SKOKIE, ILL.—UMF Corp. announced that Lenir Aguilar, guest room attendant at the Hilton Daytona Beach, has earned the company’s second annual Guest Room Attendant (GRA) Excellence Award. UMF established the GRA Excellence Award in 2020 to acknowledge the crucial role GRAs play in ensuring hotel guest safety, satisfaction, and loyalty in the COVID-19 era. “Hilton Daytona Beach’s housekeeping staff are a key part of our commitment to deliver the reliable and friendly service our guests expect with the added confidence of industry-leading hygiene practices created to keep guests and staff safe,” said Omayra Muniz, Hilton Daytona Beach’s Director of Housekeeping....

Travelers and workers expect a comfortable and healthy hotel environment to work, relax and sleep in. Ensuring good indoor air quality (IAQ) while maintaining building comfort is an essential part of providing a healthy hotel environment. The concentrations of some pollutants in indoor air are often 2 to 5 times higher than typical outdoor concentrations. Exposure to indoor air pollution can cause symptoms like headaches, poor concentration, and irritation to the eyes, nose, or throat. Poor IAQ is a particular concern for those affected by asthma and allergies, for whom certain pollutants can trigger a range of symptoms, from sneezing...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The national environmental and public health group Beyond Pesticides released its health and environmental effects factsheets and infographic for “40 Commonly Used Lawn Pesticides.” These comprehensive factsheets document with scientific citations a wide range of diseases and ecological effects linked to pesticides. The underlying analysis supporting the adverse health and environmental effects identified in the factsheets are based on toxicity determinations in government reviews and university studies and databases. What do the two factsheets disclose? Health Effects of the 40 Most Commonly Used Lawn and Landscape Pesticides reveals that 26 are possible and/or known carcinogens, 24 have the potential to disrupt the endocrine...

It has been almost eight years since I moved down to Florida from Ohio. One of the most common sights I noticed quickly when I moved here was the lawn service trucks. Just about everybody uses them to keep their lawns green, growing and weed and pesticide-free. The volume of chemicals poured on the state each year must be a staggering number. Soil is a common pathway to groundwater, and soil characteristics determine the rate at which chemicals move through it. Of course, in Florida the soil is mostly sand—very porous. The chemicals sprayed here feed algae and kill fish. Perhaps...

WAUKESHA, WIS.—Surfacide, a global leader in UV-C technology, announced Eos—a portable, hospital-grade UV light disinfection device for high-traffic, everyday spaces such as schools, offices, gyms, hotels and restaurants. Designed and engineered to deliver powerful disinfection at an affordable price, Eos is an easy-to-use, standalone alternative to Surfacide’s hallmark product, The Helios System, a trio of UV robots used simultaneously to fight deadly pathogens in leading hospitals and healthcare facilities. For just under $20 per day, Eos delivers Surfacide’s trusted, hospital-grade UV technology in a cost-effective package to facility managers and building owners in a range of different industries. Unlike many other UV...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Green Theme Technologies Inc., a global leader in innovative and sustainable textile finishing, announced that new third-party testing shows the brand’s EMPEL platform provides robust stain release and creates a protective PFC-free treatment that outperforms other currently available options. GTT launched the EMPEL platform in 2018 with the goal of eliminating toxic PFCs (perflurocarbons) from textile processing. In addition to being highly sustainable, EMPEL delivers the highest water repellency and longest lasting protection available. The EMPEL Stain Release product encapsulates each fiber inside a yarn with a molecular protective polymer, which creates a barrier preventing stains from sticking to fabrics. According...

NEW YORK—Prioritizing material innovation, sustainability, cleanability, and stain-resistant technology, Supreen marries cutting-edge woven and coated technology with a proprietary silicone blend to create a complete liquid-barrier textile, reactively repelling liquids and preventing future stains—all without compromising softness, upholstery capability, or the environment. This performance fabric will make its debut at six premier textile booths at BDNY, November 14 to 15, 2021. Combining groundbreaking stain resistance with bleach cleanability and impressive breathability, Supreen exceeds industry standards when it comes to cleanliness, durability, and aesthetics. What Makes Supreen Stand Out? It’s completely liquid-proof. Supreen’s liquid-proof barrier technology makes it impenetrable, protecting it...

It is not something you put on your calendar, but this week is Rodent Awareness Week. A big thank you to the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) for sharing some tips on how to deter rodents. Perform regular rodent inspections. Knowing where to look and what to look for can help solve a rodent issue before it gets worse. The top sign of a rodent issue is seeing a live or dead rodent. Some other common signs of a rodent infestation are droppings, gnaw marks, nests, urine stains, and tracks or rub marks. It is also important to inspect...

SKOKIE, ILL.—UMF Corporation’s Micrillon microfiber, made in the USA, is setting a new standard as the first hospital-grade microfiber that can be converted into a wide range of long-lasting, reusable products, including: towels; cubicle curtains; socks; gloves; walk-off mats; reusable N95 rated face masks; and color-coded microfiber cleaning products. Leading manufacturers are using these high-performance microfiber yarns to develop a new standard for materials targeting infection prevention in hospitals, hotels, cruise lines, long term care, and many other industries. “The introduction of Micrillon microfiber puts an end, once and for all, to any question about recontamination related to reusable products,”...

Years ago—2009 I believe—AAA announced that it would recognize properties that have been eco-certified with a bright green “ECO” icon in its 2010 TourBook guides. As time rolled on, that program faded away, but I reported on it because when AAA announces just about anything, you must listen. The organization has more than 62 million members and there are currently between 24,000 and 27,000 hotels in the AAA Diamond Program at any given time. Chances are that your property is Diamond rated. This past June AAA announced that it had enhanced its housekeeping evaluation to include objective, scientific validation of...