The national parks in the United States are a huge magnet for tourists—330 million visitors each year—and the lodging industry benefits greatly from them. That is one of the reasons our industry should be concerned when the national parks are not so nice to visit. The National Parks Conservation Assn. recently released its “Polluted Parks” report. The subtitle: “How America is Failing to Protect Our National Parks, People and Planet from Air Pollution.” Be sure to give the report a read. The report assesses the damage from air pollution by evaluating four categories: unhealthy air, harm to nature, hazy...

The definition of an allergy-friendly room has often been in flux in our industry. More than a decade ago, PURE Allergy Friendly Rooms were introduced. At that time, the PURE process included steps ranging from ozone shock treatment to an air purification system to a showerhead with a chlorine filter. PURE Allergy Friendly Rooms have since evolved and are now called Pure Rooms as part of a Pure Wellness experience. The current seven steps include: ozone shock treatment, sanitize air handling unit, deep clean soft and hard surfaces, apply Pure Shield Barrier, install air purification system, install antimicrobial tea...

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN—Scandic is the world’s first hotel company to introduce a standard for allergy-friendly rooms. This means that guests booking allergy-friendly rooms can expect considerations including wooden floors and fragrance-free, hypoallergenic toiletries approved by the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Assn. The rooms are also prepared according to strict cleaning procedures and are not located on floors where pets can stay. The new standard will be part of Scandic’s unique 159-point accessibility standard. More than 150 million people in Europe have some type of allergy. Most of them probably do not need specific allergy-friendly hotel rooms. But the fact is that more...

NATIONAL REPORT—When a guest walks into a hotel, they’re often tired from a long day of travel. They want a warm, comfortable room where they can relax and unwind, an accommodating space where they’re free to kick off their shoes. In this regard, the standard hotel is satisfactory. Of course, professionals in the hospitality industry don’t want to provide just a “satisfactory” experience for their customers. To separate themselves from their competition, they need to go beyond what others have done in the past. They must adapt their practices to remain relevant. Green design represents an opportunity. With the application of...

LAS VEGAS—MGM Resorts International announced that MGM Springfield, located in Springfield, Mass., has received the world’s first United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) New Construction Platinum level certification for a gaming resort. MGM Springfield, which opened in August 2018, is the company’s most recent development. Working closely with state and city officials, as well as the local community, MGM Resorts committed to designing and building a property that exemplifies the company’s values in support of environmental sustainability and positive social impact while honoring local history and architecture. A significant enabler of the LEED Platinum rating...

SAN FRANCISCO—Awair, the creators of intelligent air quality monitors for homes and enterprises, announces a $10 million Series B financing led by The Westly Group, with additional investment from Altos Ventures, Emerson Electric, iRobot and Nuovo Capital. With the newly secured funding, Awair will focus on increasing production to fulfill the rising demand for both their consumer solutions, research and development for new products and continued growth of their enterprise business through an expanded sales process. “Air impacts all aspects of our health and well-being,” says Awair co-founder, Ronald Ro. “There is a massive opportunity in how we design, build,...

NATIONAL REPORT—“Radon maps” is a term that frequently crops up when talking about the risk of radon. A radon map provides a general picture of the areas where there is a risk of high radon levels. These maps are available at both national and regional levels. However, the problem with a radon map is the false sense of security it can give regarding a specific building. Despite this, Radonova is seeing a growing number of cases where private individuals and workplaces are using radon maps to try to determine the radon level in their specific indoor environment. “Radon maps are designed...

ATLANTA—Pure Wellness, a pioneer and leader in hotel guestroom wellness solutions, announces two luxury property additions to their portfolio of certified Pure Rooms. The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta and The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota now offer certified Pure Rooms to their guests. “Ritz-Carlton, where ‘Ladies and Gentleman serve Ladies and Gentlemen,’ has long represented the gold standard in service and luxury,” notes Larry Hall, CEO of Pure Wellness. “With the addition of certified Pure Rooms to The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota and The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta, discriminating travelers can now enjoy the benefits of a certified Pure Room in the warm, relaxed, and refined ambiance of a...

SAN FRANCISCO—Awair, the creators of intelligent air quality monitoring solutions, announced that Awair Omni, the company’s enterprise air quality monitor, now tracks light and noise levels in addition to air quality. Thanks to this new functionality, facility owners, building managers, realtors and other professionals will be able to track light and noise levels in a way that benefits employees, tenants, customers and other occupants. This new addition makes Omni one of the few devices available that tracks tenant wellness through a variety of factors, incorporating light, noise and air quality into its monitoring to create healthier, more productive spaces. Importance...

MIAMI—Miami Mold Specialist, a South Florida-based indoor environmental and mold removal services company, has recently unveiled their new complete branded line of full-spectrum indoor air quality (IAQ) and anti-mold products. This all-new proprietary product line of mold cleaners, mold prevention inhibitors and specialized IAQ cleaning and maintenance products are VOC-free, eco-friendly and contain no harsh chemicals. Miami Mold Specialist’s new line of IAQ, mold removal, HVAC and AC cleaning, and mold prevention products offer the latest biotechnological advancements to safely and effectively eliminate toxic mold, prevent mold growth, inhibit future potential mold and mildew outbreaks, while mitigating the musty odor smell typically associated with poor ventilation,...