Over the past week, The Refinishing Touch has been tipping its hats to several businesses in the hospitality industry that have been demonstrating a commitment to environmental preservation. Not only have we extended praise through our blog series, but we’ve also recently rewarded 29 hospitality companies with the latest installment of our quarterly Sustainability Awards.

The latest chain to set a great example for the industry is none other than the Marriott International, a hospitality giant with $12 billion in revenue across hospitality locations in 74 countries. The Marriot has announced that 75 percent of its furniture, fixtures and equipment budget for fiscal year 2013 will be dedicated to employing the services of suppliers who are part of the MindClick Hospitality Sustainability Performance Index.

The MindClick Index analyzes suppliers in terms of corporate social responsibility, product sustainability efforts and environmentally-friendly operations. Marriott has announced that the index will be an important factor in choosing its future suppliers, in an increased effort to go green.

Recent studies conducted by MindClick have revealed that sustainable initiatives are not only important, but are becoming crucial in retaining customers. For example, two out of three Expedia consumers believe hotels need to be environmentally-conscious and proactive about sustainability efforts in an order to protect communities and the earth.

As a supplier of on-site, environmentally-safe and sustainable furniture asset management services such as refinishing and reupholstering, we’ve worked in various Marriott hotels all over the nation, and our services have even trickled into Marriott’s subdivisions – the Residence Inn and the Renaissance Hotels and Resorts.

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Are you unfamiliar with our newsletter? Then browse our updated archives here, and read some of the previous issues. As always, we encourage you to stay ‘in touch’ – tweet us your thoughts on sustainability in the hospitality industry today!