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...

KELOWNA, B.C.—Stemming from a mission to help businesses profitably tackle climate change, sustainability consulting firm GreenStep Solutions has created an innovative program, ecobase Certified, that has helped award winning green hotelier, Greg Salloum, achieve his dream of installing a solar PV array at the Best Western Plus Kelowna Hotel and Suites. “We strive to go above and beyond with our green initiatives,” says Salloum, proprietor of the Best Western Plus Kelowna. “We started with a solar thermal system in 2002 and we’ve done almost everything else we can to reduce our impacts, including our recent LEED Silver Certified environmental wing and...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton recently joined other leading American companies as a founding member of the White House’s First Job Compact. The initiative represents President Obama’s call-to-action for communities and businesses to help connect out-of-school, out-of-work opportunity youth ages 16 to 24 to their first jobs. Hilton has a long history of creating opportunities for young people. In 2014, the company announced a formal commitment to impact at least one million young people around the globe by 2019. The initiative includes preparing young people for success through mentorships, apprenticeships and an innovative career awareness program (Careers@HiltonLive), as well as by employing them directly across all parts of...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The 15 finalists of the National Geographic World Legacy Awards were unveiled. The World Legacy Awards, a partnership between National Geographic and ITB Berlin, showcase the leading travel and tourism companies, organizations and destinations—ranging from entire countries to small islands and from urban hotels to jungle retreats—driving the sustainable tourism transformation of the global travel industry. This year’s World Legacy Awards entries spanned the planet, representing 45 countries and six continents, showcasing how sustainable tourism has no boundaries. Finalists in five award categories were selected by an international team of more than 20 judges. A multi-step judging process also...