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FREMONT, CA: Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world's leading hotel companies, installed three beehives at its corporate headquarters at the Pike & Rose complex in North Bethesda in collaboration with Bee Downtown to promote sustainability and local biodiversity. The estimated 150,000 honeybees kept at Choice may pollinate a 3-mile radius from its hives, potentially benefiting 18,000 acres of neighboring land. A colony can produce more than 100 pounds of honey in just a few months. Choice associates voted on the design concepts for the beehives and chose the "Bee Hotel" concept.
Choice Hotels has teamed up with Bee Downtown to provide educational and engagement opportunities for Choice associates to learn about the advantages of honeybees and beehives, including honey and cheese tastings, beekeeping Q&A sessions, and hive visits. Honeybees pollinate 70 percent of the top 100 food crops in the United States.
The collaboration with Bee Downtown demonstrates Choice Properties' dedication to environmental stewardship, biodiversity, and participation, all of which are major components of the company's Room to Be Green initiative for franchised and managed properties. Room to Be Green focuses on five pillars: energy, water, waste, biodiversity, and engagement to enhance sustainability across all Choice Hotels brands and segments globally. The initiative requires Choice-branded hotels to comply with utility data reporting as well as trash, water, and energy-saving measures by early 2025.
"Choice Hotels puts people first, and being a responsible steward of our environment is a crucial part of that. We're proud to collaborate with Bee Downtown to host beehives that will benefit the ecosystem in our North Bethesda community," said Megan Brumagim, Vice President of Sustainability for Choice Hotels. "Bees play an essential role in the health of the planet. We're excited to contribute to our region's biodiversity, engage our associates with educational programming, and harvest around 90 pounds per year of fresh, local honey from our very own hives."
