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Cornell Roundtable Discussion Focuses on Opportunities and Challenges of Sustainability

Hotel and restaurant operators are making large steps toward sustainable operations and the industry discussions have evolved significantly over the past few years. But the industry faces numerous issues in determining what strategies work best, especially since sustainability involves so many diverse aspects and stakeholders of hospitality operations. Participants in the Cornell Hospitality Sustainability Roundtable, held November 16 in New York City, examined the key issues in sustainability—including customer demand, cost effectiveness, supplier and stakeholder engagement, global trends, and system-wide implementation. The roundtable was opened by Professor Rohit Verma, executive director of the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research, and chaired by Associate Professor Alex Susskind.

Cornell

New York, New York, United States

Hotels must not fall into 'green washing' trap | hoteliermiddleeast.com

The region’s travel and tourism industry must not fall into the trap of “green washing” as the rush to “jump onboard the green gravy train” intensifies, warned a marketing expert at World Green Tourism Abu Dhabi yesterday.

hoteliermiddleeast.com

Hotels Take ‘Locally Grown’ a Logical Step Beyond | nytimes.com

David Garcelon, a chef, says he enjoys checking on the little alpine strawberries, Malabar spinach, mojito mint and several varieties of wine grapes in his small garden. But he is not out in his backyard; he’s on the 14th-floor roof of the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, where the view is of the steel, glass and concrete of nearby skyscrapers.

nytimes.com

For Hotels, Eco-Friendly Ideas Await a Friendlier Economy | nytimes.com

Hotels eager to satisfy the growing desire of business travelers for eco-friendly lodging are finding that their environmental ambitions have run headlong into the harsh realities of the recession. When the economy was thriving, developers were promoting environmental flourishes like roof gardens, floors of reclaimed wood, and solar panels. When the Orchard Garden Hotel opened in San Francisco in 2006, it featured furniture made from sustainably grown wood.

nytimes.com

United States

Why Are All the Lights in My Hotel Room On? Giving Customers Cognitive Dissonance | huffingtonpost.com

50 viewsGet Green Alerts Email Comments 3 I recently spent two nights at the lovely, high-end Westin hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Around my room I found the now-standard signs that describe how the hotel will save water and energy by not changing sheets and towels. These green messages say to customers figuratively, and often literally, "we care about the environment." So far so good. But when I first entered my room, every lamp and light in the place was on... plus two radios.

huffingtonpost.com

Hotel toiletries - the new green battleground | independent.co.uk

Hotel amenity kits are quickly becoming the latest battleground for hotels looking to assert their green credentials.

Last week, Spanish hotel chain NH Hotels rolled out a new set of environmentally-friendly amenity bottles, which the firm says biodegrade faster than comparable products.

independent.co.uk

Milan to get its first zero-emission hotel | reuters.com

Milan, one of the most polluted cities in Europe, will open its first zero-emission hotel next spring betting on Japanese technology and local green energy to trim its carbon footprint, the project developers said on Thursday. The new hotel located in the heart of Italy's financial centre will help avoid emitting nearly 420 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year. That may seem a drop in the ocean, but every effort counts in a city with annual CO2 emissions of about 7 million tonnes.

reuters.com

Milan, Italy

Robert Fisk’s World: We're not taken in by luxury hotels' new green awareness | independent.co.uk

If you want clean towels, you’ve got to leave them on the floor like a peasant. We journalists are collectors. Facts (preferably true), gossip (often untrue), predictions (always, of course, correct), old newspaper clippings, photos and press handouts and – in my case – propaganda leaflets (in hopelessly ungrammatical Arabic) dropped by Israeli planes over Lebanon. Why, I still have my reporter's notebook covered in oil spots from Kuwait, after Saddam had set the oil fields afire in 1991. Then there's the small packet in which visitors to the Fisk Memorial Library will one day find a Havana cigar ring marked "The first cigar Mohamed Heikal gave me after 29 years of friendship!" I know Mohamed, Egypt's worthiest journalist and writer, reads this column – and will appreciate the above. Long life to him.

independent.co.uk

More companies want employees to stay in 'green' hotels | usatoday.com

Many big companies and states are increasingly steering their travel business to hotels that meet "green" environmental standards. he results are twofold: Companies can tout environmentally conscious business practices, and hotel owners are spurred to adopt energy-saving standards to attract guests.

USA TODAY

Getting the Guests to Sort (at Starwood's Element hotels) | nytimes.com

While some hotels sort and recycle guests’ trash after it leaves the room, hospitality executives say starting an in-room recycling program is a lot more complicated than simply placing blue bins under the desks. “It’s challenging,” said Brian McGuinness, a senior vice president at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which offers in-room recycling at its Element hotels and plans to introduce similar programs at other brands by the end of 2010. “These initiatives sound easy in theory, but in practice it’s quite a different story.”

nytimes.com

United States

Best corporate citizens: Hotels | cnn.com

On the surface, the largest hotel firms should be standard bearers for corporate citizenship. After all, they make their money introducing guests to new cultures and pristine landscapes, so they have an interest in preserving the environment and supporting the local community. They spend billions each day on heating and water, and as the ubiquitous notes in hotel bathrooms urging us to save our towels can attest, they are acutely aware of the need to conserve these resources and reduce that cost. Like all consumer brands, they know the reputational risks of entanglement in labor or human rights abuse.

cnn.com

Building Toward Sustainable Lodging | Deloitte Insights podcast

Some hoteliers have a cynical reaction to the green movement, as it represents a departure from the status quo. Many are skeptical that hotels can adopt more environmental practices while maintaining cost control and guest satisfaction levels. Highlights: Are there any uniform industry standards when it comes to sustainable or green hotel practices? How can hotel companies “earn points” to obtain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification? What are the pitfalls of transforming the older hotel facilities into environmentally friendly facilities. What should lodging companies be aware of to mitigate the risk of misleading public disclosures and to promote transparency? Anthony Campanelli, senior manager, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP | Rod Millott, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP | Christopher Rizzo, Environmental Practice Area lawyer with Carter, Ledyard & Milburn LLP

Deloitte Development LLP

Behind the scenes at London’s greenest hotel | londonhotelsinsight.com

We recently featured the Cavendish Hotel on Jermyn Street as London’s most environmentally-conscious hotel, an accolade granted by the Visit Britain Green Tourism scheme through its much-coveted Gold Award. The hotel has won similar awards including the Icarus Environmental Award and is also a member of the Considerate Hoteliers Association.

londonhotelsinsight.com

London, United Kingdom

Green initiatives can pay off with bookings

Some hoteliers’ who are tracking their green and sustainable marketing initiatives are finding their green messages are paying off with increased bookings. At the same time, some hoteliers with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification and sustainable practices are having difficulty marketing those positive, green attributes in a difficult economy. Properties that group all their sustainability efforts and programs together on one simple page or leaflet are experiencing the best results. Green hoteliers who educate their guests about how they can implement sustainable practices at home and those who tailor their green messages to specific groups also are profiting.

HotelNewsNow