Home Publisher's Point of View Green-Focused Ellis Hotel Finds Success with Themed Floors, Wellness Room

Green-Focused Ellis Hotel Finds Success with Themed Floors, Wellness Room

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Glenn Hasek

When Tom LaVaccare came up with the idea of a Women’s Only Floor at the Ellis Hotel in Atlanta, he struck PR gold. After implementation of the floor, the 127-room property was featured on NBC News, on CNBC, and by other major media organizations. The Women’s Only Floor (10th floor) is just one of the unique features of the historic hotel that also includes a Fresh Air Floor (another idea of Tom’s and on the 15th floor), a Wellness Room (16th floor), and a Pet-Friendly Floor (3rd floor). Guests pay from $20 to $40 more per night to stay on the Women’s Only Floor, $20 more for the Fresh Air Floor, $40 more for the Wellness Room, and $80 more to stay on the Pet-Friendly Floor. Tom told me the themed floors have been doing very well. He would like to see more guests book the Wellness Room.

The Women’s Only Floor is the result of research conducted of the hotel’s leading clients in Atlanta. “The female executives wanted their own floor,” Tom says. The room key provides access to the floor. The rooms feature a gift bag of luxurious toiletries, including shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lotion, refreshing wipe, and a nail file all in a cosmetics bag. Through a Chelko Foundation partnership, women also receive a miniature replica of the painting, the “Chelko Heart.” This is in addition to other toiletries, slippers, plush robes and more.

I have written about allergy-friendly rooms many times and those on the Fresh Air Floor are similar. All surfaces are thoroughly cleaned and treated with a special solution twice each year to eliminate dander, dust mites, etc. This is in addition to daily housekeeping cleaning. Each room includes sealed mattresses and pillows, deep cleaned carpets, and an air purifier. The hallway also has an air purifier. Breathing very clean air in the middle of a downtown, urban environment is attractive to travelers, especially those with allergies or other sensitivities.

Lots of Magnets

The Wellness Room reminds me a bit of the Stay Well rooms by Delos. The rooms feature: air purification, a magnetic mattress topper, a comforter with anti-allergenic fibers and that includes far infrared & magnetic technology, PiMag waterfall system that purifies, ionizes, alkalinizes and mineralizes water, PiMag microjet shower system with Micro Bubble technology that removes impurities while revitalizing skin cells and hair follicles, Kenko light full spectrum lamp that simulates natural sunlight without harmful UV rays, and Kenko Magnetic Seat that provides support and comfort.

Why the emphasis on magnetism? Do a little digging online and you will find skepticism about the health benefits of magnets but some believe they can promote healing, better circulation, etc. There is certainly more scientific evidence to support the other features of the Wellness Room.

It was not just the hotel’s unique floors and Wellness Room that caught my attention. The Ellis Hotel is Green Seal Silver certified. The property uses nontoxic, biodegradable housekeeping products and nontoxic paints with minimal VOCs, incorporates water-efficient landscaping and grounds keeping measures, utilizes water-saving fixtures in guestrooms and public areas, features energy-efficient lighting in all guestrooms and public areas, uses energy-efficient appliances and windows, minimizes the use of disposable items, and has recycling and composting programs. The Ellis Hotel sends its partially used soap and amenities to Clean the World.

A big tip of the hat to Tom LaVaccare for finding new and innovative ways to meet the needs of the hotel’s biggest clients and others with special travel preferences—all while increasing ADR and RevPAR.

Green Lodging News Adds AtmosAir Case Study to Website

Green Lodging News has added an AtmosAir case study to the Vendor Case Studies section of the Green Lodging News website. The case study focuses on the installation of AtmosAir equipment to provide air purification to 35 hotel rooms at the Homewood Suites in Times Square, New York City. The Albanese Organization, owners of the property, decided to improve guestroom air quality and market Allergy Friendly rooms. The AtmosAir equipment significantly improves indoor air quality by reducing odors, bacteria, mold, mildew, particulate matter, allergens, and irritating VOCs. Homewood Suites offers the Allergy Friendly rooms for a $20 premium. After the first three months of operation, AtmosAir Allergy Friendly rooms were sold out nearly 80 percent of the nights. The AtmosAir system was paid for thanks to the $20 premium in two months.

For more information, call (203) 335-3700, e-mail sales@atmosair.com, or go to www.atmosair.com.

GLN Adds Boston Green Tourism as Trends Report Supporter

Green Lodging News welcomes Boston Green Tourism as a supporter of the Green Lodging Trends Report. The Green Lodging Trends Report is the lodging industry’s annual exercise to assess and catalyze green innovation, best practices, and awareness regarding the state of sustainability across hotels worldwide. This year’s Green Lodging Trends Report will summarize the results of a second annual survey produced by Green Lodging News and Greenview.

Boston Green Tourism (BGT) is a membership organization for Boston hotels. It also organizes green hospitality workshops across the United States, and advises hotels and companies that serve hotels. BGT helps hotels reduce energy, water and waste and toxins; choose greener transportation alternatives; identify greener food options; and attract more business based on their environmental performance. For Boston hotels, BGT organizes eight green hotel workshops a year, publishes a newsletter, provides a green hotel training program, helps hotels secure utility incentives and tax breaks and introduces hoteliers to qualified vendors​​. Contact Dan Ruben at (617) 527-7950 or dan_ruben@usa.net.

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