Airline Food

During the early parts of the decade, the airline industry was suffering. Who better to target than hungry travelers for a little extra revenue? Thus, the industry eliminated free meals and introduced ‘food for purchase’.

“When people are traveling, they may buy food because they are hungry or they may be looking for something to do to pass the time,” said a United spokesman. Airlines took this opportunity to charge willing passengers for inflight treats.

At first, airlines tried experimenting with healthy items; however, the most popular treats were those filled with salt and carbohydrates. “United Airlines tried offering ‘active’ and ‘organic’ snack boxes with high-protein, low-fat and organic items, but ended up donating unused boxes to thousands of food banks before eliminating them from the menu,” says Scott Mccartney, Wall Street Journal writer.

Many food connoisseurs question the nutrition and portions of these inflight meals. “Dr. Pescatore, who practices nutritional medicine in New York, says that in general, airline coach offerings today ‘are terribly unhealthy’, he says. High-calorie sandwiches are packaged with both chips and cookies, for example, and snack boxes are loaded with sugary and salty food at movie-theater prices” writes Mccartney.

Some of these snack boxes can range between 600 – 700 calories. Also, the high salt content further dehydrates passengers traveling long distances. The best option available today is packing your own food. You know exactly what you’re getting for your money!

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Hotels Are Greener Then Ever!

“Going Green” is a movement that has expanded dramatically in the hotel industry and has gone past just switching to florescent bulbs or implanting a linen reuse program. Today, some hotels are going above and beyond in order to be called “the greenest” hotel.

One of the highest standards these hotels can receive is U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification which is not only the toughest but also the rarest - only 64 hotels are certified in the USA. In order to receive this certification the hotel needs to cover all environmental friendly areas such as energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, and stewardship of resources.

The Motel 6 Texas Motor Speedway in Northlake, Texas is the very first economy class hotel to receive to LEED certification, which demonstrates going green does not need to cost more! This Motel 6 has everything from thermal solar power units to drought-resistant native plants for their landscape. They even built the motel with local materials and only certified sustainable wood was used in construction! All of this and the room rate is still only $40.00 per night!

The New Wisconsin Hotel teamed up with Pineapple Hospitality and together they are working towards obtaining the highest LEED gold certification. This boutique-hotel just open last spring and is continuing to push towards more eco-friendly advances in order to reduce their carbon footprint. The hotel uses green amenities such as 100% biodegradable key cards and Tommy Bahama refillable bath dispensers, which eliminates the need for little bottles. Another eco-initiative is the use of only healthy and sustainable cleaning products. All rooms have recycling bins and all bills are printed on recycled paper.

These hotels are paving the way for future eco-friendly hotels- proving saving the environment is not only important for generations to come but it can be easy!

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