BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International, Inc. was named by Great Place to Work and Fortune to the 2016 50 Best Workplaces for Parents, ranking No. 31 on the list. The ranking is based on anonymous employee feedback from more than 120,000 working parents at U.S. companies across a range of industries, as well as on the benefits the companies offer that help parents participate fully in their organizations. This is the inaugural ranking of Best Workplaces for Parents by Great Place to Work. Working parents and their colleagues answered 58 questions about the reality of their day-to-day workplace experience including organization-wide support...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Each year, the National Restaurant Association surveys nearly 1,300 professional chefs—members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF)—to explore food and beverage trends at restaurants in the coming year. The annual “What’s Hot” list gives a peak into which food, beverages and culinary themes will be the new items on restaurant menus that everyone is talking about in 2017. According to the survey, menu trends that will be heating up in 2017 include poke, house-made charcuterie, street food, food halls and ramen. Trends that are cooling down include quinoa, black rice, and vegetarian and vegan cuisines. Top 20 Food Trends  New...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton announced that through its Global Month of Service program, Team Members from 93 countries had contributed more than 291,000 volunteer hours to 4,166 community projects around the world. As part of Hilton’s Travel with Purpose corporate responsibility program, Global Month of Service is a celebration of the community engagement efforts throughout the entire year. “A core part of Hilton’s mission is to have a lasting, positive impact on the thousands of communities where we live, work and travel, and that is the inspiration for our annual Global Month of Service,” said Christopher J. Nassetta, President and CEO of...

LAS VEGAS—Las Vegas Sands Corp. completed part of its worldwide volunteer effort recently to build 100,000 hygiene kits this year for social enterprise Clean the World to help improve the health and well-being of populations in need. Kits assembled by volunteers at The Venetian Las Vegas will benefit a number of non-profit organizations in Las Vegas serving homeless populations in the area as well as military families. The volunteer event in Las Vegas at The Venetian is one of a series of hygiene kit builds at LVS’ properties in Macao, Singapore, Bethlehem and Las Vegas between July and December in...

NEW YORK—To support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, JetBlue recently created content in the hopes of starting a dialogue about responsible tourism and educating travelers about how to “buy informed” and travel smart to the Caribbean. JetBlue is now airing a short film on all flights informing customers of the role they play in protecting Caribbean wildlife and preserving the region’s beauty. The video, featuring local Caribbean conservation heroes, will arm travelers with the right questions to ask when purchasing wildlife and plant-related products. View the video here. Tourism brings 22 million visitors a year to the Caribbean; however...

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS—The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) is rewarding destinations in the region that are demonstrating that sustainable tourism products and services are viable and exciting travel options for visitors to the region. Individuals, groups, organizations and companies in any of the CTO’s member countries are invited to submit entries for a number of award categories including the Caribbean Excellence in Sustainable Tourism Award; Destination Stewardship Award; Sustainable Accommodation Award; Community Benefit Award; Heritage Protection Award; and the Biodiversity Conservation Award. Qualifying entrants will have developed unique and attractive tourism products or are implementing initiatives that embrace sustainable tourism concepts and core...

HERAKLION, GREECE—Olive Green, the new eco-friendly, sustainable, and smart hotel that opened this fall in Heraklion is the first of its kind on Crete and in Greece. A local landmark was transformed by Karatarakis Hotels SA Company, to align nature, tradition, and technology into a harmonious haven for leisure tourists and business travelers alike. Smart in-room technology at Olive Green enables guests to individually control heating, air-conditioning, music, TV, and room service, fostering a unique hospitality experience like nowhere else on the island. The hotel offers tablets to control these features, but also to allow guests to publish updates on...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton announced that its corporate offices, owned and managed hotels, and franchisees have hired 10,000 veterans, spouses and dependents in the United States since 2013. It has reached this milestone two years ahead of schedule as part of its Operation: Opportunity program, which provides wide-ranging support to U.S. military veterans and their families. Hilton has also donated millions of Hilton HHonors Points that veterans can redeem for free hotel stays while seeking jobs, trainings or certifications with Hilton or in any other industry. Hilton partnered with Hiring Our Heroes, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the...

ROCKVILLE, MD.—Avendra, a leading procurement services provider serving the hospitality industry, announced it has been named a recipient of the SDCE Green Supply Chain Award for 2016. The award is presented by Supply & Demand Chain Executive, the executive’s user manual for successful supply and demand chain transformation. The Green Supply Chain Award recognizes companies that are making sustainability a core part of their supply chain strategy, and are working to achieve measurable sustainability goals within their own operations and supply chains. The award also recognizes providers of supply chain solutions and services assisting their customers in achieving measurable sustainability goals. “Our...

A number of companies in our industry issued press releases this past week highlighting their being recognized by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) as one of the “Best Places to Work for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Equality.” Each company touted the fact that it had earned a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI). I saw releases from Wyndham Worldwide, IHG, Hilton, Caesars Entertainment, Marriott, Wynn Las Vegas and Encore, and Expedia. Other companies may have issued press releases that I just did not see. How does a company earn a...