AHLA Foundation Establishes No Room for Trafficking Advisory
The AHLA Foundation today announced its inaugural No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) Advisory Council, which includes top leaders from across the hotel and lodging industry.
Sustainability
Climate Change Is Making Travel That Much Harder
In June, Amtrak’s Albany, N.Y, to Montreal train route was cancelled due to excessive heat. Service was suspended because a 47-mile stretch of the trip took four hours after the train was forced to slow to 10 miles per hour. The speed restriction was imposed because temperatures above 86°F (30°C) can make the rails misalign and cause derailment. In July, rail service between Albany and New York City was suspended after heavy rains completely washed out the tracks near the city of Poughkeepsie.
Newport Hospitality Group Acknowledges Vimal Desai and Family for Community Contributions
Newport Hospitality Group (NHG) commends the altruistic efforts of Vimal Desai, COO of HMV Management, and his family for their generous donation of LifeVac kits to all 38 schools within the Beaufort County School District (BCSD). These kits, designed as a safety measure in critical scenarios of choking and compromised breathing, serve as potential lifesavers.
Motel 6 And Studio 6 Partner With the Humane Society of the United States To Support Pet Owners In Need
Economy lodging brands Motel 6, Proud Sponsor of Pets™, and Studio 6 have teamed up with the Humane Society of the United States to support the organization's More Than a Pet campaign, which works to raise awareness of the pet poverty crisis, provide financial solutions for struggling pet owners, and keep pets and their families together by increasing access to care and supplies.
MGM Resorts Contribution Helps Bring Fresh Produce to Historic Westside Residents
Las Vegas' first community-based farming facility opened in the Historic Westside today, thanks in part to a $500,000 contribution from MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) ("MGM Resorts" or the "Company") to the city of Las Vegas via the Mayor's Fund for Las Vegas LIFE. The gift purchased the two growing containers that will produce year-round fresh food and jobs for neighborhood residents.
The University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business and The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance announce a partnership to advance net positive hospitality
Through the Executive Programs unit at the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria, hospitality professionals will soon be taking advantage of new training modules in entrepreneurship and sustainability that aim to help hotels become net positive for people and place, thanks to a partnership with The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance (the Alliance).
Reflexivity and Learning
The path towards system change is unpredictable, and that reminded me on the book Risk Society by Ulrich Beck. Beck's concept of the risk society highlights the need for a new approach to managing risks based on cooperation, reflexivity, and sustainability in a context of complexity and uncertainty. The book contains valuable lessons for to be applied on topics as Climate change and Biodiversity. Learning is a key ingredient in Beck's risk society and learning involves a continuous process of reflexivity and adaptation in response to new information and changing circumstances. Important to realize is that this learning is not only at an individual level, but also on group and even societal level. Companies, citizens and communities, NGOs, governments and scientists and experts all play an important role in this collective learning process.
View by Arjan van Rheede, Senior Research Fellow in Sustainability, Hotelschool The Hague
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much!
Most of us will know from any private or professional crisis we will have doubtless been through, that the task of solving a problem is always a lot easier when this is done in company rather than alone. (The analogy of Don Quixote fighting against the windmills comes to mind)
View by Xenia zu Hohenlohe, Partner/Director, Considerate Group
Collaboration in Food Waste Prevention - the case of Mauritius
I think that most of the hospitality industry is evolving in silos, and that certainly has negative consequences on issues realted to biodiversity and use of natural resources.
View by Benjamin Lephilibert, Founder & CEO, LightBlue Consulting
Trailblazing new paths together
I believe that we'd be further on the road of climate and biodiversity actions if we were effectively using cooperation in our sectors. Initiatives of small and wider scales are growing though, which is necessary as trailblazing new ways of doing business and new ways of designing desirable travel experiences requires exploring as many new paths as possible.
View by Johanna Wagner, Co-Founder of La Belle EDuC, Founder of Upside Up Hotel Asset and Guest Lecture, ESSEC IMHI
Expert Views (19)
Swantje Lehners, Managing Director of Projects and Cooperations, Futouris e.V.
If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together" - this saying has accompanied our work in Futouris e.V. from the beginning. We are a partnership of tourism industry companies, working together to find and implement solutions to move that sustainability needle".
Henri Kuokkanen, Associate Professor, Institut Lyfe
Collaboration is essential in social and environmental sustainability, and misaligned interests can cause serious setbacks in efforts to become more sustainable. The need for such cooperation is particularly emphasized in tourism destinations that fight with various sustainability challenges, including those created by overtourism.
Benjamin Lephilibert, Founder & CEO, LightBlue Consulting
Since Food Waste represents on average ~50% of a hotel total waste, and knowing how poorly waste in disposed of/managed in most places, targetting this issue with a collaborative lense seems of the most overlooked issue of all.
Radisson Blu Mall of America Becomes First Hotel in the World with CarbinX™ Carbon Capture Unit to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Yesterday CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP) and Radisson Blu Mall of America, part of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), announced the groundbreaking installation of a carbon-capture technology unit, CarbinX™, developed by CleanO2. This marks the first hotel in the world to use this innovative system that captures greenhouse gas emissions from heating equipment. The installation is part of a program by CenterPoint Energy, Minnesota's largest natural gas utility, to explore the potential of new, cleaner energy technologies.
Travel Industry Unites to Help Travelers Choose Sustainable Options
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.
Noble House Hotels & Resorts Announces Green Seal Certification Initiative
Noble House Hotels & Resorts — the family-owned boutique hotel brand with a carefully curated collection of 25 hotels, resorts, and experiences across North America — has partnered with Green Seal and applied for certification for 13 of its properties, continuing its sustainability efforts.
Polaris and IHG Hotels & Resorts host anti-human trafficking forum to reveal insights from survivor study
IHG Hotels & Resorts and its partner Polaris, a leading organization in the fight against human trafficking, hosted a forum in Atlanta, Ga. on Wednesday, February 22 to unveil findings from Polaris’ National Survivor Study (NSS). Survivors of human trafficking shared insights on the conditions that make people vulnerable to trafficking and the barriers to rebuilding their lives. Elected officials and executives from Atlanta’s top companies also discussed what the State of Georgia and the business community are doing to help to support survivors and stop human trafficking.
MGM Resorts Becomes First Gaming Company to Sign United Nations' CEO Water Mandate
MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) ("MGM Resorts" or the "Company") today announced it endorsed the United Nations' CEO Water Mandate – a global initiative and coalition of hundreds of major companies making bold commitments to address water crises and challenges. MGM Resorts is the first gaming company to endorse the mandate.
Shatterproof ‘Hospitality Heroes’ Reception Convenes More than 60 Hospitality Companies
Shatterproof, a national nonprofit dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in the U.S., recently honored Chris Nassetta, president and CEO, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, with the Shatterproof Hospitality Hero Award. He is the fifth recipient to receive the award. Nassetta has been an integral voice on the issue of addiction in America, using his leadership in the industry to unite hospitality executives to take an active role in ending the addiction crisis.
Shatterproof and Hilton
Hyatt Named to Institutional Investor 2023 All-America Executive Team
Hyatt Hotels Corporation (“Hyatt” or the “Company”) (NYSE: H) announced today that it has been named to the 2023 Institutional Investor All-America Executive Team, building on another transformative year for Hyatt. Widely considered a benchmark of excellence within the financial industry, the Institutional Investor rankings illustrate how companies and executives are viewed by investment professionals on both the buy and sell side.
IHG Hotels & Resorts Donates $500,000 to AHLA Foundation Human Trafficking Survivor Fund
The AHLA Foundation today announced a $500,000 donation from IHG Hotels & Resorts to support the No Room for Trafficking (NRFT) Survivor Fund as part of the hotel industry’s longstanding, united commitment to combat human trafficking.
Fireside Chat at United States Conference of Mayors Highlights Productive ESG Partnerships with the Hotel Industry
The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) hosted a conversation today between American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) President and CEO Chip Rogers, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. The discussion outlined the importance of partnerships between the hotel industry and local leaders in working together on innovative sustainability programs—now and into the future.