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MAY: Green Hotels: Eco-Friendly Principles and Best Practices

Herve Houdre

Sustainable Development is a fairly new concept in the hotel industry and though many hoteliers have included it in their strategy, it does not yet have the recognition it deserves in view of the better revenues and margins it can develop. The challenge comes from lack of concerted engagement of industry stakeholders, from owners to suppliers, from employees to customers. The Sustainable business model is still in its infancy and there is a long journey ahead, so let’s be positive and Let’s Get Engaged! READ MORE

Diana K. Bulger

In response to the nation’s Honeybee shortage and as part of the hotel’s environmental stewardship program, Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown welcomed 105,000 Italian honeybees to their new home in May of 2009. The rooftop of Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown is abuzz with four large honey beehives and their ecologically important residents. The bees enhance the hotel’s culinary program, as does its interior courtyard garden which provides fresh herbs, edible blossoms, plants, trees and flowers to the surrounding Georgetown neighborhood. READ MORE

Don Shindle

The hospitality industry has seen significant change as green initiatives and sustainability have taken a more prominent role in today’s world and in the consciousness of our guests and our staff. Hotel operators across the globe are held increasingly accountable to a “worldwide global citizenship” standard. This is a term that our team fully embraces here at The Westin Verasa Napa. We understand how significant this responsibility is and the importance of sustainability on a long-term basis. As a community leader, we are committed to positively contributing to our environmental well-being now and in our future endeavors. READ MORE

Pamela Parsons

Sustainable design makes a difference. The national government believes it, corporations believe it, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg believes it, and hoteliers are beginning to believe it. But do hotel guests really think it matters? In the forward to Hotel, Design, Planning and Development, by Penner, Adams, and Robson, architect Michael Graves opines that architects and designers “believe that guests appreciate the healthful aspects of environmentally responsible places, as much as they appreciate good design.” This assumption is, at least in part, the driving force behind the growth in green hotels. READ MORE

Coming Up In The June Online Hotel Business Review


Feature Focus
New Trends in Hotel Architecture and Design
On any hotel design project, architects are generally serving at least three masters - the owner/developer, the hotel operator, and the general public who will utilize the hotel - and each have their own goals, objectives and demands. The owner/developer is concerned with brand standards, the target market and the hotel's locale, while the operator is concerned about achieving the highest possible revenue through efficient design. The public is demanding that architecture and design be fully integrated into the guest experience, based on prevailing tastes and preferences. The architect's role is to respond professionally and efficiently to meet the demands of all and to develop a unified solution. Though each project has its own prerequisites and obligations, there are some general design trends which seem to be prevalent across the industry. First, there is an increased emphasis on the importance of the lobby. The principle here is that first impressions matter and that a hotel has only a few minutes to convince a guest that they have made the right decision. Hotel lobbies are being completely re-imagined - from eliminating front desks altogether to turning lobbies into warm, intimate social spaces, replete with fireplaces and comfortable furniture. There is also an increasing use of ambient natural light, even in large spaces like ballrooms and meeting rooms. In addition, there is greater emphasis on incorporating the distinctive attributes of any given location into the hotel design, which guests are defining as central to their experiences. The June issue of the Hotel Business Review will report on all these exciting developments in the fields of architecture and design.
In this issue...
Experiential Design Across All Sectors
By Ellis Katz, Principal, John Portman & Associates
Challenges of Contemporary Design in Historic Buildings
By Gary Meadows, President, HCI Architecture, Inc.
Ideal Meeting Spaces Should Offer Flexibility, Flexibility and Then Some
By Ronald M. Lustig, Design Architect/Principal, Earl Swensson Associates, Inc.
The Hotel Lobby
By Jennifer Skaife, Senior Associate, DiLeonardo
PLUS: Keeping an Eye on the Return on Design; Check In To the Future; L'AND Vineyards Wine Resort; How to Preserve Architectural Detail; Catering to Women in Hotel Design; Sustainability Retrofits, and much more.