PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN—Iberostar Hotels & Resorts and Winnow are celebrating a successful partnership in the first half of 2023 by reducing food waste and achieving significant progress in their journey towards a waste-free future by 2025. With Winnow AI technology now installed in 48 of the 100+ Iberostar hotels globally, this progress includes: Cutting food waste by 28 percent in hotels with AI technology installed and onboarded. Globally, hotels using AI technology are saving 1.5 million meals per year which is well on Iberostar’s way to reaching its target of 5.3 million meals. Globally and from January to...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Viva Resorts by Wyndham announced it has achieved Wyndham Green program certification as part of its comprehensive plan to have its hotels operating at maximum efficiency while minimizing their environmental footprints. This achievement that reaffirms the company’s core values, is the latest development highlighting the hotel brand’s foundational and continued commitment to protecting the environment and the communities it operates in. “Sustainability and giving back to the community have always been part of Viva’s DNA,” said Viva Resorts by Wyndham Corporate Director, Marketing and Public Relations, Erika Sordo. “We strongly believe in protecting the environment and especially our oceans....

VALAIS, WESTERN SWITZERLAND—Six Senses Crans-Montana recently opened its doors, marking the brand’s debut in Switzerland. The ethos is vitality, serenity, and adventure, with exclusive ski-in, ski-out convenience from the south-facing pistes in winter, leading to culinary, cultural, and sporting experiences for the rest of the year. The 78 rooms and suites, and signature Three-Bedroom Prestige Apartment, blend contemporary and traditional alpine finishes and feature large bay windows and generously sized balconies to maximize the connection with natural surroundings. This restful habitat—complemented by the Sleep With Six Senses program, including natural hand-made mattresses, cloud-comfy beds, and a personalized sleep plan—combines all...

According to a study published in Statista, consumer spending on pizza delivery in the United States from 2004 to 2010 averaged about $10 billion each year. But when the pandemic hit, spending for pizza delivery jumped to $14 billion and up further to $19 billion in 2021. The reason for this jump is apparent: more people were home 24/7 during the pandemic, and ordering a pizza was one of the few “fun” things they could do. In 2022, there was a slight drop to $17.3 billion, but most pizzerias in the country believe the number of deliveries will stay strong...

KAILUA-KONA, HAWAII—Officially open to guests last month, Kona Village, A Rosewood Resort is privileged to call the sacred land of Kaʻūpūlehu home. An inspired reimagination of the original Kona Village Resort, which first opened in the 1960s and subsequently shuttered in 2011, a familiar silhouette has returned to the island’s horizon. Real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson took a light-on-the-land approach to reconstructing the resort and has partnered with Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to build on that foundation, prioritizing environmental responsibility and care for local culture in the guest experience. Spanning 81 acres of stunning geologic landscape, Kona Village pulls inspiration from Kaʻūpūlehu’s...

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA.—Legacy Vacation Resorts (LVR), the highest scoring Certified B Corp hotel company in North America, has just debuted their latest eco-friendly renovation project at the company’s signature Lake Buena Vista property. The multi-million-dollar redevelopment includes enhancements to the resort across the design, guest experience, and sustainability programs. Encompassing 28 three-bedroom villas, the project showcases a seamless integration of the brand persona and core values towards a more regenerative approach to tourism thanks to a variety of elements that lower the overall carbon footprint of the business. Highlights include a new solar panel array, elimination of single-use...

INTERNATIONAL REPORT—Print Plast announces the launch of its new wooden hotel key cards. The hospitality industry has traditionally relied on plastic hotel key cards, contributing to the global plastic waste problem. The new wooden hotel key cards are a game-changer, offering a sustainable alternative without compromising on functionality or design. The wooden hotel key cards are made from sustainably sourced wood, a renewable and biodegradable material. This shift from plastic to wood is expected to significantly reduce the industry’s plastic waste. For every million traditional key cards replaced with wooden hotel key cards, Print Plast can prevent approximately five tons of plastic...

EAST LONGMEADOW, MASS.—Excel Dryer has upgraded to electrostatic HEPA filtration, which is an optional feature for their XLERATOR hand dryer models and is now available in its newly expanded, surface-mounted, ADA-compliant ThinAir Hand Dryer product line. ThinAir is a high-efficiency model that includes all the standard enhanced features—including adjustable sound, speed, and heat controls—while also protruding less than four inches from the wall to adhere to ADA regulations. ThinAir dries hands in 14 seconds, operates on 950 watts, and helps facilities qualify for several LEED Credits and WELL Points. The upgraded HEPA filtration system uses electrostatically charged media, which allows for increased airflow and attracts...

CHANNEL ISLANDS HARBORS, CALIF.—Most plastic bottles today are made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic. Estimates are that about 500 billion PET plastic bottles, mostly made to contain beverages, are manufactured annually. That’s about one million bottles per minute. “If they were stacked like building blocks, that’s enough plastic bottles to reach four-fifths of the way to the sun,” says Steve Ashkin, the professional cleaning industry’s leading advocate for sustainability. “This is creating an environmental nightmare. To prevent this, we first must understand what happens to all that plastic.” According to Ashkin, this is the typical afterlife scenario of PET plastic bottles: Wishful-Recycling Most commercial...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hilton unveiled the results of its Green Ramadan campaign. A global first for Hilton in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, the collaboration combined Hilton’s Travel with Purpose strategy and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) West Asia’s “Recipe of Change” Sustainable Ramadan campaign with Winnow’s artificial intelligence technology, allowing for digitally led tracking of waste from production to plate. To measure, manage, and mitigate food waste across key markets in the Middle East, the Green Ramadan initiative was implemented in three of Hilton’s hotels: Waldorf Astoria Lusail Doha, Conrad Dubai, and Hilton Riyadh Hotel & Residences. The first...