Environmentalism/Sustainability

The lodging industry's commitment to sustainability may have been side-lined for the most part in 2009, but "green" hotel projects are expected to be a high priority in the year ahead. Green operators discuss the top strategies and innovations that are working for them, plus some insight into future eco-friendly innovations.

Working toward a more sustainable Baltimore, Veolia Energy adds the cutting-edge system and its 50 customers, representing over 11.5 million square feet to its growing networks.

Low heat emitting Sentina uSign displays feature recycled plastic frames and are ideal for virtually any hospitality environment that needs to constantly update their consumer messaging.

Together, financial incentives and consumer demand are likely to encourage the hospitality industry to continue developing more environmentally-friendly hotels, resorts, spas and convention centers. Deloitte briefly summarizes the risks and rewards for those that choose to build more sustainably.

The new exhibit invites guests to discover the possibilities of building a smarter planet. Powered by IBM's Smarter Data Center, the exhibit provides a real-life demonstration of optimized computing that reduces energy costs by up to 25 percent.

Although the National Retail Federation Big Show is primetime for retail technology vendors, hospitality operators shouldn't be fooled. Mixed in-between the many retail offerings, NRF attendees could find booth after booth of hospitality-applicable products. HT offers this recap of NRF's top news and technology demonstrations.

Green Key is a program that ranks, certifies and inspects hotels and resorts based on their commitment to sustainable "green" practices; the Accor North America pilot will involve 20 properties.

Designed to withstand challenging conditions such as high heat, dust and 24x7 operations, the OptiPlex XE delivers on Dell's commitment to purpose-built solutions more directly connected with customer needs.