NEWPORT BEACH, CA—Preferred Hotel Group Inc. has acquired of Beyond Green Travel, a sustainable tourism services and consulting firm, founded by ecotourism pioneer and global sustainability expert Costas Christ.
The deal was finalized in February and is the first acquisition by the Ueberroth family since it purchased Preferred Hotel Group—which manages and operates global travel and hospitality brands including Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Historic Hotels of America, Historic Hotels Worldwide, and PHG Consulting—in March 2004.
“As we look ahead to the future of travel, particularly during this period of economic recovery, we believe more than ever that the time is now to take sustainable tourism to the next level,” said Lindsey Ueberroth, CEO, Preferred Hotels Group. “Working alongside Costas and his team, we are excited to create a sustainable tourism platform that will enable our brand promise of ‘Believe in Travel’ to help our destination and hospitality clients infuse genuine, holistic and inspiring sustainability best practices into their daily operations and overall ethos.”
Christ, who remains president of Beyond Green Travel, added, “We are at a transformative crossroads in the history of modern travel, where the need for economic recovery and social change align directly with the core values of sustainable tourism, including a commitment to diversity, equality and the well-being of local communities; environmentally friendly practices; and support for the protection of cultural and natural heritage that are changing the travel and tourism industry for the better.”
The acquisition expands the suite of destination stewardship services offered by Beyond Green Travel through a partnership with PHG Consulting, Preferred’s global travel and tourism marketing and consulting agency. Similarly, current and potential clients of PHG Consulting can tap into Beyond Green Travel’s sustainable tourism expertise as part of comprehensive agreements. Further, member hotels represented within the Preferred Hotels & Resorts, Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide brands can directly engage Beyond Green Travel to advance their sustainability initiatives on a variety of levels, ranging from establishing community projects and partnerships and crafting guest experiences to conducting property sustainability audits, delivering sustainable tourism staff training and creating annual hotel sustainability reports to monitor progress and document success.
Beyond Green Travel will also help guide the overall approach to Preferred’s corporate social responsibility program that the Ueberroth family launched in 2006.