night. The package includes: • A one-night...

NEWTON, MASS.—TripAdvisor announced the results of its environmentally-friendly travel survey of more than 1,200 U.S. respondents. Seventy-six percent of travelers sometimes incorporate green choices in their travel plans and 27 percent of respondents intentionally made environmentally-friendly travel choices in the past year. Fifty-two percent regularly find it challenging to incorporate green choices into their travel plans and 44 percent of travelers find that environmentally-friendly options are not readily available when traveling. Forty-five percent of travelers won’t go green if it means spending more green. However, 27 percent are willing to spend $50 or more to be environmentally-friendly when traveling. Thirty-three...

PALO ALTO, CALIF.—Vipe Inc., a leading provider of B2B video messaging sales solutions, announced the release of Vipe Hospitality 1.0, the second in a series of Software as a Service (SaaS) business applications providing personalized, active and targeted video marketing communications that result in increased sales and lower costs of marketing collateral. “We are extremely pleased to introduce this new product following so quickly on the heels of our wildly successful Vipe Recruiting product,” said Adam Peterson, president and CEO of Vipe Inc. “Vipe has proven that video messaging definitely enhances sales and marketing efforts and produces measureable increases in...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Green Key Global as a Founding Sponsor. Green Key Global is a graduated rating system designed to recognize hotels, motels and resorts that are committed to improving their environmental performance. Based on the results of a comprehensive online environmental audit, facilities are awarded a one to five Green Key rating and given guidance on how to “unlock” opportunities to reduce operating costs and environmental impacts through reduced utility consumption, employee training, and supply chain management. Green Key Global is unique in that it is administered entirely online. Once registered,...

MCLEAN, VA.—Travel industry professionals understand that green initiatives are good for the environment, but may find themselves wondering, especially in the current economic climate, is green good for business? The recently released study, “Going Green: The Business Impact of Environmental Awareness on Travel,” from PhoCusWright, with industry partners The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Foundation and Sustainable Travel International, evaluates U.S. consumer values and attitudes surrounding green travel to help companies understand how best to design their initiatives and communications to match consumer expectations. “This report was designed to give companies insight into what consumers expect of...

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—On Earth Day, April 22, The Charles Hotel will introduce several new green initiatives: The Charles Hotel “Juice Bar” for electric cars, the nanoMAX small car detection system, and a Hotel Bike Program. As a recipient of the Good Earthkeeping Award by the American Hotel and Lodging Assn., The Charles Hotel has long been dedicated to being “green.” The Juice Bar, which is located in the ProPark America managed hotel garage, will allow customers to charge their hybrid and electric cars for free. Two separate parking stalls will be equipped with dual charging outlets, featuring a GFI protected outlet...

CHICAGO—Environmentally-conscious visitors to Illinois can now StayGreen at hotels throughout the Land of Lincoln. Launched by the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Assn. (IHLA), the StayGreen program recognizes hotels that proactively use eco-friendly products and services to help protect the environment. With 16,175 StayGreen rooms available across the state, IHLA is confident the StayGreen designation will help visitors better understand their choices in green lodging in Illinois. For the first year of the program, IHLA is focusing on two areas in which hotels must meet specific criteria in order to be awarded StayGreen designations: saving energy and recycling. IHLA will re-evaluate...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—In recognition of the need to take action on climate change, hotels around the world will turn their lights off for one hour on March 28 at 8:30 p.m. Earth Hour, as the event is called, is a global initiative of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), one of the world’s leading conservation organizations with almost 5 million members worldwide. Companies ranging from Accor to the InterContinental Hotels Group will participate in the event and will ask their guests to participate as well. Even the sky above the Las Vegas Strip will be a little darker for an hour...