Cornell sustainability benchmark: Cornell University’s Center for Hospitality Research released two new benchmarks—climate and hotel type—from an ongoing international project to create default sustainability data for the global hotel industry. “Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking Index 2016: Energy, Water and Carbon” collaborated with 11 global hotel firms and analyzes data for 8,880 properties.
Moody’s lodging data: Moody’s report on June lodging data for the U.S. shows occupancy growth, at a flat 0.1%, is at the bottom of its forecast range for the first six months of the year, with 12 of the top 25 U.S. markets are experiencing declining occupancy. As well, ADR saw year-to-date growth of 3.1%, lagging Moody’s forecast range of 3.5% to 4.5%.
Spotlight on Aloft: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide signed an agreement with Spotlight Group Holdings to build an Aloft in Melbourne, Australia. The 176-room hotel is due to open in early 2019 and will be part of a mixed-use development.