NEW YORK—The panelist lineup for the three green sessions that will be part of the inaugural HX: The Hotel Experience (formerly International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show) has been finalized. The three sessions will take place over three days during HX, November 8 to 10, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
Planned for Sunday, November 8 from noon to 12:45 p.m. is “The Numbers Behind the Trends—Gauging Traveler/Hotelier Reaction to the Greening of Lodging.” As awareness of sustainability has grown among business and leisure travelers in recent years, hoteliers increasingly have put green practices in place to reduce their environmental impact, increase profitability, and have a positive impact on their communities. Knowing exactly what green practices appeal to business and leisure travelers and how they react to them, and specifically what best practices hoteliers are adopting and finding of most value has been a challenge. The travel industry’s leading experts, representing STR (Smith Travel Research), Cornell University and Greenview will share research they have conducted that will shed light on consumer and hotelier reaction to sustainability trends in recent years. The experts will also make predictions for 2020. The moderator will be Glenn Hasek, Publisher & Editor, Green Lodging News. Panelists will include: Steve Hood, Senior Vice President of Research for STR; Eric Ricaurte, Founder & CEO, Greenview; and Rohit Verma, Ph.D, Executive Director, Cornell Institute for Healthy Futures.
On Monday, November 9 from 2:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., the session, “C-Level Strategy—What’s Driving Lodging’s Leading Companies to Invest in Sustainability”, will be held. For people, planet, profit? Or, another reason? C-level representatives of some of lodging’s leading companies and hotels will explain their companies’ rationale for investing in sustainability. Is the ROI measurable? In regard to energy, water and waste it certainly is, but how do you measure the goodwill that is created among investors, employees, meeting planners, guests and other stakeholders? Panelists will explain why making sustainability a part of a company’s DNA is a smart strategy and give specific examples of initiatives that have worked very well. The moderator for the session will be Glenn Hasek, Publisher & Editor, Green Lodging News. Panelists will include: Faith Taylor, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Wyndham Worldwide; Michael Laas, Corporate Director of Impact, SH Group (for 1 Hotels); and Maxime Verstraete, Vice President Sustainability & ADA Compliance at Hilton Worldwide.
Innovation in the Laundry
On Tuesday, November 10, from 10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m., the session, “You Want Me to Do What?…in the Laundry?”, will be held. Advances in technology—controls innovations, higher extract speeds, water recycling, ozonation, even the use of polymer beads by one supplier—have made it easy to cut wash and dry times while saving energy, water and chemicals. Meanwhile, at least two major suppliers have rolled out chemical programs that allow one to wash in colder temperatures—without sacrificing linen quality. What makes the most sense for your laundry operation? Don’t miss what is expected to be a “heated” debate among lodging’s leading suppliers. Expect to walk away with a “laundry” list of ways to reduce your hotel’s environmental impact. The moderator for the session will be Glenn Hasek, Publisher & Editor, Green Lodging News. Panelists will include: Bob Beddingfield, President, Water Energy Technologies and Laundry Consulting; John Rasimas, Regional Sales Manager, Pellerin Milnor Corp.; Jonathan Benjamin, President, Global Commercial Laundry, Xeros Technology Group plc.; and Chris Gaunt, NA Hospitality Sales Leader, P&G Professional.
The three green sessions will take place on the show floor of the Javits Center in a new area called HX: ONSTAGE.
HX registration, which includes access to all HX educational sessions, is $30 through October 12 and $50 after October 12.
Ticketed events include the HX Opening Reception on Saturday, November 7 and the almost sold out 35th Gold Key Awards Gala on Monday evening, November 9, at the Waldorf Astoria, NYC.
Attendee registration, travel arrangements and all other event information can be found on the HX website at www.thehotelexperience.us.
