October 3, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Every so often I find myself completely inundated and bombarded by messages from a wide variety of sources. In this case we will just use numbers to put them into a manageable format. 

1) I am heartily recommending Hot, Flat and Crowded, Thomas L. Friedman's new book (my daughter thinks I am a groupie) and hope America's presidential and vice presidential candidates are reading it and taking notes. For those of you that are looking forward to the next upturn in economic conditions expect a few million Chinese and Indian middle class guests to visit your hotels.

2) In June I was privileged to hear Ray Anderson’s keynote speech at “Greening the Heartland.” A...Read More

September 18, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

While wandering recently in New England I was pleased to visit what could have been the predecessor to LEED certified hotels on the campus at the University of New Hampshire.  UNH was recently named one of the 11 Greenest Campuses by Princeton Review.

“In the heart of the University of New Hampshire campus in Durham, the New England Center is an architectural icon. Architect William Pereira, who graced the cover of TIME magazine in 1963, was so moved by the site’s 10-acre setting of towering pines and woodland he was inspired to create an extraordinary hotel that reflected the area’s natural beauty. Here, structural steel, green glazed bricks, and glass blend...Read More

August 27, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

On a recent trip to Boston and points beyond I had the privilege of attending a monthly meeting of the Boston Green Tourism organization.

As a visitor to Boston I always spend some time thinking about how revolutionaries such as Samuel Adams, John Adams and Paul Revere thought our country would evolve. Would they be impressed?

I do think they would be impressed with the leadership and commitment to sustainability by some of the “ecolutionaries” that lead the green charge in Boston. Over the past several years I have become acquainted with Tedd Saunders, Dan Ruben, and Matt Moore. I am more familiar with their efforts, but there are multiple examples for lodging properties to follow in Boston (25 Energy Star hotels).

While Philadelphia may be the site of the Continental Congress a...Read More

August 7, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Today we look at the last of three environmental actions that business travelers expect lodging facilities to be taking:

Placing cards in rooms to let guests request that sheets and towels not be changed

In the early 1990s, what was then Bass or Six Continents, but what is now InterContinental Hotels Group, launched this environmental initiative as a cornerstone of its environmental program. During the past 17 or 18 years, there have been no significant changes to this program, which now is estimated to be in place in one form or another in more than 70% of the lodging properties in the United States.

For these programs to be credible, execution (i.e. communication and staff training) ...Read More

August 6, 2008 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

In my last blog post, I mentioned that each day we would take a look at another of three of the top five environmental actions that business travelers expect lodging facilities to be taking.

For today, let’s look at energy-efficient lighting.

Wal-Mart surpasses goal to sell 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs three months early

Bentonville, Arkansas, Oct. 2, 2007 – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. today announced it has surpassed its goal to sell 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) by the end of 2007. Over the lifetime of the CFLs, Wal-Mart estimates that these energy-saving bulbs wil...Read More