CSR and Sustainability

🏨 Raines to open The Lantern Hotel Columbia, a 59-key boutique hotel in Columbia, South Carolina, by Fall 2025. Located in the Vista neighborhood near the University of South Carolina, the hotel will reuse The Columbia Central Fire Station. Kevin Johnson, a USC alumnus, will design the restaurant, Ladder 13. The project partners with USC’s hospitality program and CarolinaLIFE, providing career paths for students with disabilities. The Lantern Rock Hill will open in Fall 2026.

📊 November 2023, SilverDoor launches a free Carbon Calculator covering 20,000 units across 27 countries. Demand for sustainability data rises, with clients prioritizing accommodations offering carbon emissions reporting. The tool helps analyze carbon footprints, comparing emissions from serviced apartments versus hotels using Cornell's Benchmarking Index. Clients can view CO2e data, explore savings, and assess sustainability features. Siân Ellis, Sustainable Procurement Lead, highlights emissions data as vital for Scope 3 reporting and business operations.

📈 Amadeus and the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance are expanding their Employability Program to boost youth employment. Starting April, 200 young people in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi will benefit from skills training. The program, active also in Egypt and Sri Lanka, has already impacted over 6,000 graduates. Amadeus provides financial support and mentoring. This collaborative initiative aims to dismantle employment barriers, especially for women, and promote inclusivity in the hospitality sector.

📆 2025 Forum, Oxford Belfry: Record attendance with 18 exhibitors and 80+ delegates from 25 organizations. Trending in tableware: seaside blue, sage green, and sustainability. Despite early 2025 economic challenges, optimism rises. Q1 was slow for orders, but summer shows improvement. LET Forum Awards, May 20th, raised £1,500 for Hospitality Action. FEA, organizer, represents nearly 200 companies in foodservice equipment.

📍 London, 2025: The Wesley, a London-based hotel group, secures Green Key Accreditation for its commitment to sustainability. Evaluated on 13 aspects, including energy and waste management, they also achieved two Carbon Certifications for reducing emissions and staff engagement. The Wesley operates two central London hotels: The Wesley Euston, with 100 rooms, and The Wesley Camden, a 38-room boutique, opened in December 2022 after an £11 million conversion.

🏨 Amadeus partnered with WSHA in April, launching a pilot Employability Program in India with Kherwadi, targeting 200 underprivileged youth in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi. The initiative, operational in India, Egypt, and Sri Lanka, has empowered over 6,000 young people with hospitality skills. Amadeus contributes financially and through employee volunteering, mentoring, and software training. WSHA, with 66,000 hotels and 300 brands, aims for a "Net Positive" hospitality sector.

🏨 In Lille, Oceania Hotels transformed a historic Art Deco bank into the Hotel & Spa Oceania Les Augustins 4*. This first low-carbon hotel in Lille features 87 rooms and an 8x4m stainless steel pool. It received the BBCA low-carbon label, using local flax insulation and reusing materials. The spa retains original vault safes, and the restaurant, led by Jayson Clément, serves sustainable dishes. The hotel includes coworking spaces and modular meeting rooms.

🏆 Accor, in October 2024 in Paris, celebrated the Olympics with a bold marketing initiative by having gold medalist Kauli Vaast surf on the Seine under the Eiffel Tower, just three days post his Tahiti win. This 36-hour event, supported by the Games Organising Committee and Paris, garnered over 5 million views worldwide, aligning with Accor's values. Additionally, OKKO Hotels partnered with Ameublement Français to launch sustainable room designs, while The People Hostels & We Love Green festival collaboration reached 8.3 million people.

🍺 Beyond Belief Brewing Co, a sustainable brewery, will offer its Zenith Pasta IPA in 400 Sainsbury's stores nationwide from June 16. Their innovative process replaces 50% of traditional malt with surplus pasta, reducing food waste and saving 1.35L of water per liter of beer. The 440ml can is priced at £3.25 with 5% ABV. The brewery collaborates with Dell’Ugo and aims to expand using other waste, like bakery products, for new brews.

📍 Scandic Hotels plans to open a new hotel in Uppsala's Södra City district by Q2 2028. The hotel will feature amenities like a 100-square-meter gym and a large restaurant, and aims for LEED Platinum and Nordic Swan Ecolabel certifications. Construction starts in autumn 2025. The development, part of a mixed-use building, aligns with Scandic’s Nordic expansion strategy and aims to benefit from Uppsala's growth as Sweden's fourth-largest hotel market.