ATLANTA—The historic, recently renovated Ellis Hotel, an Atlanta landmark for more than a century, is catering to women, pet lovers, wellness aficionados and eco-conscious travelers in a highly unique fashion—by allocating floor and room space to meet the preferences of those travelers, and charging more for it. The 10th floor of the hotel is a women’s only floor, the idea of Tom LaVaccare, Director of Sales & Marketing at the 127-room property. The floor has been a success and has garnered a lot of attention with many major media outlets reporting on it. LaVaccare says the floor is the result...

ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of 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...

NEEDHAM, MASS.—With commercial buildings spending as much as $80 billion dollars annually on heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) costs, the industry is looking to new technologies to pave the way for a future that’s friendlier to the bottom line. In the mix is enVerid Systems Inc., a leader in energy savings and indoor air quality solutions for commercial, government and educational buildings, which has seen growing demand for its HVAC Load Reduction (HLR) technology with mechanical engineers, building owners, facilities managers and architects. The HLR module safely and intelligently cleans indoor air of contaminants such as carbon dioxide (CO2), formaldehyde,...

ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Clear Pool USA as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Clear Pool USA offers two choices to manage algae problems. The blue cylinder kills algae and reduces scaling for up to six months—just drop it into the pump basket. The other is an automatic water purifier that kills algae, reduces scaling and kills bacteria and pathogens including E.coli, pseudomonas, legionella pneumophila (Legionnaires Disease), staphylococcus, steptococcus, salmonella and others, some of which have been proven to be resilient to high levels of chlorine. Both products will help...

Hotels are gold mines (green mines) of paint waste! Sitting in the bowels of the building, in a storage room, or straddled over several parking spaces a few levels underground, or out on the loading dock, partially used paint buckets and canisters abound. A single property can have one to three tons of paint waste per building. That’s as much as 800 gallons of paint! Reasons Hotels Have So Much Paint Waste on Site Paint that matches the existing palette is needed anytime there are structural renovations or remodeling. Corporate or property interior designers change the paint color schematic. Paint is needed for...

This year is ushering in a host of new regulations for commercial kitchen refrigeration that will drive significant efficiency benefits for kitchen operations. The phasing in of new air quality standards, combined with limits on energy consumption, are all poised to create the most efficient refrigeration cabinets that commercial kitchens have yet seen. Starting in March 2017, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regulations will go into effect that will set a mandatory limit on the maximum daily energy consumption (MDEC) allowed for a given commercial refrigerator or freezer. In tandem, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program is significantly increasing...

ODESSA, FLA.—Hasek Communications, the Odessa, Fla.-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Catalytic PURE AIR as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. The Catalytic PURE AIR purifier uses eco-friendly PCO (photo catalytic oxidation) technology and HEPA filtration to reduce airborne contaminants and odors. These air purifiers are currently being used in hotel rooms, meeting spaces and public areas in major hotels to keep guests breathing easier. Improving indoor air quality is a trend of keen interest to guests with respiratory issues and operators focused on wellness. Call (800) 989-8299 or (775) 391-3188, or e-mail jim@catalyticpureair.com for more information.

On January 30, 2014, the U.S. Federal News Service and the University of California at Riverside issued the following alert: “Do not smoke and do not allow yourself to be exposed to smoke, because secondhand smoke and thirdhand smoke are just as deadly as firsthand smoke. While firsthand smoke refers to the smoke inhaled by a smoker and secondhand smoke to the exhaled smoke and other substances emanating from a burning cigarette that can get inhaled by others, thirdhand smoke is the secondhand smoke that gets left on the surfaces of objects, ages over time, and becomes progressively more toxic.” This...

In a conversation with a representative of a leading maker of portable air purifiers, I was told that most portable air purifiers today are very similar when it comes to removing air particles. A better than 99 percent particle reduction rate is common, he told me. It is when you get beyond particle reduction that you find most differences among purifiers, as I learned when researching for the article I posted this past week on Green Lodging News. I suspect very few of you offer guestrooms with portable air purifiers included. Vinny Lobdell Jr., President of HealthWay | PURE Global,...

NATIONAL REPORT—The degree of air quality in the guestroom, in most cases, is a mystery and goes unmeasured. Yet guests and employees are typically exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), dust, dander, pollen, dirt tracked in from shoes, combustion products, biological particles from mold and more. According to the E.P.A., indoor air quality can be two to five times—and occasionally up to 100 times—more polluted than outside air. Sometimes the pollutants go undetected by guestroom visitors. Other times odors emerge and make issues obvious. Oftentimes, those with allergy or chemical sensitivities are impacted most and notice first. Vinny Lobdell Jr.,...