AHLA Partners With IncentiFind to Identify Sustainability-Related Savings for Owners, Operators
AHLA | October 30th, 2023
SH Hotels & Resorts to Open First U.S. Treehouse Hotel in Sunnyvale, California
Treehouse Hotels | September 26th, 2022
Amadeus Brings Travel Technology Expertise to Membership in the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance
Amadeus | January 11, 2024
Amadeus is the first global travel tech company to join the industry body The Alliance seeks collaborative approach to building a more sustainable hospitality sector Amadeus has joined the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (the Alliance) to bring its travel expertise to the table in the quest to support a more prosperous and responsible hospitality sector. As a leading, global player at the heart of the travel and tourism sector, Amadeus sees great potential to work alongside and connect with hospitality industry stakeholders and, together, contribute on the journey to the Alliance’s goal of Net Positive Hospitality – ensuring the indust...
Why Is ESG Important? Navigating Challenges, Embracing Sustainability
Stefan Güldenberg | January 9, 2024
By Stefan Güldenberg Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues are increasingly prominent in the decision-making processes of investors, consumers, and employees. With societal and environmental issues at the top of the global agenda, the ESG movement has surged in popularity and more people than ever before are considering the wider implications of their choices. However, the rise of ESG issues in the minds of investors and consumers has not been unchallenged. Last year, the backlash against ESG reached fever pitch when Tesla was removed from the S&P 500 ESG Index. It was cut from the indices over concerns about employer...
WTTC’s ‘Hotel Sustainability Basics’ Ends 2023 on a High
The World Travel & Tourism Council | December 15, 2023
More than 1,300 hotels verified so far Industry titans agree three-stage hotel sustainability initiative London, UK: The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Hotel Sustainability Basics is set to end if first year on a high with more than 1,300 hotels verified, across more than 30 countries from around the world. The Hotel Sustainability Basics is an independent global sustainability verification programme, overseen by internationally recognised verifiers, Green Key and SGS. The aim is for hotels around the world, regardless of their size, to follow a 12 step programme to reduce carbon emissions, protect and promote ...
Hilton’s Vice President of ESG and Global Head of Sustainability, Jean Garris Hand, Represents AHLA, Highlights ‘Responsible Stay’ in Senate
AHLA | November 8, 2023
WASHINGTON (Nov. 8, 2023) – Today, Hilton’s Vice President of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Global Head of Sustainability, Jean Garris Hand, testified on behalf of Hilton and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade and Export Promotion. The hearing, titled “Sustainable Tourism for a Thriving Economy,” explored how to build a sustainable travel and tourism sector while balancing the needs of businesses, visitors, and local communities. Ms. Garris Hand’s written and spoken testimony highlighted how AHLA’s Responsible Stay initiative is rallying the h...
AHLA Partners With IncentiFind to Identify Sustainability-Related Savings for Owners, Operators
AHLA | October 30, 2023
New partnership makes it easy for hoteliers to find $70 billion of incentives like tax credits, grants, fee waivers WASHINGTON (Oct. 30, 2023) – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and IncentiFind today announced a new partnership to help AHLA’s more than 30,000 members identify sustainability-related cost savings. IncentiFind, a leading green building incentive database, offers more than a half million incentives, including tax credits, grants, fee waivers, rebates, and bill credits. These lucrative credits support the implementation of green measures like energy efficiency, renewables, water conservation, and more, ...
Placing Wellness and Sustainability as Core Hotel Values With the Fairmont Mayakoba
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | October 11, 2023
By Adam and Larry Mogelonsky Spread across a sprawling 45-acre ocean-facing campus with 401 rooms and suites, the five-diamond, AAA Fairmont Mayakoba has long been on our bucket list of resorts worth visiting. Just outside of Playa del Carmen in the heart of the remarkably popular sun destination that is the Mayan Riviera (especially for Canadian snowbirds like the two of us), the Fairmont Mayakoba property intrigued us because of its diverse array of amenities, its sustainable luxury approach within the broader Mexican hospitality industry and its core focus on authentic wellness experiences. But it wasn’t until we caught wind of the...
CKI Solutions Transitions to Compostable Packaging
CKI Solutions | September 20, 2023
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.—September 20, 2023—Cadence Keen Innovations (d/b/a CKI Solutions), serving the hospitality industry, including cruise, for more than 20 years, is putting plastic packaging in the past and transitioning to compostable packaging for all its mattress and pillow encasements, bed doublers, as well as all other products using plastic or poly bags, including its Bed MadeEZ® Bed Maker. “The transition has already begun and will be included in all new products as they come in from the factories,” says Rachel Montross, Senior Marketing Manager for CKI Solutions. “We are moving away from zippered plastic packaging to ...
American Hotel & Lodging Association and Hotel Association of Canada Announce Expansion of Green Key Global Sustainability Certification Program
AHLA | September 19, 2023
Green Key Global is the best-in-class sustainability process and practice certification for the hotel and lodging industry, designed by hoteliers, for hoteliers. WASHINGTON (Sept. 19, 2023) – Today, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) and the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) have signed a Letter of Intent to form a joint venture company that will own and operate the Green Key Global certification program in the United States and Canada. The announcement, made at the Lodging Conference in Phoenix, represents a pivotal moment for environmental action in the hotel industry. Green Key Global is a North American environment...
How Hotel Owners, Operators Are Syncing Up on ESG Goals
JLL | September 6, 2023
Green agreements are helping owners and operators align on sustainability goals Hotel operators and investors are increasingly collaborating to accomplish shared green goals, a sign of growing interest in meeting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments. Take luxury resort group Six Senses and its parent company InterContinental Hotels Group. Each Six Senses property embeds sustainability commitments, such as the adoption of green building standards, the allocation of funds toward local community and environmental initiatives, and even the appointment of in-house sustainability professionals. “ESG is quickly gaining si...
How to Address AI’s Energy Demands? AI Can Help With That
JLL | August 4, 2023
Sustainability efforts are putting the focus on data centers Generative AI technologies that can turn simple phrases into stunning, photo-realistic images have sparked the world’s imagination. They also require a substantial amount of energy. Researchers estimate that running one generative AI algorithm requires up to five times more energy than a regular search engine query. Just training ChatGPT took the same amount of energy as driving 123 combustion vehicles for one year. With AI queries on the rise – openai.com alone pulled in 1.9 billion visits in May 2023, according to SimilarWeb – the boost in energy requirements matt...
Sustainable Business Travel: Our Partnership for a Greener Future
Jack Mahan | July 5, 2023
By Jack Mahan, Rod Clough, Janet Ott At HVS, we take sustainability seriously. It is an important topic for us as a firm and also for the hospitality industry as a whole. As consultants to hotels and hotel operators, we spend much time traveling to meet our clients and conducting site inspections at hospitality properties across the country and globe. Travel is an essential component of what we do as a firm. More broadly, business travel represents nearly one-fifth of all global travel. In 2019, U.S. residents alone took more than 460 million business trips, according to Sustainable Travel International. Unfortunately, business travel al...
GBTA Foundation Reveals the State of Climate Action in Global Business Travel in New Report
GBTA | June 13, 2023
Findings from GBTA’s “The State of Climate Action in Business Travel” report cite awareness, investment and communication as key factors in advancing global sustainability The time is now for the global travel industry to enact meaningful changes for the climate, according to a newly released report, “The State of Climate Action in Business Travel – Global Industry Barometer 2023,” from the GBTA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). As reflected in the findings, “business travel is at a critical juncture” as the industry continues to adjust to new realities and envisions a more r...
Food Waste Management: Innovative Solutions for Hospitality
Dr Carlos Martin-Rios | May 25, 2023
By Dr. Carlos Martin-Rios, Julneth Rogenhoger Why is food waste a problem? In recent years, food waste management has become one of the most critical topics in the hospitality industry. Whether it's to cut costs or reduce environmental impact, food waste has become relevant, not only for hoteliers and people in management, but for the average guest as well. On the surface, food waste management sounds like it should be an easy problem to address. Hoteliers have already begun to tackle the issue with farm-to-table programs and projects like Second Harvest, but do these efforts actually make a difference? Source: The cost of food wa...
New Benchmarking Study Outlines Corporate Best Practices for Managing Business Travel’s Climate Impact
GBTA | April 24, 2023
Coinciding with Earth Month, the GBTA Foundation report showcases collective best practices and insights from leading companies taking action on Scope 3.6 emissions for greener corporate travel As companies strive to reduce their carbon footprint, they are implementing various strategies to decarbonize their employee travel. But which practices are effective in driving change and ultimately empowering organizations to continue leveraging business travel while reducing their climate impact? A new benchmarking study released today, “Managing Emissions From Business Travel Programs: Overview of Corporate Best Practices,” sheds light on...
Cost vs Conscience: Booking.com Delves Into the Dilemma Dividing Sustainable Travel in 2023
Booking.com | April 21, 2023
NEW YORK, APRIL 21, 2023 – Booking.com releases new research, with insights gathered from more than 33,000 travelers across 35 countries and territories, that highlights a dilemma where people feel potentially forced to choose between cutting costs and being more mindful about making more sustainable travel choices. At a time of general global uncertainty, traveling more sustainably continues to be front of mind for US travelers, with two thirds (67%) believing people need to act now and make more sustainable choices to save the planet for future generations. The news continues to be a key influence driver for 44%, who say the recen...
MDO Celebrates Earth Day by Helping Hotels Reduce Environmental Footprint
MDO | April 21, 2023
Adopting a Paperless Night Audit process – which moves critical financial documents into a secure, digital environment for storage and compliance – can be directly correlated to significant reduction in tree and forest harvesting. BETHESDA, MD., April 21, 2023 – MDO, the world’s fastest-growing hotel performance management platform, continues to shine the spotlight on hotel owners and operators dedicated to reducing their environmental footprint. This Earth Day, MDO celebrates the 15 operators comprising more than 1,500 hotels who have qualified for MDO Sustainability Certification by verifying a paperless night audit process to s...
Travelers’ Interest in Sustainable Tourism Options Increases
April 19, 2023
During the pandemic, it was well-documented that the decrease in carbon emissions resulted in positive environmental impacts such as reduced air pollution, improved air and water quality, and ecological restoration. As travel restrictions have eased and travelers hit the road and skies once again we must balance the return of travel with the importance of improving sustainability in the travel industry. At Expedia Group Media Solutions, we routinely commission custom research to get the insights you need into traveler’s interests and behaviors. What we found was that travelers are increasingly seeking ways to have more meaningful and con...
Hotel Environmental Sustainability Also Means Profit Sustainability
Adam and Larry Mogelonsky | April 19, 2023
By Adam and Larry Mogelonsky With the new legislation put forward in Congress that’s aiming to ban gas stoves (citing both health and environmental concerns), it’s easy for many of us to get caught out in the sheer divisiveness of the news story and miss the overarching trend. Sustainability and ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) are not only here to stay but, as this national policy demonstrates, leading governments and public authorities around the world are willing to take increasingly bolder actions in the existential fight against climate change. But political parties being political parties – that is, focused on their ...
Travel Industry Unites to Help Travelers Choose Sustainable Options
U.S. Travel Association | March 28, 2023
The U.S. Travel Association today launched a first-of-its-kind initiative, JourneyToClean.com, to share the collective story of the U.S. travel industry’s bold vision for achieving greater sustainability. The initiative consists of more than 100 examples of sustainable travel practices from a diverse cross-section of more than 50 travel businesses. “The travel industry embraces sustainability initiatives and business practices because it is good for the planet AND it’s good for business,” said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman. “Travelers and businesses alike are demanding more sustainable options, and our ...
WTTC Data Reveals Portugal’s Travel & Tourism Sector’s Climate Footprint
The World Travel & Tourism Council | March 21, 2023
London, UK: New groundbreaking data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Saudi-based Sustainable Tourism Global Center reveals the climate footprint of the Travel & Tourism sector in Portugal. In one of the largest research projects of its kind ever undertaken, WTTC can, for the first time ever, accurately report and track the impact the sector has on the environment. According to the data, Portugal’s Travel & Tourism has continued to grow, whilst reducing its emissions intensity. In 2019, the sector accounted for 17.8% of total greenhouse gas emissions across Portugal. Whilst this is above the Europe...
New WTTC Environmental Data Reveals Italy’s Travel & Tourism Sector’s Climate Footprint
The World Travel & Tourism Council | March 20, 2023
Sector’s GDP has grown on average 1.1% annually while greenhouse gas emissions increased by just 0.2% each year Italy’s Travel & Tourism is becoming more energy efficient London, UK: New groundbreaking data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Saudi-based Sustainable Tourism Global Center reveals the climate footprint of the Travel & Tourism sector in Italy. In one of the largest research projects of its kind, the global tourism body can for the first time ever, accurately report and track the impact the sector has on the environment. According to the data, Italy’s Travel & Tourism has cont...
Sustainability in The Hospitality Industry: Working Towards “Travel Without a Footprint”
Mandeep S. Lamba | March 17, 2023
By Mandeep S Lamba, Dipti Mohan “Sustainability” has evolved beyond a trendy buzzword in recent years, with consumers and businesses alike becoming more conscious and involved in playing their part in preserving the planet for future generations. India has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2070, and in order to turn the country’s climate-change-related ambitions into reality, all industries must work together in an unprecedented collaboration. Thanks to the growing demand for “greener” holidays, sustainability has become crucial even in the tourism and hospitality sectors, which not only make significant contributions to...
New Report to Support Climate Action in the Tourism Sector
UNWTO | March 10, 2023
UNWTO has released a new report highlighting the progress that global tourism has made in measuring greenhouse gas emissions as well as the challenges the sector still faces. Measurement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is key for climate action. However, the tourism sector as the value chain is complex, diverse and overlapping, making sure measurement challenging. The new report "Climate Action in the Tourism Sector: An Overview of Methodologies and Tools to Measure Greenhouse Gas Emissions" was developed by UNWTO with support from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection of G...
1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, the Brand’s Flagship Property, Is Now Open
SH Hotels & Resorts | March 7, 2023
KAUAI, HI - March 7, 2023 - 1 Hotels, the mission-driven luxury lifestyle hotel brand founded by hospitality visionary Barry Sternlicht, announces the opening of 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, its flagship nature-and-wellness-focused island oasis overlooking a storied stretch of Kauai’s North Shore. Guests seeking solace and serenity at this sustainable sanctuary can swim, snorkel, bike, paddle, kayak, soak up the sun and surf off a legendary beach where Native Hawaiians lived in harmony with nature for generations and a laidback surf scene still thrives. The dramatic peaks of the Namolokama and Mamalahoa mountains loom over a verdant valley...
