Today's hotel VIP has new wants and needs. Now more than ever high-level guests are demanding free internet service including Katy Perry http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/05/katy-perry-wants-free-internet-in-her-five-star-hotels/171554/1?csp=34travel(Thanks to Meeting Focus for pointing me to this article).Top musicians such as Jack Johnson, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Sheryl Crow and The Roots are leading the way with environmental responsibility during their [...]
Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to visit Iowa for a family graduation. While it was personal and not business, I was unable to take off my sustainable meeting professional hat and feel compelled to file this report:The hotel we chose is part of a large chain constantly touting its environmental commitment. At the [...]
Country Inns and Suites by Carlson is doing just that by eliminating disposable service ware in breakfast areas, according to an article by Glenn Hasek in Green Lodging News. Here are the facts:Cumulative annual costs for non-disposables = $35,000. The cost of disposable products = $76,000 (including dishwasher installation and operation)Return on investment: One year [...]
Trend #6 for 2011. "Being green remains important for many planners who look for properties to have these initiatives in place. In fact, it's generally assumed they do. Government meetings demand it, as does, increasingly the pharmaceutical industry," according to Benchmark Hospitality International's "Top Ten Meeting Trends for 2011" observed by its properties. Solidly in [...]
Sixty-five percent of corporate travel executives are implementing sustainable travel guidelines for their companies, according to a recent study conducted by MindClick SGM. That's great news! The executives polled are responsible for over $10 million in annual travel budgets. The curious part of the study is only 2% of those surveyed would include LEED [...]
Looking for the business case benefits for a standardized and measurable sustainability program for your hotel? Here are five top benefits with links to recent articles and web sites which may help you make the case: Cost savings. A 10 percent reduction in energy consumption alone would have the same financial effect as increasing the [...]
The number of trees toilet paper wipes out every single day. (source: homenews, September.10)27,000 trees every single day down the toilet. Sad. I hope you will join me in ensuring that each and every meeting venue and hotel we use is purchasing toilet paper with recycled content. The higher the number the better!
“This data confirms something we’ve long suspected,” boasts Alison Presley, Manager of Travelocity's Travel for Good Program.Travelocity allows consumers to rate its hotels on a scale of 1-5 smiley faces. When the company studied the reviews for green hotels, a fascinating trend emerged. Consumers gave 83 percent of non-green hotels three smiley faces or more--but [...]
Another stop during my visit to Dallas was the Fairmont Dallas Hotel. Ken Flores, Director of Operations, showed me through the property highlighting their sustainable practices--and there are quite a few.Towards the end of the tour he took me out on the hotel roof to the most fantastic herb and vegetable garden I have seen [...]
When I talked about how leadership is a role not a positon yesterday, one recent example came to mind. I met with Tony Thomas, Assistant Director of Property Operations, and Kim Hubbard Spurlock, Quality Assurance Manager, Hilton Anatole Dallas to find out what initiatives they have in place.The first thing they did was hand me [...]
