HIP’s July 2008 Investor Roundtable featured a mix of travel and hospitality innovators:
- Samara Diapoulos of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts shared the company’s history of pioneering green hotel management practices (and their green guide for hotels, used by Cornell’s Hospitality School), as well as the cost savings realized through increased energy efficiency and waste reduction at their properties.
- Damien Keller explained how Orchard Garden Hotel built their property to LEED new-construction certification standards which has benefited the health of their staff and guests.
- Kirsten Mecklenburg of Deloitte described the consulting giant’s efforts to reduce the impact of its client-driven travel (e.g. using Cisco’s TelePresence systems; refusing turn-down service at hotels to save energy) with its “Travel Less, Travel Green” program, which has increasing participation firmwide.
Entrepreneurs, industry experts, and MBA students joined institutional, accredited and everyday investors, who all networked socially and professionally – and asked probing questions of the innovators.
The discussion also hosted innovative ventures like:
* Miss Green Jeans, a green hospitality and meeting consultancy, who discovered that a fleet of Priuses is both cheaper and more eco-friendly than a typical group bus.
* Exquisite Safaris, philanthropic travel organizers and advisors, who regulary bundle philanthropy visits and donations to on-site non-profits during international client vacations.
Listen to the presentation and see HIP’s PowerPoint (with audio from the roundtable):
Also, please feel free to ask questions of the HIP Team and/or other participants and post below.
Outstanding program!
Thanks again for the invitation to collaborate.
The Exquisite Safaris Philanthropic Travel experience integrates indigenous local culture into every personalized luxury trip we recommend. These personal introductions create authentic cross cultural friendships that generate trust, respect, and generous donations funding philanthropic travel projects worldwide.
Excellent and insightful presentation of data on the worldwide travel/hospitality industry (10% of global GDP!), it was eye-opening to see the scale of the industry – and some indicators of its environmental impact.
Kudos for then showcasing the best practices of innovators/leaders in eco-travel that can reduce this environmental impact. And for introducing a new word into my vocabulary – “staycations”!