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FL Hoteliers face their challenges | floridatoday.com

A variety of new technologies and promotion strategies must be used to help vacationers overcome challenges, tourism business experts said at the 41st annual Governor's Conference on Tourism, held Monday at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando. Industry representatives said hotels have a tough road ahead, as vacationers want to be reassured that their experience will be environmentally friendly, interactive, not rained out, and the experience will be "personalized."

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Key Cards For DNC Hotels Made From Wood | thedenverchannel.com

Wooden key cards will be given to guests at 35 Denver-area hotels during the DNC as part of the convention's green push. Boulder-based Sustainable Cards has spent years developing a way to create the cards and is donating them to the delegate hotels in hopes of getting bigger contracts with those chains later on. Sustainable Cards CEO Greg Hartmann said 240-million plastic key cards are discarded every year, which he said is the same as burying seven 777 airplanes in a landfill

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The Tourism Time Bomb | Expected Tourist Surge Would Reshape Industry | hotelsmag.com

International travel is no longer the exclusive province of the rich. Over the next several decades, hundreds of millions of new entrants to the middle class will want not only the things, but also the experiences, that money can buy. Indian call-center employees, Russian petrochemical engineers, Chinese middle managers, and Brazilian salespeople are already scouring the web for deals on trips. They want to see Paris from the Eiffel Tower, relax in the Maldives, and play blackjack in Las Vegas. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, international tourist visits are expected to double soon, from roughly 800 million in 2008 to 1.6 billion by 2020 (see the exhibit "Travel Explosion"). However, only so many people can visit a particular building or beach in a given year. Where will all the other tourists go? This skyrocketing demand for travel will lead to a "scarcity of place" and to three probable market responses:

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Green is not Black and White | Green Travel handbook | concierge.com

Learn easy ways to lessen your journeys' environmental impact. Plus: Earth-friendly getaways from Hawaii to India and a guide to "green" golf courses. Your travels can destroy habitats and accelerate global warming. They can also help heal the planet. This handbook shows you how simple decisions can make all the difference.

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The Good Earth: Nine Luxe Eco-lodges That Treat Nature Right | concierge.com

Yes, yes, Mr. Gore, of course we all want to do our part for the environment. But the inconvenient truth is that we're loath to trade in our resort's 1,000-thread-count bed sheets for rough-woven ones that feel like burlap. Perhaps we're asking for a lot, but aren't there hotels that are environmentally friendly and still sinfully sumptuous? The answer is yes: We've found nine eco-lodges that are as firmly committed to sustainable, eco-sensitive tourism as they are to spa treatments and gourmet cuisine. So drop into one of these green retreats—and check your guilt at the door.

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The Case For Investing In Energy Productivity | mckinsey.com

Unless there is a shift in world energy policies, global energy demand is set to accelerate, putting increasing strain on the world economy and the environment. Yet additional annual investments in energy productivity of $170 billion through 2020 could cut global energy demand growth by at least half—the equivalent of 64 million barrels of oil a day or almost one and a half times today’s entire U.S. energy consumption.

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They'll Leave A Lot of Lights On for You | washingtonpost.com

The old Holiday Inn in Bethesda has turned hip. After an ownership change and a $23 million makeover, the hotel -- now called the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center -- has thrown out its stuffy oriental rugs and put in Wii game consoles, wine and sushi bars, and Zen-inspired candles. Lots of candles. Each night, staff members light up 500 candles in the lobby and restaurant area, called the great room, to "celebrate the perfect day and welcome the beginning of a mysterious night," said Michael McMahon, the hotel's general manager. (But hold off calling the fire department, squad Most of the candles lining the staircase and walls are electric.)

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The Greening of the Hotel Industry | Fred Malek from Thayer Lodging

The Post piece discusses our focus on providing a healthier and relaxing alternative to typical hotels. That it is, but there’s more. Our goal is to become the leader in the “greening” of the hotel industry. Surprising for this conservative Republican? Yes. Did Al Gore get to me? Sure – it proves even Democrats can get it right sometimes, and in my view Mr. Gore earned his Nobel for drawing attention not only to global warming, but to the environment overall.Perhaps the most important part of our efforts at Thayer Lodging is the impact not only the environment but also health.

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The Power Of Travel: The Hotel You Choose May Make A Difference | concierge.com

Now that the travel industry is beginning to tackle social issues from poverty to health care, the hotel you choose can make the difference betweena child going hungry or being fed, a wildlife habitat being protected or destroyed, a woman giving birth to a healthy child or one infected with HIV. As part of our new focus on the impact of tourism on communities and the planet, Condé Nast Traveler reports on what the largest hotel companies are doing to help—and why your choices matter more than ever

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Chef Pierre Gagnaire Warns Of Environmental Impact Of Restaurants | caterersearch.com

French chef Pierre Gagnaire has warned that environmental degradation and a worldwide explosion in fine dining restaurants will have a dramatic effect on food trade. During a recent visit to his restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hong Kong, the three-Michelin-starred chef said that the destruction of natural habitats meant that fish stocks were depleting and some fruits and vegetables were now so scarce that certain dishes would have to be dropped.

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The Power Of Travel | Now That The Travel Industry Is Beginning To Tackle Social Issues From Poverty To Health Care, The Hotel You Choose Can Make A Difference | concierge.com

Now that the travel industry is beginning to tackle social issues from poverty to health care, the hotel you choose can make the difference between - a child going hungry or being fed - a wildlife habitat being protected or destroyed - a woman giving birth to a healthy child or one infected with HIV. As part of our new focus on the impact of tourism on communities and the planet, Condé Nast Traveler reports on what the largest hotel companies are doing to help—and why your choices matter more than ever In his thirteen years as general manager of the Holiday Inn along Patong Beach in Phuket, Thailand, Wolfgang Meusburger had never thought much about supporting the community. Just positioning his hotel as a luxury oasis on one of Thailand's most overbuilt honky-tonk beaches was challenge enough. On the ocean side, crowds of beer-swilling tourists, counterfeit handbag hawkers, and prostitutes compete for the walkway along a strip of noisy restaurants, bars, and T-shirt shops. Down the way, Rock Hard A Go-Go offers pole-dancing girls in bikinis, and at the Moulin Rose and other cabaret clubs, transvestites sing pop songs. To Wolfgang, keeping the riffraff out was more important than community outreach.

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Hoteliers Building Green Properties | btnmag.com

Independent hotels and major chains have planted a crop of green hotels, with a few beginning to open, that stem from national guidelines constituting environmentally friendly construction. Starwood Capital, Starwood Hotels, InterContinental and Fairmont have green hotel properties under construction or are seeking ways to retrofit existing properties. To achieve true green classification, buildings must adhere to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council. Those standards apply to sustainable site development, water and energy conservation, selection of materials and the quality of the indoor environment. Although there are specific LEED standards for several construction project types—schools, homes, neighborhoods and campuses—there are no such standards specific to hotels, which blurs the green distinction to an extent.

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Camp It Up With Luxury Tents & Tree Houses | concierge.com

When you were a kid, there were few things more exhilarating on a sultry summer night than sleeping in a tree house or tent, lighting sparklers, and counting fireflies. Now? Forget it—you'd need a lot more yoga to climb the swinging rope and fewer Frappuccinos to squeeze into that one-man cocoon. But at a new breed of top wilderness camps around the world, roughing it is pretty darn relative. You'll still be surrounded by the glory of nature, but you'll swap the sleeping bag for a canopy bed, bug juice for a gin and tonic, and frankfurters for Kobe beef. Still want those sparklers? Look into the starry sky—or ask the butler.

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North America | The hospitality industry: Have hotels checked out responsible tourism? | ethicalcorp.com

Hotels lag behind other travel sectors in responsible tourism – and uptake is particularly slow in North America. But several small companies and a few large chains are demonstrating leadership The travel and tourism industry contributes 10.3% of global GDP and accounts for 220 million jobs worldwide, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). But although responsible and sustainable tourism is increasingly on the agendas of social and environmental activists and even some governments, it is something that by and large corporations in the industry have been slow to sign up to, particularly in North America.

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The Rules of "Green" Marketing | marketingprofs.com

If you think your customer isn't concerned about environmental issues, or won't pay a premium for products that are more eco-responsible, think again. You may just find an opportunity to enhance your product's performance and strengthen your customer's loyalty—and command a higher price. Like all new products, green products have had their share of whoppers: remember General Motors' EV1 electric car? Hefty's photodegradable trash bags? Earthlight compact fluorescent light bulbs? All these were doomed to the "green graveyard" for refusing to address one of the key rules of green marketing success: balance environmental issues with primary customer needs.

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Irish Hotels to go ‘green’ in €300,000 Programme | westernpeople.ie

Up to ten Mayo hotels are expected to sign up this summer to a new “Green” campaign with an emphasis on recycling and waste reduction, the chief executive officer of the Irish Hotel and Catering Institute (IHCI), Mr Adrian Cummins has revealed. The Irish Hotel and Catering Institute is spearheading a Cleaner Greener Production Programme, to be implemented in hotels across the country. The objective is to encourage hotels throughout Ireland to adopt a high standard of environmental performance by adapting processes and services in order to minimise negative impact on the environment.

The Irish Hotel and Catering Institute (IHCI) and The Irish Hotel and Catering Institute (IHCI)