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Once you have built a green program, how do you use it to your advantage to put heads in beds? Green Lodging News reports on the ways hoteliers are incorporating the environment into sales & marketing to build business. Does "green" appeal to a particular type of traveler or meeting planner? Got a great idea about how to turn green into gold? Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Sales & Marketing

Home Sales & Marketing
Once you have built a green program, how do you use it to your advantage to put heads in beds? Green Lodging News reports on the ways hoteliers are incorporating the environment into sales & marketing to build business. Does "green" appeal to a particular type of traveler or meeting planner? Got a great idea about how to turn green into gold? Contact Glenn Hasek, editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at: greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

VisitBritain Launches Green Start to Push Sustainable Tourism

LONDON—VisitBritain aims to encourage a rapid, widespread and significant increase in the adoption of sustainable tourism principles, while avoiding the burden of too much bureaucracy and, as part of a three-month pilot, is waiving the usual $48 cost for the first 500 businesses to register for the program. Participation in Green Start provides tourism managers and operators with a stepping stone towards accreditation by a validated sustainable accreditation scheme. “VisitBritain is committed to encouraging sustainable businesses,” said Jason Freezer, VisitBritain’s sustainable tourism project manager. “However, nearly two-thirds tell us they need more guidance on developing their business in that...

Joie de Vivre’s Hotel Vitale Rolls Out Green Meeting Packages

SAN FRANCISCO—Eager to support the growing numbers of businesses wishing to incorporate “green” principles into their corporate meetings, San Francisco’s Hotel Vitale has announced a new initiative that provides innovative green meeting packages to its corporate clientele. The new packages introduce eco-friendly practices into every aspect of meetings and events and align the hotel with the social responsibility practices already in place at many companies. “Since its inception, Hotel Vitale has been committed to sustainability and to eco-friendly practices, and these meeting packages are a natural extension of that commitment,” said Chip Conley, founder and CEO of Joie de Vivre...

ASTA, Travelport Announce New Green Member Program

NEW YORK—ASTA and Travelport, a business services provider to companies operating in the global travel industry, recently announced at a press event in New York City the launching of the new ASTA Green Member Program. ASTA’s innovative program will teach travel professionals about the importance of environmentally-friendly travel, how to make positive changes in their own companies, select green vendors and suppliers and better sell this form of travel to their clients. Travelport is the first official Global Sponsor of ASTA’s Green Member Program. “Announcing the Green Member Program is something I have looked forward to for a long time,”...

National Tour Association Planning ‘Green’ November Convention

LEXINGTON, KY.—The National Tour Assn. (NTA) announced that its annual convention, to be held in Pittsburgh, November 15-19, will be its first green convention and will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the first and largest certified green convention center in the world. “NTA is taking steps to lessen the negative impact all of us have on the environment,” said NTA Chairman and CEO Bob Hoelscher, CTP. “As travel professionals we have a special responsibility to preserve the world’s destinations for future generations. NTA is taking action to implement best practices and help our members see...

A ‘How To’ Guide to Help Hoteliers Plan Green Wedding Events

NATIONAL REPORT—Weddings are always good business for hotels, and holding an eco-friendly event is the latest trend. This environmentally-conscious wedding/event “how-to” guide will help “green minded” facilities take advantage of this significant opportunity. Buy Local, Organic Food Buy seasonal and local foods, organic if possible. Local food is fresher and tastier, and requires less processing, packaging, refrigeration, transportation and marketing. To find local food producers, including farmers’ markets and community-sponsored agriculture, try networking sites like Local Harvest (www.localharvest.org) or GreenLeaf Market (www.greenleafmarket.com). Conventional production of meat requires huge amounts of resources and contributes greatly to pollution of rural areas. Choose meat certified...

Minnesota Steps Up Greening Efforts, Leans Against Certification Program

SAINT PAUL, MINN.—Minnesota’s travel and tourism industry is going to be getting much greener in coming months thanks to efforts on two fronts. The first initiative is a day-long seminar scheduled for May 13 at the Crowne Plaza St. Paul Riverfront hotel. The purpose of the seminar is to help the area’s businesses prepare for the Republican National Convention (RNC) that will be held September 1 to 4 in Saint Paul. The second initiative is the formation of a Minnesota Travel Green Task Force. Its mission is to develop a travel green program aimed at increasing the environmentally beneficial...

Americans Go Three Shades Greener in 16 Months

NATIONAL REPORT—Driven by increased environmental awareness, Americans are quickly moving to the greener end of the spectrum. Latest findings from Mintel, a leading market research company, reveal that more than one-third of adults (36 percent) claim to “regularly” buy green products. Just 16 months ago, only 12 percent said they “regularly” purchased green products. Furthermore, the number of people who “never” purchase green products has been cut in half over the past 16 months, according to Mintel. In August 2006, one in five Americans (20 percent) claimed to “never” buy green products. Now, only 10 percent of the population makes...

Scottsdale CVB is Offering Green by Design Tool Kit to Industry Members

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.—The Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau is offering a Scottsdale Green by Design Tool Kit to encourage members of Scottsdale’s tourism industry and business community to implement measures that will reduce their impact on the environment. From simple steps that can be taken immediately to ideas for larger-scale programs, the tool kit has everything needed to start greening a business today. Going green is a key factor in staying competitive and vying for lucrative tourism dollars. In 2007, a survey conducted by Orbitz to gauge U.S. travelers’ opinions revealed that 67 percent of Americans say the eco-friendliness of...

Public Light Bulb Switch is Part of Earth Day at the Willard InterContinental

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Willard InterContinental Hotel will celebrate Earth Day this year with a park cleanup and light bulb exchange. On April 22, from 11 a.m to 2 p.m., the Willard, with members of the National Parks Service, will spend the day across from the hotel in Pershing Park, where employees and community members are invited to help clean the park and learn some of the ways the Willard is working to reduce its environmental impact. These include a peak at some of the eco-friendly products used in the hotel. Also on Earth Day, I Spa at the Willard estheticians...

Eighth Annual Resort Conference to Employ Green Meeting Techniques

SAN DIEGO—Planners of the Eighth Annual Resort Conference, the only conference planned by resort executives for resort executives, are educating attendees about ways to incorporate sustainable practices into their own day-to-day operations while taking steps to become more environmentally friendly. Conference planners are cutting down on paper use at the three-day conference April 16-18 at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. Attendees will receive an electronic show program on a specially produced jump drive that will replace the traditional printed program. The drive will contain session descriptions, sponsor information, speaker bios, attendee directory and copies of session presentations. “It’s a...