LEXINGTON, MASS.—Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. opened the eco-friendly doors of ELEMENT Lexington in Lexington, Mass. on July 1. ELEMENT is Starwood’s newest hotel concept and the first LEED-certified hotel chain in the country. ELEMENT Lexington is making its national debut, offering guests an entirely new extended stay experience that combines smart design, and nature-inspired and eco-friendly touches. Modern amenities range from complimentary WiFi to an international pantry stocked with everything from Korean kimchi soup to artisanal meats and cheeses. ELEMENT Lexington—the first ELEMENT hotel to open its doors to guests—will also serve as Starwood’s green trailblazer with...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Healthier Choice as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Healthier Choice is a leading producer of carpet cushion and underlayment. Its products incorporate the soy-based BiOH system from Cargill for enhanced sustainability. Ensuring superior indoor air quality, Healthier Choice’s products are Greenguard certified. The company’s products offer Ultra-Fresh antimicrobial protection against allergens from mold, mildew, bacteria, and dust mites. “No other cushion can contribute more to LEED,” says Mike Norton, vice president, Commercial Products for Dalton, Ga.-based Healthier Choice. For additional information, call (800) 872-8426, e-mail info@healthierchoice.com, or...

WINCHESTER, VA.—Rubbermaid Commercial Products (RCP), a leader in durable facility maintenance solutions, introduces its all-new line of commercial vacuums. With this entry into powered equipment, Rubbermaid continues to deliver on the commitment to help professionals Work Smarter. This line offers key user-desired features that help them improve productivity, protect worker well-being, and facilitate green cleaning. The product line includes 12 new models (seven uprights, three backpacks and two wet/dry vacuums). Rubbermaid’s flagship upright models provide dual motor strength for one pass cleaning (PH15 & PH12 models). Both feature automatic carpet height adjustment which improves worker efficiency and well-being...

NATIONAL REPORT—For many designers, and the clients they represent, interior doors’ value as a design element has slowly diminished in recent years. No more the attention-grabbing “wall furniture” of the classical period and unlike their contemporary hardwood kin in floors and cabinetry, wood doors have been largely commoditized. For many, a door is just a door. But to those in the industry—and for a rapidly growing number of astute practitioners in the design/building community—doors have been rediscovered as a “haute commodity” in interior design. Interior doors are enjoying a significant renaissance as new materials, fabrication technologies and sustainable design invigorate...

ANDERSON, CALIF.—Gaia at Anderson, a new 122-room green hotel, has opened here. It is the second Gaia hotel in California to be developed and opened by Wen-I Chang. The first was the Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa in American Canyon. That 133-room property opened in October 2006. Chang is also developing a third hotel in Merced, Calif., a 141-room property. Chang expects the Gaia at Anderson hotel to achieve a LEED Silver or Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. The Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa was the first U.S. hotel to earn LEED Gold. In building...

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.—The Atlantic City Council voted unanimously on April 23 to require all casinos there to be nonsmoking by Oct. 15 with the option of building enclosed smoking rooms. All of New Jersey’s 11 casinos are located in Atlantic City. Although the state law banned smoking indoors except for casinos, the current city ordinance restricted the smoking areas to 25 percent of the gaming floor of casinos. However, the smoking areas were not contiguous and not enclosed. Under the new ordinance, the enclosed smoking room(s) cannot exceed 25 percent of the gaming floor space and gaming will...

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Albert Einstein said, “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.” As a leader in the hospitality industry, Minneapolis-based Carlson Hotels Worldwide is setting an example and influencing others by promoting healthy lifestyles through a 100 percent smoke-free environment. The four most-recent hotel members to join FreshStay’s ranks of more than 3,500 guaranteed smoke-free properties around the United States, Canada and the world, are affiliated with Carlson’s hotel brands. These new members include: Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis; Radisson Hotel Central Dallas; Radisson Hotel Salt Lake City Downtown; and Country Inn...

MINNEAPOLIS—The Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis announced that it has completed its conversion to a 100 percent smoke-free facility, including all public areas, meeting rooms and guestrooms. The month-long extensive cleaning process—including shampooing carpet and upholstered furniture, dry cleaning, painting, and other deep cleaning—focused on converting approximately 30 guestrooms to be smoke free at an investment of more than $15,000. “Our decision to become 100 percent smoke free reflects our commitment to providing guests with a clean, comfortable and healthy stay,” said Judith Kalfon, general manager of the Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis. “The conversion is a significant enhancement for the hotel...

ROSWELL, GA.—Commercial and institutional buildings have a new way to remove odors and other irritant gaseous contaminants from their HVAC system air stream: new Kimberly-Clark brand odor control filtration media from Kimberly-Clark Filtration Products. The filtration media delivers particulate filtration performance with added odor removal technology to deliver clean, fresh, odor-free air, thanks in part to its two-layer construction. The upstream layer provides particulate filtration and protects the downstream carbon layer from particulate loading, to ensure maximum odor removal capability. The downstream layer is made of activated carbon, one of the strongest physical adsorbents, which rapidly adsorbs and retains gaseous...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Alen Corp. announced the release of AirMD, an air purifier that is completely lead free, ozone safe, and Energy Star qualified by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. The four-speed AirMD marries modern décor-enhancing design with a HEPA filtration system, UV lamp set to last three to five years, ionizer, and 24-hour programmable timer. Eco-conscious individuals suffering from the agony of cigarette smoke, pet dander, allergies, cooking odors, dust, pollen, dust, and bacteria now have a powerful yet compact air cleaning solution. “We are delighted to be offering the first lead-free air purifier...