FAIRFAX, VA.—INTUS Windows has become the first One for One giving company in the building industry with the launch of One Window, One Tree. For every window or door purchased, they plant a tree to further offset the structure’s carbon footprint. By 2030 INTUS anticipates they’ll be planting 2 million trees in the United States every single year. This is about the size of 5,000 football fields or one third of Manhattan. Their new carbon reduction goal is to offset carbon emissions enough to recover the absorption rate of 5 billion trees by 2036. This will be accomplished through their energy-efficient windows and...

PARIS—To mark Planet 21 Day, AccorHotels announces the rollout by 2021 of a new range of eco-friendly linen. Not chemically bleached, it will approach an unbleached color: the natural color of cotton. Novotel, Mercure, ibis, ibis Styles and ibis budget will equip their rooms with bed linen and towels that respect the environment. The first global hotel group to offer its guests natural colored linen, AccorHotels is marking a turning point in the hospitality sector by declaring “Natural is the new white!”, as part of its overall policy to reduce the carbon footprint generated by its rooms. The new textile products...

AMBERGRIS CAYE, BELIZE—ECI Development announced plans to introduce the Marriott Hotels’ namesake brand to Belize with a project designed for customers seeking a relaxed Caribbean lifestyle. The hotel will grace Ambergris Caye, Belize’s largest island known for its world-class scuba diving, fishing, water sports and white sandy beaches. “We are thrilled to bring the Marriott Hotels’ brand to Ambergris Caye, one of the Caribbean’s most beautiful island destinations with famed access to the Belize Barrier Reef and dive sites,” said Michael K. Cobb, Chairman and CEO of ECI Development. “Known for developing inspired residences for adventurous souls across Latin America...

WOODBURY, N.Y.—Now every guest’s stay at a WNW managed hotel will support forestry preservation in two meaningful ways. Alongside WNW Group’s sustainable purchasing choice of Emerald Brand Tree-Free paper products, every stay will support the EcoStay Forestry Initiative. The synergy between Emerald Brand and EcoStay is a perfect marriage of ethos and practical application for the WNW Group. Each night a guest stays at a WNW hotel they will help plant trees with their contribution to EcoStay’s Forestry Initiative; a collaborative effort to replant and protect thousands of acres of native species woodlands in northern Maine. This will provide important...

TAMPA, FLA.—Choice Hotels International, Inc., one of the world’s leading hotel companies, announced that it has selected NovaCHARGE as a Qualified Vendor for providing Choice Hotels properties with Electric Vehicle (EV) charging solutions. Choice Hotels franchises over 6,800 hotels representing more than 500,000 rooms worldwide through its 12 unique brands, including Ascend Hotel Collection, Cambria Hotels, Comfort, Sleep Inn, Quality, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, WoodSpring Suites, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn. “NovaCHARGE is a tremendous addition to our Qualified Vendor Program,” said Rick Summa, Vice President of Procurement Services for Choice Hotels. “At Choice Hotels, we are consistently...

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF.—Best Western Hotels & Resorts has added a new sustainable mattress supplier—Sterling Sleep Systems. Sterling Sleep Systems is now an approved mattress vendor. Best Western has more than 4,200 properties located in over 100 countries and territories worldwide (numbers are approximate, may fluctuate and include hotels currently in the development pipeline). See Sterling Sleep Systems at the HD Expo in Las Vegas in booth #3469.

Earlier this year, Napili Kai Beach Resort, located on one of Maui’s most beautiful reef-protected bays, introduced an educational program to encourage visitors to use reef-safe sunscreens. In recent years, coral reefs throughout Hawaii and the world have shown damage and bleaching due to a variety of environmental factors, including poisoning from chemical sunscreen. Many common sunscreen ingredients can lower reef tolerance to bleaching and interrupt the development of marine life, including the coral itself, which is a living organism. Beginning in mid-December, Napili Kai began welcoming arriving guests with a free sample packet of Raw Elements reef-safe sunscreen, along with a discount coupon to purchase more and information about the damaging effects...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International hit a major milestone during this year’s Problem Gambling Awareness Month (March 2018). Since launching nationwide late last year, GameSense—the company’s innovative responsible gambling program—has already sparked more than 160,000 conversations with guests. By implementing GameSense, responsible gambling education and support is integrated into MGM Resort’s guest service culture. It’s all designed to help guests make informed decisions and keep gambling fun. GameSense comes alive through personal interactions between guests and trained staff based at each property’s M life Rewards desk. In addition to speaking to trained employees, guests are also utilizing interactive GameSense touchscreens and picking...

MIAMI—Seventeen-year hotel industry veteran Tatyana Li first started working as a butler for the St. Regis New York. She worked her way up to Director of Sales for several hotel brands and is now founder of LSW Hotels. LSW stands for luxury, sustainable and wellness hotels. Li is still in the process or raising funding for her first hotel—to be in Miami. “I have approached investors, but it is challenging,” Li says. “We are getting closer. The toughest part is finding the right investors.” Li estimates the cost of her first 100-room hotel at $375,000 per key. The property will also...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International and Chicago-based Invenergy, North America’s largest independent renewable energy company, have partnered on a new solar photovoltaic array, which will generate 100 megawatts of clean, renewable energy. The MGM-Invenergy Solar Project will be located 25 miles north of Las Vegas and MGM Resorts will purchase all the energy generated by the project to help power its 13 properties on the Las Vegas Strip. The project will be operational by the end of 2020. This project is in line with MGM Resorts’ longstanding leadership and commitment to reduce its consumption of the Earth’s limited resources. “Protecting the...