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The Hotel Industry and its vendors are acknowledging and taking a keen revenue advantage, because their customers are supporting a green environment focus. This green economic revolution has impacted the $90 billion dollar Hotel industry. The article describes a hotel in Austin Texas profoundly in regards to their property having the "largest solar system in the continental U.S.". The hotel goes as far as creating their motto, which gear guest towards a green environment focus; their motto states "Environmental consciousness in action." The hotel grows its own food and vegetables, in which they serve the guest with, and they also give some of their produce to local food banks. The hotel guest often brag about how well they slept in the night, this might be caused by the toxic free chemical environment they are in. The lodging have refrained from using chemical pesticides 20 years ago, which may have added to the result of guest sleeping well; stated the general manager. The Ritz-Carlton program "Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ambassadors of the Environment program" was originally for the children that were staying on the Kapalua in Hawaii. The children enjoyed it so much, and their parents became very inquisitive; that the program emerged into the entire property focus. This program gives guest the opportunity to have involvement with the native forest; native nature walk and the hotel also harvest a native garden. This is almost the same idea as the hotel located in Austin Texas. There are many valid reasons for the reason why the Hotel Industry should be green conscious. The Green Hotels Association states that "Companies with proactive environmental strategies will make 4 percent higher investment, 9 higher sales growth and 17 percent higher operating income growth than companies with poor environmental practices.". If I was a general manager, this would be one of my main concerns and focus. Going green is cost effective, but the ending

nowadays, more and more hotels attending to join the green army. one of the most important reason is this kind of hotel will have a better market. because of the education level of the guests, their invironmental awareness become stongly. so the guests want to do more to make a contribution the the environment protection. on the other hand, the customers all knows that even the price of the green hotel is higher, but it is more health and safe. it will make them feel better and have a good experience in the hotel. as we know, a good experience is the final goal of hotel. so, the green hotel must have a bright future.

The green economic revolution is impacting the $90 billion U.S. hotel industry. There is an opportunity to increase revenue and market share by "going green". Habitat Suites in Austin, Texas is a leader in this area. The hotel's motto is "Environmental consciousness in action." Habitat Suites has an environment that is free of chemicals, has the largest hotel solar system, and uses their own organic fruit and vegetable garden for food in the hotel. Due to this environmental consciousness, the customers are reacting positively. Commenting on how great they slept, due to the ecologically fresh rooms. Many hotel chains are jumping on the green revolution bandwagon. At the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua in Hawaii, they started an environment program that was originally designed to provide fun for kids. But after positive feedback from the children, this has grown from just learning about local marine life to educational nature walks. These walks go through Maui's native forests and a garden that grows native foods and has community engagement in order to preserve their island's culture and environment. The food that is grown in the native garden is used in the hotel to provide guests with a healthy dining experience. Because of this, it has increased guests' reason to eat at the hotel and is 15 percent of the hotel guests' revenue stream. This environmentally friendly program increases the possibility of repeat business and attract new travelers who search for these types of experiences. A report published by the Green Hotels Association states, "Companies with proactive environmental strategies have a 4 percent higher return on investment, 9 percent higher sales growth and 17 percent higher operating income growth than companies with poor environmental track records." Even non-hotel-industry entrepreneurs are realizing business opportunities in the green vacation industry. Patricia Griffin, president of the Green Hotel Association, started the associatio

This article emphasizes the positive and negative aspects of the hospitality industry adopting to sustainable practices. It recognizes that this industry is in the business of making money, while appoints the importance of doing so conscientiously, respecting the environment. It shows the steps that the organizations should take on its journey to action. I believe that sustainability should be a business imperative and not a lifestyle choice, as the sustained interest among consumers in tourism products and services are continuously increasing. That should be beneficial for the organization, positively affecting the operating revenue.

The article discusses the many ways the IT world is finding new ways to be sustainable in the hospitality industry. Changing the way a hotel runs by introducing e-mails to guest and other companies to reduce the paper flow or allowing guest to do mobile check-ins can reduce a lot of paper waste. Also, having guest use their phones as key cards for their rooms can aid in avoiding wasting and needing to create key cards. By hotels having an energy saving system, they reduce electrical waste by having computers on low power consumption mode. One main thing the article mentioned that I personally see a lot of hotels doing is digital advertising. Instead of relying on paper advertisement, hotels rely heavily on ads on social medias, facebook, google, and third party vendors.

This article discusses the IT green movement that has been in action since the rise of technology and ways on how IT can go green. Some opportunities in the green IT movement include the following: - Using IT responsibly and effectively to reduce water, energy, and paper consumption. This gives IT teams to take advantage of a few technical enhancements within their hotels to provide key cards available on smart phones, email to reduce paper, and digital signage. - Deploying effective technology practices such as Energy Star compliance to shut down computers automatically after periods of inactivity and server virtualization. This would mean for everything to be on one common server, and companies can save money on computer hardware and power consumption. - Tackling e-waste and deploying recycling technologies to reduce environmental waste and impacts. This could be implementing by introducing a safe recycling system for used hardware. - Digital marketing practices. This could be like using digital media to save money or using social media to encourage guests about the green practices that the hotel is implementing. - Marketing strategies to report and promote green practices. This could be having the business properly use marketing strategies to target these environmentally conscious market and find ways to promote green practices to this market segment. These are all very effective ways for IT teams to go green within their hospitality businesses. These green IT projects will need approval from top management and investment in time and resources.

In today's society, being green is very important to many consumers but not all. The green conscious consumers have come to expect that the companies they do business with have the same beliefs. A companies green initiatives could be the deciding factor for some whether or not they frequent a business. Hospitality businesses must be aware of these green expectations from their consumers. They also must know how to communicate specifically to their green consumers explaining their specific green practices.. The article supports this when it states: "Green consumers are reasonably distinct in terms of identifiable characteristics and behavior patterns. Targeting specific marketing strategies to potential green consumers is likely to be more effective than directing these strategies to the entire population by assuming that all members of the population are potential green consumers," Unfortunately, it sometimes can be rather difficult to target green guests. It is much harder to identify these types of guests in comparison to non-green conscious guests. Also about 75% of green conscious guests aren't willing to really impact the comfort level of their stay to save the environment. Green guests may be green conscious but studies have shown they aren't really willing to give up the comforts such as daily housekeeping, high-pressure showers and fresh linens instead of reusing sheets during an extended visit. The article supports this when it states: "Although industry research has shown that a significant percentage of hotel guests would prefer to stay in a hotel that cares about the environment, guests are not always that predictable. Barber noted that a study by a major national hotel operation opposite findings: 75 percent of their guest respondents said they would not give up daily hotel room service activities." This is why green initiatives specifically targeted at green consumers are essential. The green consumer even though they may no

In the United States, hotels represent more than 5 billion square feet of space, nealry 5 million guest rooms and approxiamtely $4 billion in annual energy use. As of January 2010, there were only 40 hotels that were LEED certified. The acronym LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. LEED is a voluntary, third party green building certification program that awards points to buildings depending on their sustainable practice being implemented which includes building improvements, environemntal footprint and water and energy use. LEED was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit organization. Its main purpose is to provide building owners and operators with a basic framework for developing and implementing sustainable practices. The first hotel to ever be certified according to LEED criteria was the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, NC. This hote received Platnium status for being able to recycle 87% of its construction debris, purchasing 40% of the building materials and 90% of its furniture locally. Installation of 100 solar panels, use of geothermal energy for the restaurant's refrigeration equipment and instllation of a Regenerative Drive model for its elevators made the Proximity Hotel a benchmark hotel. There are several practices that can make a hotel conserve energy and make it sustainable such as using flourescent lightbulbs, offering linen and towel reuse programs, paving parkig lots with highly reflective materials or open grid pavers, installing high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, landscaping with native plants and using local materials and goods. These will not necessarily lead to LEED certification but will definitely earn points towards obtaining that accredidation. The use of sustainable practices not only helps conserve the environment but also saves money in the long run. Through water conservation techniques, recycling and linen and towel reuse programs, the hospitality industry wins two-fold,

Green information technology(IT), referred to as green computing, is a term used to describe the application of automated resources in an efficient manner. Green IT originates with system manufacturers producing environmentally friendly products and encouraging users to adopt eco-friendly practices such as reducing paper usage through minimal printing, operating more efficiently with power management,and exercising proper recycling habits.As global information technology environmental standards continue to expand, it is highly likely that guidelines governing product life span, power consumption and recyclable resources will be in the forefront.

I highlighted in blue the sections I was most interested in, I found the passage about reducing faxing and photocopying to be most interesting. There is no reason to be so reliant upon these when you can send attachments through your smart phone. Hotels and other properties can unplug these machines to save money on the electric bill. There are otherways to be paperless, for example.The article I spoke of was about how hotels can limit the need to priint itemized bills and reciepts, all charges can be posted right to the mobile app on the smart phone. The mobile app on the smart phone will even unlock and lock your room doors and allow enterance to the spa and fitness center. There won't be a need for plastic room keys anymore either.

In hospitality industry, IT technology brings many benefits to us, but it is also a source of pollution when disposing of broken technology. There are many advantages of green IT movement such as reducing energy, water, paper, environmental waste and impacts, etc. Although it has many benefits, green IT projects need support from company's top leaders in both time and resources. The ROI of green IT is a little bit longer than other types of projects, but it has upside potential and intangible benefits. Green IT practices are not contrary with making money, so hoteliers should take measures to lead the organization on its journey to green action.

The hospitality industry is recognizing how imperative it is to run your hotel in a way where it will not only benefit you and your business but for the environment as well. Many hotels are making an effort to making an effort to become certified by means of having a going green business. In addition to certification, businesses in the hospitality industry are contributing to this go green effort by seeking specific goals and priorities. Hotels for example are focusing on how to save energy and water conservation, solid waste management, land use and indoor air quality. Changing basic hotel equipment such as toilets, solar heating, washing machines/dryers, refrigerators to "green products" can create a big difference in hotel energy costs and help save the environment as well. When a hotel owner applies for certification they are carefully inspected to verify compliance on how well the hotel manages their business efficiently by saving energy, water and disposing wastes properly for example. Even something so small as using the right cleaning supplies can have a positive impact on the environment. Not only does going green lower hotel costs but they also receive tax rebates, zoning permits and other incentives to persuade hotels to go green.

In todays world, where ecoturism is the fastest growing market in the hospitality industry, hotel managers and owners realize the importance of running their properties in an environmentally responsible way. These initiatives usually translate in to greater customer recognition and loyalty. Some of the ways they achieve this is thru certifications, such as LEED which focuses on improvements to buildings and structures in order to maximize operations such as energy performance, conservation of water and other resources.

In an effort to become more environmentally conscious, many hotels and resorts have taken major steps, from pre construction to customer requests, to reduce their "carbon footprint". These establishments understand the value of "going green" not just to increase their long term profits but also to cater to a growing demand for more environmentally friendly recreational outlets. Going green is more than just a fad. Therefore, it is imperative, to stakeholders, within the hospitality and tourism industry to make the necessary changes to maintain a competitive edge.

As it becomes more and more popular (and more crucial to the environment) to "go green", it is also becoming less intimidating and more rewarding for organizations in the hospitality industry.  The notion that improving an organizations operations to make them more sustainable is too costly, is quickly being disproven, and in many instances organizations actually save money in the long run.  Part I of this series by Lee Simon focuses on operational practices and outlines simple steps that can be integrated in to a restaurant or hotel's current systems.  

Going Green is quickly becoming the thing to do in the hotel industry. In fact, Hilton now requires their department heads within their hotels to be trained and certified in their green program. They have created a link on their site which measures waste put out into the environment by each specific meeting group or guest. Even more importantly, clients are beginning to ask for these statistics and reports prior to committing to sign a contract that states they will hold their meeting at that particular hotel.

This article takes a look at 3 to 5 star hotels in Zimbabwe and South Africa and their environmentally friendly practices. Research shows that the hotel industry has a huge impact on the environment and the use of natural resources. The hotel industry has been negatively impacting the environment by consuming large amount of energy and water, and by producing large amounts of waste. The government has been demanding that hotels implement green practices, these are methods and products that do not negatively impact the environment. The results from the data collected from these two countries showed that none of the hotels had a written green management policy. Even though some of the hotels insisted that there is a green management policy in effect, it was not written down. It is important for policies like this to be written so there is a clear understanding of what is expected.

It seems the main motivation to implement more eco-friendly practices would be legislation/regulation but I wonder how that would be received? Outside the hotel industry,. I wonder how much focus is generally given to environmental concerns? Interesting research.

I think that it is very important for hotel to go green. Many top hotels are the members of green hotels. That means go green is a trend. Go green could makes the hotel cost savings, competitive advantage, employee retention, customer loyalty, regulatory compliance, decrease risk and it's the right thing to do. When I went to New York, Key West and Boston, I found the hotels where I lived are all green hotels. They use retrofitting light bulbs instead of regular bulbs. But in China, green hotel is not popular. I think that it will be the trend in the future all over the world!

The focus on sustainability or "going green" is quickly becoming a major trend. This article introduce 25 ways that hotels can use to develop sustainable economic. Supporting sustainable initiatives is important to the lodging industry as a whole. hotels need to continue to innovate and the future of technology in hospitality has to be green, or those brands that do not adopt to these emerging standards face being left behind.

This article is all about hotels going green and trying to get LEED certified. The one Boston hotel is doing things like having dual flush toilets, low flow showers, shampoo and conditioner in bulk dispensers, and a roofing material that reflects the sun to save energy costs. Another thing involved with getting LEED certified is getting energy from abouther source, this particular hotel is using the wind. It is expensive to do and doesnt appeal to everyone, hotel managers must figure out whats in the best interest for them and getting people in and out of their hotel.

To add onto Marilyns comment, not only are hotels doing the basics to go green, but a lot of hotels in california are taking the extra step, such as The Kimpton Hotels, and The orchard. They have changed the carpets and wallpaper for lower emission. They added recycle bins in every room in all 40 of their hotels across the country. Lastly, and one of the the additions I find most beneficial is their implementation of key card energy control, where a room key will be needed to activate the electricity in each room, and also shutting all electricity off when they leave.

This article is about how starwood hotels are trying to become fullscale eco-friendly but some are hotels are only greenwashing. This article is stating that it is not enough to use one green practice and call yourself an eco-friendly hotel.

With sustainability at the forefront of hotel operators and investors hotels are becoming conscious of the guests needs as more and more travelers are requiring and are staying at properties that are serious about environmental conservation. The article highlighted the fact hotels are big consumers of energy, therefore have construction that are LEED certified will not only benefit the environment but also the bottom line of investors.

Travel Weekly takes a look at hotels taking real initiatives to their commitment to going green, especially in Sin City. Hotel groups are looking not to save money through transparent initiatives asking guests to simply reuse their towels, rather the article looks at "hotel owner-developers to invest in systems that cut energy usage, save water, and reduce waste". It seems in addition to other environmentally conscious west coast cities, Vegas has set a standard by setting goals for increased recycling, decreased energy consumption, switching over to LED bulbs, composting food waste, reducing overall carbon footprint and emissions. In light of continuing green development, Sabre Holdings has launched an Eco-Certified Hotel Program taking the lead out of the other four major GDS's to tip their hat to eco-friendly hotels. As travelers, GDS's, hotels, travel websites, and developers alike place greater emphasis on the preference for environmentally conscious lodgings, the more likely the industry is going to continue adopting these measures.

Hotels are becoming more green world wide. MGM hotels is on board with a green initiative. Hotels electricity and water add up because they have to cool a building , clean and maintain the hotel. IT costs about 800 per room annually in electricity and water costs. MGM hotels reduced the electrivity they use which can help power 12, 000 houses. HOtels are also trying to reduce its carbon emissions. Although as the article states " its very difficult fot hotels to be trully green by their nature" every little bit helps.

This article discusses a study performed at various diving locations in the Philippines to determine whether or not measures taken by Green Fin diving guides were effective in reducing contact with coral reef systems. The study also recorded the average number of contacts with the reef during a dive, as well as the equipment or body part which came into contact with the reef most often, and which actions resulted in the most damage. The study finds that adherence to Green Fin standards or other policies may significantly impact diver behaviors and reduce the level of contact with sensitive coral reefs during SCUBA dives.

This article is very interesting because it does not focus solely on one type of technology, but rather summarizes several technologies and discusses the importance of their uses. Green technologies in hotels can vary from anything affecting the water heating system to air ventilation and even plumbing systems in hotels. As stated in the article, it is extremely important for hoteliers to be aware of these changes that are occurring. Hoteliers may not have to immediately alter their current systems but they should definitely be aware and in tuned to the ever-changing "green" technologies - for if they don't they may be putting their hotels at risk.

This article is basically talking about the different green ways that a hotel can operate. For instance in Denmark they have stations set up where a guest can pedal stationary bikes to produce energy which in exchange they receive a free meal from the restaurant. To make hotels more green the hotels are using higher technological systems like changing the ventilation systems that provide fresh air indoors and have timers on the exhaust in the bathrooms. These technological advances to the properties will be more pricey than normal systems but in the long run they will save these hotels money and help them be more earth friendly.

Having worked in the meetings industry for 5 years now, we have also seen the increase of the more eco friendly traveler/meeting planner/attendee. Our accommodations have taken an active stance to incorporate more of the green friendly features to meet the needs of this traveler, but also to cut costs and increase operations efficiency.

Usually most of computers in the hotel won`t close include in the guest room and work station. It will make huge of waste. With this green IT strategy , hotel will reduce energy consumption and save tones of CO2 annually. Fairmont's strategy is a "great example" of where businesses can hit next

It is amazing how even a small initiative of shutting down work stations after an hour inactivity can be this impactful generating such savings. My only question is that the fact that Fairmount is a global company can they really have a centralized center controlling all work stations? In any case this initiative is driven by their corporate leader and is a powerful message in terms of social responsibility.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announced a comprehensive green IT strategy by addressing technology infrastructure and IT operations for all 56 of its hotel properties worldwide. A key part of its green initiatives is a central-managed power-down schedule that all of its internal desktop will be shut down one hour of their activities. One of the spokesmen said that this green IT approach is suitable for hotels that do not traditionally have a data center. He also pointed out that this new green IT approach is easily applied in North America and part of the Europe, whereas a little harder in Asian countries because of the different standard that they use. So what they are working on is to getting everyone to understand its value and set up international standards.

This article emphasizes how imperative it is for hospitality businesses to stay on the cutting edge of technology as a part of their business design and strategy if they want to survive in today's competitive market and remain in it, in the near future. The author expresses that today's hospitality market is being driven by Millennials' "the largest generation in the country's history" who patronize businesses that are socially and environmentally responsible. Armed with this information to capture their targeted market, more and more hotels are now incorporating from inception within their physical blueprint infrastructure that is environmentally sustainable and cost-effective. As well as obtaining Green certifications and implementing sustainable software to reduce waste and minimize leakages. This concept has also been adopted by cruise ship operators to reduce environmental impact through the use of technology.