MAMMOTH LAKES, CALIF.— Britannia Pacific Properties, a Lewis Trust Group company, announced that the town of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., has granted entitlements to build an innovative hotel and residences project called “Handmade Hotel Mammoth View.” With an extensive portfolio of properties, Britannia Pacific Properties has now set their sights on driving business and providing jobs to the town of Mammoth Lakes with their latest initiative, a 5.51-acre project which will feature geothermal heating for purposes of encouraging conservation of natural resources. Handmade Hotel Mammoth View will be an entirely new concept for the hospitality market in the small but...

SAN RAMON, CALIF.—Even though it is based in California and funded by California rate payers through Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), the Food Service Technology Center (FSTC) offers a wealth of information for any commercial food service operation. In fact, it is FSTC’s goal to provide helpful information at no cost. First opened in 1987, FSTC tests commercial kitchen appliances for energy efficiency. Manufacturers, hotel and restaurant companies all work with FSTC to test product performance. FSTC is the primary information resource for the EPA’s Energy Star program for commercial food service and it has contributed significantly to the...

MCLEAN, VA.—Embassy Suites Hotels, the upscale, all-suites hotel brand, announced that its Embassy Suites Denver-Downtown/Convention Center location achieved LEED Silver certification, as recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). It is the first hotel in the City of Denver and the first within the Embassy Suites brand to have earned this prestigious certification for sustainable building design, construction and operations. “We are extremely proud to introduce the Embassy Suites brand’s first LEED Silver certified property,” said Jim Holthouser, global head of Embassy Suites Hotels and full service brands, Hilton Worldwide. “This significant certification recognizes the proactive efforts the...

DETROIT—Lighting Enterprises, a leading manufacturer of decorative lighting and energy saving LEDs for hotel and resort guestrooms and public spaces, has named Andy Schaidler, NEWH, IESNA as their new hospitality sales manager. Schaidler’s responsibilities will include building and managing the company’s national independent hospitality sales team, sales, marketing, quotations, and development of new opportunities for the company in the hospitality industry. Schaidler and his team will work directly with hotel, resort, casino, and other hospitality specification and purchasing professionals to bring to market the most innovative decorative portable energy saving and labor saving lighting available.  Andy has served on the International...

MILWAUKEE, WIS.—Telkonet, Inc., developer of the EcoSmart energy management platform which incorporates patented Recovery Time technology, announced that the Waterfront Hotel has become the latest hospitality leader to deploy a networked EcoSmart energy management system. In partnership with Ecology Action, a nonprofit consulting firm, Telkonet helped the Waterfront Hotel, located in Oakland, Calif., take advantage of the LodgingSavers utility ratepayer funded program. Telkonet installed a fully networked EcoSmart Energy Management System (EMS), replacing the hotel’s existing thermostats with the Telkonet EcoInsight intelligent thermostat. Because the thermostats are ZigBee-enabled to create a mesh network, they develop a facility-wide wireless network dedicated...

GARDEN GROVE, CALIF.—Hyatt Regency Orange County, a recently renovated hotel near the Disneyland Park, includes “green thumb” on its list of eco-friendly hotel initiatives. High above the hotel’s 653 guestrooms and 65,000 square feet of meeting space rests an organic garden on the 17th story rooftop. Fresh-picked garden bounty, including basil, thyme, Italian parsley, tomatoes and sweet peppers, is used in many of the gourmet dishes served at TusCA, the hotel’s signature Italian restaurant. “We are proud to offer a unique experience for our guests by providing fresh, organic herbs picked daily for the TusCA restaurant right from our...

ASBURY PARK, N.J.—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) awarded Philips Electronics the Bright Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) in recognition of being the first company to successfully develop an LED replacement for the common 60-watt incandescent light bulb. Submitted in 2009, the Philips LED bulb was the first and only product to successfully complete 18 months of rigorous field, lab and product testing, meeting or exceeding the high standards established by DOE for quality. In 2007 the U.S. DOE established a competition, the L Prize, challenging the lighting industry to develop replacement technologies for two of the most widely used...

ORTING, WASH.—Baxter, a leader in designing and manufacturing quality foodservice and bakery equipment worldwide, recently launched the next generation of its popular mini rotating rack oven. The new OV310 Series ovens include updated and additional features without sacrificing the quality performance or small footprint that have become industry standards. New features include a larger viewing area (350 square inches total) with dual-pane glass, hidden door hinges and longer-lasting silicone door gaskets for a better oven-door seal. Other enhancements include vertical door handles with a positive latching system, surface-mounted digital controls and easier access to power breaker/gas shutoff valve through the...

RIPON, WIS.—UniMac, a leading provider of on-premises laundry equipment, announced the introduction of over-dry prevention technology that allows laundry managers to reduce labor, energy and linen replacement costs associated with over-drying. Over-drying occurs when tumble dryers run longer than needed because they cannot detect when linen has reached its optimal dryness level or when staff uses incorrect cycles. This causes linens to deteriorate faster, decreases throughput and uses excessive energy. OPTidry over-dry prevention technology is an innovation that connects sensors located within the lifters to UniMac’s rotary transfer switch to offer high levels of accuracy. The result is a pinpoint dryness...

DENVER—Xanterra Parks & Resorts is making significant progress toward reaching environmental goals outlined in its 2015 Environmental Vision, a set of aggressive environmental performance goals. The operator of lodging and concessions in national parks and resorts around the country spelled out its progress using environmental performance metrics, called “Ecometrix.” The company’s achievements and measurable progress toward its environmental goals are detailed in the company’s fourth Environmental Sustainability Report. In the report, Xanterra’s president and CEO, Andrew Todd, wrote about the devastation brought about by recent environmental disasters, such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Todd cited Xanterra’s...