NATIONAL REPORT—For those who specify and/or purchase fabric for items such as furniture and draperies, options that include recycled content have been around for a long time. Over the last year, however, fabric suppliers have increased the number of “green” options they offer. Today, it is easy to find polyester fabric made from yarn derived from recycled plastic bottles. Sustainable fabric made from natural fibers is also quite common. While the price point for some sustainable fabrics can be higher, some vendors are able to offer sustainable lines at the same price as traditional fabrics because of the high volume of yarn that they purchase.

ATLANTA—As the federal government prepares for the presidential transition in January, it will face challenges in dealing with increasingly complex issues and new directives from the Obama administration and the new Congress, especially concerning energy issues. A new report from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) provides a potential roadmap for addressing the nation’s dependence on foreign energy sources and its greenhouse gas emissions while growing the economy. “Buildings are often overlooked as an opportunity to reduce energy consumption and offer an excellent opportunity to achieve national energy goals,” says ASHRAE president Bill Harrison. Buildings are responsible for 40 percent of the United States’ energy consumption.

LEXINGTON, KY.—The 2008 National Tour Assn. (NTA) Annual Convention, held in November in Pittsburgh, set a record for the amount of materials that were recycled from a single show at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The center is the first and largest certified green convention center in the world. Officials at the convention center reported that everyone who attended the NTA Convention helped to recycle 9.435 tons of material. The figure includes nearly 3.465 tons of composted materials, three tons of cardboard and 2.97 tons of bottles, cans and loose paper. Additionally, 123,500 gallons of water was reclaimed. In addition to being the highest amount recycled from one event, the total represents 49 percent of all the recycling for the convention center.

JEFFERSON CITY, MO.—The Missouri Hotel and Lodging Assn. has developed a program to certify hotels and other lodging establishments that use sustainable and green business practices. The Certified Green program and its website—www.lodgingmissouri.com—launched on January 1. Missouri's Green Lodging Certification is a pilot project of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources that will be conducted in cooperation with the association to recognize those lodgings that go beyond existing state and federal regulations to insure that their operations have a minimal environmental impact on their local communities.

CHANHASSEN, M INN.—The national hotel chain, AmericInn, announces the environmental recognition of its AmericInn property located in Sarasota, Fla. This hotel location has been honored with a Green Lodging Certificate from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for taking important steps to ensure its hotel environment is eco-friendly for guests. The hotel has also introduced a limited quantity of PURE Allergy-Friendly Rooms, in which every surface, fabric, and air and water are treated for maximum comfort. The Sarasota-located AmericInn has been given this designation for meeting energy efficiency, waste and water reduction and indoor air quality benchmarks set by the FDEP.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is now accepting seminar proposals for the 94th annual International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS), taking place November 7-10, 2009, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Experts are encouraged to share their research and insight at North America’s premier event for the hospitality industry, which attracts some 35,000 trade professionals and 1,000 exhibitors annually. The deadline to submit proposals is March 2, 2009. Proposals focused on timely and trend-driven information, within the areas of lodging ownership and management, consumer travel trends, sustainability and related issues will be given preference. Additional topics of interest include hospitality design, technology, human resources, hotel operations, food and beverage and sales and marketing.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Grosvenor, the international property development, investment and fund management group, is embarking on a $35 million renovation and re-branding of an old Holiday Inn hotel in Chevy Chase, Md. It closed earlier this year and will reopen as a Courtyard by Marriott in the spring of 2009. Grosvenor is seeking a Silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for the newly renovated hotel. The renovation will include expanding the hotel from 214 to 226 rooms and creating 1,500 additional square feet of retail space just north of Saks Jandel with direct access to Wisconsin Avenue. Saks Jandel and other existing retail tenants at the adjacent Chevy Chase Plaza.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Solar Power International announced that its Solar Conference and Expo will be held in Anaheim, Calif., October 27 to 29, 2009 to accommodate the event’s rapid growth. Attendance at what was already the industry’s largest solar conference and expo in North America jumped from 12,500 in 2007 to 23,200 in 2008, according to the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) and Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the show organizers. The new location will be able to meet the increased demand for hotel accommodations, exhibition and meeting space, and will allow the event to deliver a positive experience for all participants while maintaining its reputation for excellence within the industry.

ORLANDO, FLA.—While marketers of travel services may gladly bid adieu to 2008, the year ahead promises to be equally challenging as competition for travelers heightens, according to Peter Yesawich, president and CEO of Ypartnership, a leading marketing, advertising and public relations agency serving travel, leisure and entertainment clients. According to research conducted by Ypartnership, the travel intentions of Americans remain robust with 71 percent of active travel households planning at least one overnight trip during the next six months, the same as one year ago. “Our most recent tracking surveys reveal there is still plenty of demand for travel services in the marketplace for those who are aggressive and clever enough to capture it,” says Yesawich.

CHICAGO—Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in downtown Chicago launched an extensive recycling program and energy conservation program entitled, “When not in use, turn off the juice,” one year ago. A unique effort to compost biodegradable food material has been introduced, and Hyatt Regency McCormick Place bottles its own water at its restaurant, Shor, as well. The hotel’s green program has garnered successful results with the participation of both its entire staff and guests. In the past year, 76 tons of material (equaling 300 cubic yards) has been recycled, approximately 1,500 trees have been saved, and more than three tons of food has been composted.