Idea for “giving bag” wins Cornell student sustainability competition

ITHACA — An idea to save hotels money on items that guests leave behind in rooms won the third annual student sustainability competition at the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR).

“The Giving Bag,” created by Lilia Karimi and Quinn Cox, students at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration (SHA), won the first-place prize of $2,000, according to a news release from Cornell University.

According to the release, the student’s research for the concept determined that about 20 percent of the items left in guest rooms are intentionally left behind. They concluded that by providing a bag for guests to stash these items, hotels could easily donate them to charity, the release said.

Two other student concepts tied for second place, according to the release. One of the ideas addressed food waste and included soliciting guest feedback on portion sizes, identifying donation opportunities for surplus food, and composting. The other concept involved increasing existing international development practices to incorporate local customs, practices, and materials in international hotel operations with a goal of integrating the hotel with its local environment, according to the release.

The competition is conducted in conjunction with the annual Sustainability Roundtable at SHA. The roundtable brought nearly three dozen international hotel practitioners and researchers to the school to discuss current sustainability trends and strategies, the Cornell release said.

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