PORT OF PALM BEACH, FLA.—RGF Environmental Group, Inc., a Florida-based environmental design and manufacturing company, announced The Palms Hotel & Spa is now sanitizing the air for guests and staff through installation of RGF’s PHI-Cell in-duct air purification systems. Last week, the independently owned and managed luxury resort known for its green initiatives completed installation of 320 total ‘PHI Package’ units, enough for every guestroom AC system, and all public and back-of-house areas including the lobby, gym, spa, kitchen, laundry room, and offices. “We believe RGF has the safest and most environmentally-friendly product in the industry to clean both the...

DELAVAN, WIS.—As hotels strategize to reopen and operate in today’s new COVID environment, hotel owners and managers are scrambling to upgrade their HVAC systems to provide a safer, healthier indoor environment for workers, tenants, customers and students. Onsite Utility Services Capital (OUS Capital) once again leads the market with an innovative solution that solves this problem by giving hotels the cleaner indoor air they need, while potentially reducing their overall energy costs—all without any investment, debt or risk. It is called Clean Air as a Service. Powered by Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization (NPBI), Clean Air as a Service works inside a building’s...

The coronavirus pandemic has created a new normal, and the only seemingly certain thing is uncertainty. When will the economy reopen? How can we be sure it is safe to reopen? What steps can we take to ensure everyone is safe upon reopening? For hotels, which are especially hit hard by the pandemic response, answers to these questions are imperative. Hotel occupancy has dropped about 70% overall during the pandemic, with tourist centers like Hawaii and New York City showing marked declines. As businesses begin to reopen, hotels will likely see increases in occupancy rates, however, the worst is not...

VALENCIA, CALIF.—UltraViolet Devices, Inc. (UVDI) announced it is partnering with the Mole Lake Casino Lodge and Conference Center to provide seven Air Disinfection systems for the Tribal casino’s air handling units. The UVDI V-MAX Grid Air Disinfection Systems are an integral part of the casino’s plan to reopen with enhanced coronavirus disinfection protocols to help protect guests and employees. Mole Lake Casino Lodge is installing a custom-configured UVDI V-MAX GRID system that uses high-output UV-C lamps with proven scientific confirmation of 99 percent coronavirus inactivation and which meet CDC and ASHRAE Airborne Infection Control guidelines. UVDI’s proprietary software system incorporates...

Green Lodging News spoke with Richard Radke, National Marketing Manager for Zeftron Nylon recently and allowed Zeftron Nylon to contribute this guest blog. As businesses begin to welcome employees back to the workplace, safety and wellness are top of mind. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued guidance to assist with the reopening, and states: “Reducing the risk of exposure to COVID-19 by cleaning and disinfection is an important part of reopening public spaces that will require careful planning.” To be sure, designers and facility managers are faced with multiple challenges in creating the “new” workplace for today. They are looking...

LEBANON, N.H.—FreshAir, an industry leader in the development of sensors to detect and alert for hazardous chemicals, announces its plan to reduce monthly fees for hospitality clients through December 2020. The company will also extend this monthly fee reduction to hotel properties which install FreshAir Sensor devices during this period. In March, FreshAir announced a complete monthly fee waiver for its hospitality clients through June 30 and continued to provide its novel 24x7 smoking detection and monitoring service for tobacco and marijuana smoke during this period. “We are excited to hear that many of our hotel clients who closed have started...

SAN RAMON, CALIF.—According to the Allergy and Asthma Foundation, dust mites are a leading cause of in-home allergies. In a new report, the American Chemical Society advocates the widespread use of UV-C light as a short-term, easily deployable, and affordable way to limit virus spread in the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. RAYCOP’s new Omni Air cordless stick vacuum uses the same UVC technology that hospitals do to eradicate 99.99 percent of viruses, bacteria and dust mites from fabrics and floors in every corner of the room. The lightweight Omni Air is easy to pick up and it can completely remove dust...

Faced with the prospect of disinfecting a space for COVID-19, many are utilizing corded or cordless sprayers of one type or another. I understand the thinking. You can cover an area quickly, be thorough about it, and then move on to the next space. In press releases distributed by our industry’s leading companies in recent months, many have announced they will be using electrostatic sprayers to disseminate disinfectant. I wrote an article about that technology and other spray technologies this past week. Be sure to read my article. A big thank you to Green Seal for adding additional valuable...

Green Lodging News asked Nina Hwang, MPH, Senior Scientist at Green Seal, about the use of foggers and electrostatic sprayers. The following are the questions and her reply. Are there best practices when it comes to user/guest safety? The first step is to understand that foggers are not the same as electrostatic sprayers. Fogging devices use large volumes of air at low pressures to generate a mist of fine disinfectant droplets to fill an entire room. The disinfectant settles on to surfaces over time due to gravity. Electrostatic sprayers are designed for more targeted disinfection. Disinfectant droplets are charged as they exit...

Green Lodging News asked Nina Hwang, MPH, Senior Scientist at Green Seal, about the use of foggers and electrostatic sprayers. Click here to read those questions and answers. NATIONAL REPORT—When MGM Resorts International outlined its Seven-Point Safety Plan for dealing with COVID-19 in a press release last month, it included the use of electrostatic sprayers for large public spaces “so that disinfectant is applied efficiently.” Numerous other companies have also committed to using electrostatic sprayers for public spaces. HEI Hotels & Resorts said it would use them in public and private spaces. Marriott, in its April announcement about its new...