Hilton announces headquarters in Tysons Corner, VA is LEED Gold certified.

Hilton has moved its corporate location to a LEED Certified Gold  Building. Every building certified LEEDS is one step closer…. My hats off to Hilton!!!

Hilton Hotels Corporation announced today August 2, 2009, the opening of its new global headquarters at Park Place II in the Tysons Corner area of McLean in Fairfax County, VA  from Beverly Hills, CA.  We welcome Hilton to the Commonwealth.” Hilton’s global headquarters is LEED Gold certified, meeting one of the highest environmental standards for design, construction and operation. The company owns, manages or franchises some of the best known and highly regarded hotel brands including Hilton®, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hilton Grand Vacations™, Homewood Suites by Hilton®, the Waldorf Astoria™ and the Waldorf Astoria Collection™, as well as the recently launched Home2 Suites by Hilton™. The company also manages the world-class guest reward program Hilton HHonors®. The Hilton Family of Hotels adheres to founder Conrad Hilton’s philosophy that, “It has been, and continues to be, our responsibility to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality.” The company put a name to its unique brand of service that has made it the best known and most highly regarded hotel company: be hospitable®. The philosophy is shared by all brands in the Hilton Family of Hotels, and is the inspiration for its overarching message of kindness and generosity. For more information about the company, please visit www.hiltonfamily.com. Contacts Hilton Hotels Corporation Ellen Gonda, 703-883-1000 ellen.gonda@hilton.com

 

Green Inside and Out

At my last count Central Florida touts over 100 golf courses. Certainly that has to be one of the reasons why so much of our landscape here is green . . .  we surely have enough rain to keep them watered in the summers!  Many of our hotels and resorts offer courses to keep the avid golfer busy.
One of our local certified green resorts is the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort and Convention Center http://tinyurl.com/5uqyvw located just outside the gates of Walt Disney World and boasts a par 72 championship caliber course. This resort also offers one of the areas great swimming pools (my kids favorite), tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts. An organic steak in Hawk’s Landing Steakhouse & Grille is something you just don’t want to miss—simply saying we enjoyed it would be an understatement. Local hint (their ice creams are homemade and perfect after a warm summer day).

 

Travel Green Paris to Miami on American Airlines

Travel Green Paris to Miami

American Airlines is taking green technology to new levels in order to ensure carbon emissions are reduced and fuel is saved. Conducted with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE), this normally scheduled Paris to Miami flight used a Boeing 767-300 aircraft. American Airlines plans to prove that trans-Atlantic flights, a source of significant global CO2 emissions, can be operated a bit greener and leaner.
In 2009, American has a goal to save 120 million gallons of jet fuel and reduce its carbon emissions by 2.5 billion pounds. I can’t wait to hear the outcome of the tests by the FAA.  Let’s hear it for American Airlines!!  YAY!!

 

Yay for The Sunshine State

Living in Florida offers many advantages. We live year round in a location that most people save all year long just so they can visit for a week.  Our landscape is beautiful, and our state legislature has adopted many policies to keep it that way by greening up the State of Florida.  For instance when traveling, all government employees must stay in green hotels and–for over a year now–all state government meetings must be held at designated green hotels. If the government is making these moves I have to wonder why as citizens we don’t do the same. Personally I have started searching for awesome green properties in my state and I am pleased to announce we have many. I might as well start at the top, so here we go:

The Breakers in Palm Beach  http://tinyurl.com/mn4yme was originally built by Henry Flagler and is hands down one of the most elegant properties we have in our sunshine state. This is an example of some of The Breakers green improvements:

Energy Conservation  
 * Retrograde light bulbs in the resort’s public areas 
 * Energy Star rated electronics and appliances

Water Conservation   
 * Deep water well and water plant, located on the property, to convert undrinkable water to irrigation water for the Ocean Golf Course
 * Low-flow toilets throughout the resort

Waste Reduction
 * Recycling containers located throughout the property
 * 30% post-consumer recycled content products used throughout the resort

Clean Air Practices
 * Use of environmentally preferable cleaners
 * UVC devices in air-handlers to eradicate bacteria, viruses and mold

 

When in Rome . . .

“When in Rome do as the Romans do” is something we have heard for years but what does that have to do with green travel? It simply means that when you are local, you should be a local. Shopping, playing, and dining local–means less fuel is used to travel—therefore– less waste is generated.  Whatever city you visit look for the local farmers markets, art shows, and local concerts by radio stations. Use them as a stepping stones to ask the local residents where the best restaurants in town are. Certainly they will know the best places to shop, play, and eat and most people are happy to share their finds with you. Not only will you will be supporting local commerce you will end up with a far more pleasant experience.

 

Travel Green With Reusable Maps

Rand McNally FabMaps are printed on microfibre cloths and are waterproof. Handy maps you can also use to clean your glasses, iPod, camera lens, or anything else. Just tuck it in your pocket, and it’s ready to use anytime since these maps not dependent on Internet access or a GPS signal.  Prices start from $5.95.   Watch this cute little video.

 

Is Eco Travel Green Travel?

That is a question that is often on my mind. No one has ever accused me of being a naturalist or outdoors sort of gal.  Bugs, snakes, and most other creepy crawly critters scare me. My idea of fun would not include a hike in a rain forest somewhere—that would be more like my personal episode of Fear Factor. When I travel—which I do often—I typically like to stay in a hotel that is at least as comfortable as my own bed. Special circumstances can outweigh that decision, but admittedly I prefer the finer things in life.  I am also conscience of my surroundings and want to do what I can to leave a smaller carbon footprint.  So, how can I accomplish both of my goals of traveling in comfort and not make a large impact on the environment?  Can I travel green wherever I go? Or do I have to go to a wildlife sanctuary in India so I feel as though I am traveling green? What about a trip to Disney World? Can I visit the mouse and not add to the landfill? I believe green travel can be accomplished anywhere . . . anytime . . . stay tuned and I’ll show you how.

 

Green Travel Made Easy

These few travel tips will not inconvenience you but they will help lower your carbon footprint. Really folks, it’s not that hard to do the right thing.

Pack light you’ll save on extra airline baggage fees, and lower aircraft weight means it burns less fuel and emits less toxic gases into the air. Both Mother Earth and your sore back will be much happier!

Purchase a set of empty travel-size bottles and fill them with your favorite shampoo, conditioner, lotions and other products. If you are traveling with a baby purchase the already filled travel size baby shampoos, lotions, and oils, and refill when necessary. All of these bottles can be used on multiple trips so you’ll quickly recoupe the cost to buy them and then it will cost less in the future. Just think about all the disposable bottles staying out of landfills.

Get around town by walking, biking or using public transportation. If that isn’t possible rent a hybrid car.  You will lower your carbon footprint and the overall cost will be less.

Reuse your towels at least once…you would at home! Yes, it lowers the cost for the hotel but more importantly fewer resources are needed to wash that towel.

Turn off or unplug any appliances when not in use and don’t leave the light on when you leave your hotel room. Many people look at hotel rooms as “it’s just a rental” and don’t think about the use of electricity since they don’t actually pay the power bill for the room. Just remember that we only have one Mother Earth and what you do affects everyone. . . including me.

See how easy it can be?

 

A Towel a Day Keeps Mother Earth at Play!

What is it about being away from home that makes you and me act differently? For instance when I am home I will use one bath towel several times . . .  but in a hotel room it seems different somehow. I will use several towels a day. Why? It seems silly but somehow I feel as though I am getting more value for my money. That is just one example of wasteful traveling. I have tightened my belt buckle and have seen the error of my ways. It is my hope that by reading my blogs you will also see the light and it will be a fluorescent bulb!

Here a just few simple changes that you can incorporate in your daily travel routine that will make a world of difference: First of all, act as though you are at home. It will surprise you how much you stop wasting resources. Turn the A/C up or the heat down when you leave the room. It only takes a few minutes to make the temperature comfortable once again upon your return. Turn off the lights when you leave . . . it is amazingly easy to turn them back once you enter the room.

 

Going Green:Making Lemonade out of Lemons

Making Lemonade out of Lemons

Atlantis Submarines in Barbados took a great opportunity with the extra time they had due to the economic downturn–they made it pay off for them and our Mother Earth.

Atlantis Submarines in Barbados has received a double award from Green Certification in alliance with Green Globe International making them the very  first attraction to receive the new combined award in the Caribbean. 

Guests dive to depths of at least 130 feet on the authentic submarines while exploring the natural reef off the west coast of Barbados.

It’s time for other companies to jump on this bandwagon. Way to go Atlantis Submarines! You truly made lemonade out of our economic lemons!

Look at the beautiful coral reef they are working on to preserve.

Brain Coral Rain Coral
Photographer: Leigh Weatherhead

A Blenny peeks out from a starlet coral. Blennies (Family Clinidae) are usually difficult to spot as they change colours to blend in with their backgrounds, and usually only their heads are visible. Each individual corallite of the starlet coral (Siderastrea sp) can be clearly seen.

Magnificent Feather Duster
Photographer: Ramon Roach

Feather Duster living amongst a colony of Yellow Pencil Coral. The Magnificent Feather Duster (Sabellastarte magnifica) is a sessile (stationary) marine segmented tube worm. The flexible tube, which is composed of glued-together fine sand, is hidden within a colony of Yellow Pencil Coral (Madracis mirabilis). The head of the worm is encircled by   radioles which serve a dual purpose; they act as gills and capture plankton for food.

Green Turtle
Photographer: Gregory Sealy

A Green Turtle nestled within a coral reef. The Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), the largest of all hard shelled sea turtles is listed as threatened in the Caribbean. It is unique in that it is herbivorous, feeding primarily on a diet of algae and sea grass, which gives its fat a greenish hue. Green turtles are observed regularly close to shore; however their nesting population numbers less than five.

Fuzzy Pillar Coral
Photographer: André Miller

A tube worm lives within a pillar coral colony. The Pillar Coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) is one of the few hard corals in which the tentacles of the polyps are extended during the daytime, giving the animal a fuzzy appearance.