by Julia Bainbridge

"We're at the dawn of a new era," said Condé Nast Traveler's Klara Glowczewska at the opening of the magazine's third annual World Savers Congress. "Business will be transformed, and ultimately in the best possible ways."

There's proof of that in the stats Glowczewska shared with the audience: 75 percent of Condé Nast Traveler readers say that they are influenced by hotels' sustainability practices when booking, and 50 percent would pay slightly higher rates to help local impoverished areas.

"In this economy, people are thinking about larger issues," she said, highlighting the upside of our current economic state. "We're all aware of our interconnectedness."

Today's Congress is all about facilitating conversations that will hopefully inform and inspire those in attendance--and those reading about the event--to move towards sustainable and profitable business. Over the past few months, the magazine has been hosting brown bag lunches with Abercrombie & Kent, Carlson Hotels, Fairmont Hotels, Four Seasons, Hyatt Corp., InterContinental, Kimpton Hotels, Loews, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Starwood, and Vail Resorts, to come together and develop a standard way of measuring water consumption.

"You have enormous power," said Glowczewska this morning, "The services you provide enable people to see the world with their own eyes. There is nothing more important for making us aware." Stay turned to learn more from travel industry leaders as they discuss how to harness that power.