SAN FRANCISCO—Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has launched “Great Meetings, Great Causes,” an innovative program offering eco- and social responsibility incentives to meeting planners and clients. An out-of-the-box approach to traditional incentive programs, “Great Meetings, Great Causes” offers clients who book meetings at Kimpton hotels nationwide the choice of two of the following five incentives: • Complimentary meeting upgrade to Kimpton’s environmentally-themed EarthCare meeting; • $100 donation to one of Kimpton’s not-for-profit partners (The Trust For Public Land, Dress for Success and local HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness charities nationwide), or the client’s charitable partner of choice; • Greensender.com box to help anyone get started or continue...

ALBANY, N.Y.—Audubon International has awarded The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, located on the shoreline of Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, New York, the prestigious Four Green Leaves Rating. Notification of the award was recently received after a lengthy review process. Over the past two years the Golden Arrow has worked hard to become a sustainable, earth friendly business. The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort is the only property in New York State to have a certified Audubon Green Leaf rating and the only property in North America to have achieved the coveted Four Green Leaves status. “We are thrilled to have...

LOS ANGELES—Having worked successfully for such real estate clients as Wynn Las Vegas, the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, Mandalay Bay and W Hotels, B|W|R Public Relations has been retained by Los Angeles-based hotelier Deirdre Wallace. B|W|R will focus on raising awareness of The Ambrose in Santa Monica, while seeking opportunities for the president and founder, Deirdre Wallace. For more than 28 years, B|W|R has earned a reputation as a service-intensive firm adept in a cross-section of public relations disciplines. In addition to destinations and real estate ventures, they include special events (star-studded parties, award shows), nonprofit (e.g., annual Revlon...

NATHROP, COLO.—Real West Travel Inc., a Colorado-based Internet travel service, will go "live" on February 15 with an online booking system for eco-friendly lodging based in the western United States. The company will provide end consumers the option of booking direct with eco-friendly lodgers while promoting the benefits of becoming eco-friendly to other lodging businesses. The new reservation system will list qualified properties that show they are making a positive effort to help the environment. Real West Travel works on a commission-based model, and listing and setup are free. All hotels, B&Bs, ranches and other lodges in...

America’s feelings about global warming and its threat to our planet clearly shifted dramatically in 2007. Once ignored by the masses, it has become a mainstream issue driving millions of consumers to find out how they can live a more eco-friendly existence. That momentum is the impetus behind a new wave of consumer marketing. From Wal-Mart’s goal of selling one million compact fluorescent light bulbs in a year to Home Depot’s new Eco Options line of products, the race for green market share is on. That trend has only continued in service industries like lodging and hospitality, where many...

NEW YORK—From the popularity of eco-lodges and “green” vacation tips in magazines to the rise of carbon offset programs among airlines, an increasing number of companies are taking steps to encourage sustainable travel choices. But how can responsible tourists separate the green-doers from the greenwashers? By choosing businesses that show they are meeting environmental and social standards by earning a seal of approval from an independent sustainable tourism certification program. Latin America experienced a 25 percent growth in the number of certified tourism businesses in 2007, up to 167 in October 2007 from 136 in 2006, according to the second...

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.—Go Green Planters, Inc., St. Petersburg Fla., recently announced the nationwide launch of its “Go Green For FREE” initiative for hotels and motels. It involves the placement of lush live plants in guestrooms at no charge to hoteliers. This program is made possible by the company’s patented technology of growing live plants in an eco-friendly soil substitute so that plants don’t require watering for two to three months, and the costs associated with the plants are covered by “Go Green Vendor Sponsorships” and advertisements that appear in the upscale Plexiglas planter vessels. The company has also announced the...

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—One hotel is located in the heart of Manhattan. Another caters to steel workers in northwest Indiana. One in Toronto gets guests from all over the world. Despite the different cultures and geography, all three hotels have one big thing in common: They are all completely smoke free. As members of FreshStay, the online hotel directory with integrated booking, all three hotels have pledged a 100 percent smokeless experience to their guests. Guestrooms, hotel lobbies, and meeting rooms are clean and free of the lingering odor and health risks of smoke, making it easier for guests to...

When the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association (JHTA) announced last month that it would support energy surcharges of up to $10 per night at its member hotels, almost immediately a flurry of statements were issued by hoteliers in that country. What did they say? No, we’re not going to do it. It was if they were caught off guard. “This is not a charge we want to pass on to our guests,” said Richard Whitfield, managing director of Jamaica’s luxury Half Moon resort, in an article in Caribbean Travel News. Ian Kerr, Sunset Resorts’ managing director, told Travel Weekly:...

KINGSTON, JAMAICA—In a special communication to member hotels, the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist Association (JHTA) last month announced its decision to support an occupancy surcharge intended to help its members combat the rising costs of energy. Effective December 15, when Jamaica’s winter season officially began, hotels have the option of adding a surcharge to their nightly room rates, with the amount to be individually determined by each property. Hotels were advised to base the amount on market assessment and cost structure; a maximum of $10 per room, per night, was recommended. JHTA president Wayne Cummings spoke in a recent...