Intelligence
Canada hotels record first occupancy decline in three months
After three consecutive months of year-over-year increases, Canada’s hotel industry recorded a decline in occupancy, according to CoStar’s July 2024 data.
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HAC and AHLA form partnership to expand Green Key Global in Canada and the United States
The Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) have signed a Letter of Intent to form a joint venture company that will own and operate the Green Key Global certification program in Canada and the United States.
The announcement, made at the Lodging Conference in Phoenix, represents a pivotal moment for environmental action in the hotel industry.
Green Key Global is a North American environmental certification body for the hotel and lodging industry. Green Key’s certification criteria are recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and aligned with all 17 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Properties receive an eco-rating through a rigorous assessment and audit process that measures hotel performance in a number of key areas including energy and water conservation, land use, hazardous and solid waste management, air quality and more.
The program and resources offered by Green Key Global leverage an organization’s sustainability initiatives across properties and brands to increase occupancy, provide cost savings, and reduce its carbon footprint—as well as align with corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.
Pending all necessary approvals, HAC and AHLA will form a joint-venture company in early 2024 that will operate under the name Green Key Global to expand the success of the program in Canada into the U.S. hotel market. This will build upon AHLA’s Responsible Stay initiative, launched in December 2022, which aligned AHLA member companies’ commitment around four key pillars of sustainability: energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and responsible sourcing.
HAC created the Green Key Global initiative in 1994 as a certifying body for hotels in Canada and abroad. The Green Key Eco-Rating Program has since achieved wide adoption across Canada, due to its ease of use and its tailored approach to improving the sustainability of hotel operations.
