There’s certainly no shortage of new properties and renovation projects underway, with many new hotel, convention center and other venue projects popping up all over the U.S. According to Lodging Econometrics’ latest Hotel Construction Pipeline Trend report, there are over 1,100 hotels under construction in the U.S.
But a big question on many planners’ minds is how these projects have factored sustainability into their operations. Building a new property is hardly a carbon-neutral endeavor, and an eco-minded planner or attendee might be curious about how some properties are planning to offset the environmental impact of their construction or renovation—and how they are helping groups go green, too.
Here are some recently built or upgraded properties that have chosen to make sustainability and eco-consciousness a priority.
Hilton Anatole
In 2024, Dallas’ Hilton Anatole unveiled a $30 million renovation to its Tower guest rooms. The property has also been rolling out its food waste reduction and eco-friendly practices across its operations, donating 300 pounds of banquet food each week to feed food-insecure children in Dallas schools.
The property launched a beekeeping partnership in 2024 with the Oak Cliff Bee Company, hosting two onsite beehives with plans to expand to four. At full capacity, the hives are expected to produce up to 90 pounds of honey per year, which the hotel will use in its food and beverage services. Hilton Anatole has also instituted sustainability efforts such as reducing single-use plastics in boxed lunch offerings and mobile cooling units to minimize food spoilage.
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Populus
Opened in October 2024 in downtown Denver, Populus made headlines for being the first carbon-positive hotel in the U.S., meaning it aims to reduce more carbon emissions than it creates. Populus has continued many of the sustainability efforts it instituted when it opened, including the One Night, One Tree program, a partnership with the National Forest Foundation that promises to plant one tree for every night’s stay in the hotel. The hotel is committed to planting over 50,000 trees in 2025 alone.
Additionally, both of Populus’ onsite restaurants, Pasque and Stellar Jay, divert 100% of their food waste away from landfills and into compost that is then shared with local farmers, with the hotel already diverting 14 tons of food waste from the landfill to date. The property also features 265 guest rooms and can accommodate events for up to 120 attendees.
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Rosewood Mandarina
Rosewood Mandarina is an all-suite sanctuary hotel in the Riviera Nayarit region on the Pacific coast of Mexico that opened in May. The resort is dedicated to both cultural preservation and ecological sustainability, collaborating with local and national organizations to support eco-friendly initiatives. These include art workshops led by native artisans, spiritually focused nature experiences and hands-on community-building and recycling initiatives that support underserved populations. The property also has 134 suites and can accommodate events of up to 220 attendees.
Salterra, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Turks & Caicos
Salterra, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Turks & Caicos opened in March and is Marriott’s first property in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The property integrates sustainability into multiple aspects of its daily operations.
The resort utilizes solar panels to power its operations, with a goal to meet over half of the its energy needs through renewable sources. It also has an industrial composting system that processes food waste, plants and paper to enrich the surrounding soil and promote sustainable nutrient reuse. Salterra also collects and desalinates seawater for drinking and harvests rainwater to use toward irrigation efforts, along with eliminating the use of single-use plastic bottles in its guest rooms.
The property also features 100 guest rooms and suites along with a variety of meeting and event spaces.
Terranea Resort
Located on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Terrana Resort is a Southern California oceanfront luxury resort whose 50,000-square-foot spa recently underwent a $4.5 million refresh. Along with that renovation, the spa is also advancing its goal of becoming a green spa. In addition to utilizing eco-conscious products such as razors, hairbrushes and dental kits created from wheat straw, the spa has also transitioned to using compostable trash bags and is making efforts to introduce treatments that require less water usage.
Terranea Resort also offers electric vehicle charging stations, along with utilizing hybrid and low-emission vehicles for its onsite shuttle service. The property partners with the Marine Mammal Care Center and International Bird Rescue to showcase its dedication to animal rehabilitation and release efforts. The resort has 582 guest rooms and suites along with 135,000 square feet of meeting and event space.
New Sustainability Practices at Courtyard by Marriott San Antonio Riverwalk
In February, Courtyard by Marriott San Antonio Riverwalk earned the Green Key Global certification, signifying the recent work the property has done to implement eco-friendly and sustainable practices. In 2024, the hotel donated 2,200 pounds of food, saved 6,900 pounds of CO2 emissions and conserved 509,300 gallons of water.
Courtyard by Marriott San Antonio Riverwalk partnered with Copia, a technology-enabled surplus recovery service, to aid in its food donation efforts. In the first four months of 2025, the hotel has already donated 1,887 pounds of food, with the hotel recognizing food waste as one of the largest contributors to climate change.
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The property offers 220 guest rooms, 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space and is located on the iconic San Antonio Riverwalk near The Alamo.
How Hilton’s Going Green
One of the largest hotel players in the world, Hilton Worldwide, has instituted a number of policies to combat food waste and increase sustainability across its nearly 7,000 properties around the globe.
Hilton is the first hospitality company to join the U.S. Food Waste Pact, a national voluntary agreement to help food businesses accelerate progress toward their waste reduction targets, joining companies such as Amazon Fresh, Walmart, Whole Foods Market and Starbucks. The pact outlines ways for participating companies to reduce waste within their operations, such as through the measurement and annual reporting of food waste data and participation in pilot projects to test, implement and scale cost-effective and high-impact food waste solutions.
In Europe, Hilton has partnered with Too Good to Go, a company that connects consumers with local vendors that may have surplus food. Over 100 hotels across Hilton’s European portfolio are active on the Too Good to Go marketplace, allowing surplus food from Hilton’s restaurants and buffets to be purchased by local community members at a reduced price. To date, the partnership has saved over 150,000 meals, equating to more than 400 tons of CO2 emissions.
In 2024, four Hilton properties in the UK launched “Taste of Zero Waste” menus to showcase the potential for more sustainable food options. The menus feature root-to-shoot and nose-to-tail cooking techniques, which incorporate under-used parts of different foods such as salmon cheeks, ox hearts, vegetable stalks, trimmings and peelings to create delicious meals and reduce waste.
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