March 14, 2013
Dear Boston Green Tourism Members,      

Please note that in the earlier version of this newsletter, I mistakenly said that the next meeting would be on March 22. It will be on March 21. (As always, our meeting will be on a Thursday.)

Sorry for the confusion.

The newsletter below is identical to the one I distributed yesterday.                                         

 

Our next Boston Green Tourism meeting will be Thursday March 21 from 2:30 to 4:00 at Westin Copley Place's Turner Fisheries Restaurant & Bar, in the Ipswich Harbor Room. Directions are here.

Thank you to our hosts: Glenn Ralfs, Rob Vass and Willie Garcia.   

 

Dan Ruben 

SPEAKERS
Jeffrey Long, Enterprise Solutions Sales Engineer, Schneider Electric          
Brian Ricci, Strategic Accounts Manager Hotels, Eastern U.S., Schneider Electric

Jeffrey and Brian will discuss the value of energy and water metering for hotels. They will show us how dashboards allow hoteliers to  effectively and proactively manage their energy consumption. Sophisticated energy information systems like this help hotels detect problems in real time and develop their long tern strategy.                                            





Tim Ericson, Co-founder and CEO of Zagster, will discuss bike-sharing and bike-rental   
for hotels. Zagster is like Zipcar for bicycles. It complements Hubway, because Hubway
is for short trips and Zagster is for longer ones.

Last year, Zagster started a partnership with Hyatt Regency Cambridge, enabling the hotel to offer its guests on-site bicycles.

Kevin Lubinger, Program Manager, Energy Efficiency, NSTAR Electric and Gas, will
discuss the 2013 Mass Save program incentives.       
NEWS

TripAdvisor's new hotel certification program is expected to have a strong influence on the U.S. and international lodging industry.  

 

Their Director of Responsible Travel, Jenny Rushmore said, "The program allows [hotels] committed to green practices to promote their credentials to a potential audience of [over] 60 million unique monthly visitors...and help those who are environmentally conscious plan their perfect trip."     

 

The program is free. Hotels apply for certification  by meeting six prerequisites and scoring at least 30% on the 30-page survey. The application is on TripAdvisor's website.  

 

Certified properties, "will be awarded a GreenLeader badge on TripAdvisor, and their green practices will be showcased on their property page."

 

Best Western, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group and Fairmont have already announced their participation. At least one of them is organizing their green team program to focus on the TripAdvisor checklist.  

 

I think that it's worthwhile to review the checklist, whether or not your property applies for certification. However, other hotel green checklists are more comprehensive.

 

BGT hotels are in a great position to be recognized as GreenLeaders. I encourage you to apply! If you want my free help to boost your score, please contact me.

 

Jenny Rushmore, TripAdvisor's will discuss the program at an upcoming BGT meeting.


Onyx Hotel and Seaport Hotel Earn MLA's Good Earthkeeping Award!
The Massachusetts Lodging Association recognized the hotels at their annual Stars of the Industry event. Congratulations to the Onyx and Seaport green team leaders and members.
IDEAS
Prevent Food Waste and Cut Your Bills                                      
When restaurants discard the food they purchase, it costs them in two ways: they paid too much for the food, and they increased their waste hauling fees. It harms the environment, too, because much energy, water, land and chemicals are needed to produce and transport food, and to dispose of food waste.

Many U.S. institutions are addressing this issue, and finding that they can cut 2%
to 4% from their food purchasing budgets. Their strategies include carefully tracking their food waste, analyzing the data, getting input from staff and setting goals. 

LeanPath offers an automated food waste tracking system that helps food services identify areas of opportunity. I recommend their publication, A Short Guide to Food Waste Management Best Practices.

I am scheduling LeanPath's CEO, Andrew Shakman, to speak at a 2013 BGT meeting. 
OPPORTUNITIES

2013 Buy Local Food Trade Show and Seminar 

Does your hotel restaurant want to find an easier way to purchase Massachusetts and New England grown food? If so, consider attending this event on March 19, 7:30am-12:30pm at the Seaport Hotel and World Trade Center.  

 

The show will facilitate connections and stimulate trade between local buyers and sellers of specialty crop food products. Producers from throughout New England and specifically Massachusetts will discuss the opportunity to tap into this market.

 

Building Operators Certification Course

Several local hotel engineers have taken this 7-day course, and have spoken highly of it. The course "offers facilities personnel the improved job skills and knowledge to transform workplaces to be more comfortable, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly." 

 

To learn more, attend an informational webcast on April 3 from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm.    

 

Securing Structures Against Climate Change

This event will help Boston commercial property owners and managers make their facilities more resilient to flooding. It will take place on April 9 from 7:30 am to 9:30 am at the office of Edwards Wildman Palmer, LLC on 111 Huntington Ave.
ARTICLES
Properties Lining Up Activities for Earth Hour, Earth Day   
Credit to earthtimes.org
                        
Glenn Hasek, Green Lodging News, March 9.

Will your hotel celebrate Earth Hour (March 23 at 8:30) or Earth Day (April 22) this year? If you are looking for ideas, read this article and the two websites. 

Arthur Weissman, Hotels, March 8.
2013 MEETINGS   

March 21: Westin Copley Place 

May 9

June 20  

August 1

September 12

October 24

December 5

 

See you March 21 at Westin Copley Place!