August 7, 2010—CHICAGO—Many aspects of the industry have started to "go green," but nowhere is it more evident than in the meetings business. As such, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts—in the second phase of its Green Happens campaign launched last year— is rolling out a new initiative to bring environmental awareness to meeting planning.

Called "Meet and Be Green," the campaign encompasses the entire meeting process, and encourages planners to use it by offering discounted rates.

The core of the program, which went live earlier this summer, is a set of 10 core pledges Hyatt has put together as its primary focus. In exchange for adhering to these points, the organization will receive a 3 percent discount off of the master account.

The pledge points for the program, according to Jack Horne, senior vice president of sales, North America, can be substituted on a case-by-case basis if planners request it. They include recycling during the meeting and using products with 100-percent recycled content. Additionally, printing materials locally, minimizing shipping and placing meeting materials—such as handouts, notepads, pens, etc.—in a central location so attendees can take as needed are part of the program. Maintaining room temperatures at an appropriate level, eliminating disposable water bottles and minimizing the use of other disposable products such as plates, cups, napkins and utensils; as well as selecting locally grown seasonal foods when planning the menu and planning ahead for the meeting are also included in the primary list of program points.

Right now, the "Meet and Be Green" program is focused on short-term meeting planning. However, according to Horne, the hotels will adapt the package and incentives for multi-meeting and longer-term meeting programs for those customers who are interested. Hyatt is committed to showing customers that its service is "better than ever," said Horne, and that the recession hasn't effected that part of the business. In fact, Hyatt has a "meeting promise" that if any part of the event doesn't go flawlessly, the company will pay for that portion of the meeting in the current event, as well as the next booked event for the organization.

According to Horne, this was a good time to "bring [sustainability] to the forefront of people's minds again," with the gulf oil spill and other environmental concerns dominating the news. The foundation of the program is to partner with its customers to create a more environmentally friendly overall company, with, said Horne, some of the responsibility falling on the hotel, and some on the customers and guests. This blends into Hyatt's overall strategy for sustainability, with Horne noting that, "We have green teams at every hotel around the world." Snce Meet and Be Green was only a few weeks old at press time, the feedback has been minimal so far.

But Horne noted that the customers he has spoken to personally thus far have all been very positive about the campaign. To date, six meetings have been booked under the program at locations around the country. The incentive is available to all meetings booked from now until December 2010, for meetings to be held by March 2011.

Overall, the meeting business has been improving, Horne noted, saying that in the second quarter, Hyatt is seeing this part of the business improve every month. The "new normal," he said, is for planners to book only two to three weeks out, and he doesn't foresee that changing any time soon. However, while the lead time will remain short, in his opinion, the overall meeting business is going to pick up in the next 6-12 months.