CSR and Sustainability

🏦 Caption by Hyatt Downtown Nashville – The Gulch opened in Nashville, Tennessee, offering 210 rooms, 2,200 square feet of meeting space, and Café Between—an all-day coffee and cocktail lounge. Developed by HRI Hospitality and C. B. Ragland Company, the hotel is managed by HRI Lodging, LLC, and includes a fitness center and spaces for socializing. The brand has also seen global expansion with openings in Osaka, Japan, and Shanghai, China, and anticipates future openings in Sydney, Australia, and Tokyo, Japan. The Nashville location embraces local culture with Nashville-inspired décor and technology like self-service check-in kiosks, digital keys, and streaming TV. Sustainability efforts include a rainwater harvesting system. HRI Hospitality co-owns the property with C.B. Ragland and Peachtree Group, designed by Hastings Architecture with interiors by Studio 11, constructed by JE Dunn.

📝 Equality in Tourism's Gender Equality Champion of the Year Award, in its third edition, was announced on International Women’s Day at ITB Berlin. The 2024 award honored Accor Brazil’s Embrace Program in Accommodation for aiding domestic abuse survivors and Eternal Landscapes Mongolia in Travel & Destinations for supporting female workforce development. NH Hotel Group was the runner-up. Applications for the 2025 award, aimed at advancing gender equality in tourism in line with UNWTO’s 2030 Agenda, close on January 20, 2025. Winners will be celebrated at ITB Berlin in March.

🏢 Chris Tucker became CEO of NEWH, Inc. and NEWH Canada, Inc. on November 1, 2024. She succeeds previous CEO Shelia Lohmiller, who is now Chair Emerita/Founder. Tucker, with over 35 years in interior design, also handed over her role as President of NEWH Canada, Inc. to Tara Witt. NEWH has over 30 chapters globally, has given $9.3 million in scholarships over 40 years, and was co-founded by Lohmiller in 1984. The headquarters remains in Shawano, Wisconsin, with Tucker operating from Toronto.

🌎 Preferred Travel Group launched its Climate Action Plan, partnering with the Travel Foundation to halve its carbon emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050. The plan, building on the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, focuses on five key pathways: Measure, Decarbonize, Regenerate, Collaborate, and Finance. CEO Lindsey Ueberroth emphasizes travel's responsibility to the planet. In collaboration with ecollective, the company conducted a baseline emissions inventory, aligning objectives with global climate frameworks, and identified actions for practical implementation. By 2025, they aim to refine policies and engage associates to foster a sustainable culture, with a focus on Scope 3 emissions from business travel and events.

🌳 Hinter plants 10 trees for each guest through a non-profit partnership, costing just $1/tree. The company also runs the hinter planet newsletter, and their spaces serve as showrooms for local artisans. They offer a membership with 20% off stays, exclusive merchandise, and premium content. Hinter charges management/marketing fees of 30-40%, and is planning a 15-unit landscape hotel project in Vermont.

🌏 Preferred Travel Group, in partnership with the Travel Foundation, launches a Climate Action Plan to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050. Key pathways are Measure, Decarbonize, Regenerate, Collaborate, and Finance. A baseline emissions inventory and a situation analysis kick-start the plan, with objectives aligned to the Paris Agreement and Glasgow Declaration. By 2025, the company aims to implement operational actions and strategic initiatives to reduce its environmental impact, focusing on business travel and events to tackle Scope 3 emissions.

🌎 Preferred Travel Group, in partnership with the Travel Foundation and ecollective, launched its Climate Action Plan to cut its carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2050. Building on the Glasgow Declaration, the plan follows five pathways: Measure, Decarbonize, Regenerate, Collaborate, and Finance. The company conducted a baseline emissions inventory, set objectives aligned with the Paris Agreement and Glasgow Declaration, and prioritized actions for strategic implementation. By 2025, priorities include enhancing emissions tracking and refining travel and event policies to reduce Scope 3 emissions.