OJAI, CALIF.—Ojai Valley Inn & Spa recently announced the arrival of an on property apiary and launch of an immersive beekeeping experience for guests. In partnership with Ojai Valley Bee Club, the resort’s beekeeping excursion began at the beginning of last month. With each excursion, guests receive an immersive, hands-on beekeeping experience. The outings include an educational journey, tour of the hives, and raw local honey tasting on the patio of the Inn’s new apiary set amidst a lavender and wildflower-studded meadow. “We’re thrilled to introduce this distinctive new program and offer an immersive beekeeping experience to our guests,” said Heather...

BERLIN—ITB Berlin announced their membership in the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund (ATCF), an international nonprofit focused on funding on-the-ground conservation projects around the world. The ATCF provides members in the travel and outdoor industry an avenue to directly support projects that are critical to protecting the future of adventure travel. “Adventure and outdoor organizations have an opportunity to come together as members of the ATCF to protect international travel destinations where we all love to explore, learn and play,” says Soraya Shattuck, ATCF Executive Director. “We are thrilled to have ITB join as a member of the ATCF and demonstrate...

PARSIPPANY-TROY HILLS, N.J.—Wyndham Worldwide Corp. has announced a global cage-free policy for all of its hotels’ and resorts’ supply chain. This policy is the result of exclusive conversations with The Humane League and members of its global coalition, Open Wing Alliance. The commitment will transition all the company’s 8,100 hotels to source 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2025. The move will impact locations in 66 different countries on six continents. Wyndham explained that in the current egg production system, most egg-laying hens are held in wire cages and given space about the size of an iPad on which to live their...

LONDON—Leading third-party certifier SCS Global Services (SCS) announced the release of a groundbreaking Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparing the environmental performance of 10 different raw material sources of manmade cellulose fiber (MMCF). The study examined a broad range of environmental issues, from the time raw materials are obtained from global forests, agricultural operations or other sources, through the production of viscose (also known as rayon) and other MMCFs. Commissioned by luxury designer, Stella McCartney, the report is being made publicly available as a resource for all brands, designers and retailers interested in making informed fiber sourcing choices. This is the first study...

FAIRFAX, VA.—Crescent Hotels & Resorts, a leading hotel and resort management company that manages more than 100 properties nationwide, partnered with international hunger relief organization Rise Against Hunger to package over 10,000 highly nutritious dry meals. Executives and team members from Crescent Hotels & Resorts, along with community volunteers, came together on October 4 at the Cascades Conference Center in The Colony, Texas, to assemble the meals. More than 100 volunteers, including Crescent Hotels & Resorts’ Chief Financial Officer Rob Smith, Chief Operating Officer Mike Metcalf, and Chief Sales & Marketing Officer Dawn Gallagher, joined the assembly line to help...

ALBERTA, CANADA—In only 32 months, Delta Hotels by Marriott, in partnership with WEARTH, has to date helped Delta hotel guests to plant more than 100,000 trees in conserved lands across Alberta, Canada through the hotels’ GreenSTAY program. The GreenSTAY program, launched in February 2015, gives guests the option to plant one tree for each night they have opted out of housekeeping. WEARTH plants the actual trees on behalf of every applicable GreenSTAY guest night, and guests, who can also plant a matching virtual tree online, must stay at least two nights to participate in the program. By opting out of the housekeeping services, guests reduce the...

ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Sustainable Gardens 2gether (SG2) as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. SG2 is an innovative design and manufacturing company producing organic food growing systems for individuals, families, restaurants, communities, etc. SG2 recently launched its unique new Chefs Garden or Chefs Choice microgreen growing systems for restaurants. These allow chefs to grow fresh high-quality microgreens in their specialized environmentally controlled cooler right in their own kitchens. The new Herb Tower Garden allows chefs to grow specialty culinary herbs in house. With these systems the chef(s) have their...

SAN ANTONIO—Thanks to the generosity of its guests, summer was particularly rewarding for the Valencia Group portfolio, including Hotel Valencia Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, Hotel Valencia Santana Row in San Jose, Calif., Hotel Sorella CITYCENTRE in Houston, and Lone Star Court in Austin, Texas. The four acclaimed properties are ending the season on a high note by delivering more than 1,000 pieces of men’s and women’s business suiting, as well as a myriad of interview appropriate shoes and accessories, to community nonprofit partners Dress for Success and Career Gear. The bountiful donation caps off the second consecutive year of...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—Vail Resorts, Inc. announced that Chairman and CEO Rob Katz has established a new donor-advised fund, a charitable giving vehicle, which will be funded from the shares and proceeds he will receive from exercising Vail Resorts share appreciation rights (SARs) that are approaching their 10-year expiration date. This charitable fund, with assets that are expected to total approximately $58 million, will make grants over a long-term period, based on the recommendations of Katz and his wife, Elana Amsterdam. The grants will align with the couple’s charitable giving priorities and will include significant contributions to nonprofit, social service organizations...

BETHLEHEM, PA.—More than 200 volunteers recently gathered at Sands Bethlehem, a Bethlehem, Pa., casino and entertainment destination owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), to help assemble 10,000 hygiene kits for social enterprise Clean the World for the third year in a row. The kits, which are designed to address the significant global and domestic need for personal hygiene products to help people who lack access to basic amenities, will benefit 23 charitable organizations in the greater Lehigh Valley. The volunteer event, which took place at the property, is one of a series of hygiene kit builds at LVS’ properties...