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August 2008 - Strategy Magazine
Upfront

Eco-friendly buzz at the Fairmont

by Marija Djukic
page 9

Toronto's Fairmont Royal York hotel is taking eco-friendly and sustainable ideas to new levels this year with the introduction of three new hives in its rooftop garden.

The beekeeping initiative was the idea of Fairmont executive chef David Garcelon, who partnered with the Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative and FoodShare to create a new brand for the Fairmont, featuring food and gifts to sell using the honey from the rooftop bees.

To give back to the community, Fairmont is running a bee-oriented getaway package B&B & Bee from July 5 to Sept. 1, with $1 from each booking going towards the Toronto Beekeepers Cooperative.

The PR-driven, word-of-mouth campaign includes a weblog and bee podcast that can be accessed via Fairmont's site, and a video about the bee initiative will air on YouTube this month. GreenHAT Digital produced the podcast and provided the communications support and consulting on the Web 2.0 platform.

The chain plans to bee-ify two more of its hotels: the Fairmont Algonquin in New Brunswick and the Fairmont Waterfront in Vancouver. www.radioroyalyork.ca

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