NEW CASTLE, PENN.—First impressions start from the ground up according to new research from Whittaker, a leader in low-moisture carpet cleaning. The survey, conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of Whittaker March 26 to 30, 2020 among 2,012 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, found that a majority of Americans (93 percent) say dirty carpet with stains, animal hair or food residue in a facility would negatively impact their perception of that business/organization. Dirty carpet in a hotel would negatively impact four in five Americans’ (80 percent) perceptions of the business. “Hotel guests are observant of the way properties maintain their interiors,” said Joe Bshero, Director...

READING, PA.—As the country continues to face the threat of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the health and safety of employees and customers is of the utmost importance. Ambius, a global leader of creating enhanced commercial spaces, launched a new disinfection service to help provide peace of mind and create safe work environments. The Ambius Disinfection Service is ideal for businesses implementing precautionary cleaning, those required to perform disinfection before reopening and for businesses with confirmed cases of COVID-19. “We’ve seen such a high demand for disinfection service with our commercial customers,” said Ambius President & CEO, John Myers. “The protection of their...

BETHESDA, MD.—Marriott International, which for 92 years has been recognized as a hospitality leader for its commitment to quality, exacting standards, and rigorous training, announced that it will be rolling out a multi-pronged platform to elevate its cleanliness standards and hospitality norms and behaviors to meet the new health and safety challenges presented by the current pandemic environment. “We are living in a new age, with COVID-19 front and center for our guests and our associates,” said Arne Sorenson, President and CEO, Marriott International. “We are grateful for the trust our guests have shown us through the years. We want...

MCCOMB, OHIO—Crushproof Tubing launched its Simple Drain product (see video), an easy-to-clean and self-plunging drain trap, to the hotel industry. The decline in customers throughout the hotel industry is resulting in rooms being empty for extended periods of time. This can result in a very dangerous situation called “dry trap” where the water evaporates out of the traps that are critical in keeping sewer gasses from coming into living spaces through drain pipes. “We have heard from several hotel chains that they are paying people to flush toilets and run water in their sinks and showers to avoid the potential...

PARIS—Accor, a global leader in augmented hospitality, and Bureau Veritas, a world-leading provider in testing, inspection and certification, have joined forces to develop a label designed to certify that the appropriate safety standards and cleaning protocols have been achieved to allow businesses to reopen. Franck Gervais, CEO Europe Accor, said, “Welcoming, protecting and taking care of others is the very DNA of Accor and at the heart of what we do. Today, more than ever, our employees, customers and partners need to be reassured of our ability to offering them the best welcome possible. As the European leader in hospitality,...

ATLANTA—ASHRAE has published two statements to define guidance on managing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 disease (Coronavirus) with respect to the operation and maintenance of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems in buildings. “In light of the current global pandemic, it’s critically important that ASHRAE responds with guidance on mitigating the transmission of the virus, as well as ventilation and filtration recommendations,” said 2019-20 ASHRAE President Darryl K. Boyce, P.Eng. “ASHRAE has a significant role to play in ensuring safe and healthy building environments and these statements offer the expert strategies needed at this time.” ASHRAE developed the...

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The GreenShield Company, a division of BigSky Technologies LLC, is responding to the global Coronavirus pandemic with concern and hope for those being impacted by the disease. GreenShield is taking this opportunity to evaluate its products’ effectiveness in reducing the ability of the Coronavirus to contaminate and transmit on different surfaces. The small amount of fluorochemical used in the GreenShield finish provides a surface that repels oil-based materials, such as viruses, like COVID-19, which has an oily lipid outer layer. The lipid layer is essentially a fatty envelope that holds the virus. This envelope is what appears to be...

NATIONAL REPORT—With so much attention on virus elimination given the COVID-19 pandemic, Green Lodging News has been exploring green cleaning technologies that make it easier for hoteliers to provide a safe, hygienic, disinfected environment for guests and employees. One such technology is electrochemical activation (ECA)—the process for creating electrolyzed water using a low electric charge and natural minerals. Hypochlorous acid, one of the sanitizers created from charged salt and water, has 80 to 200 times the sanitizing power of chlorine bleach, according to Larry Smith, Vice President of Sales for GenEon Technologies. In this article we will also explore...

WARWICK, R.I.—CleanBrands LLC, a trusted leader in pillow and mattress protection, announced that its CleanRest products with MicronOne waterproof, breathable, sleep surface fabric have attained U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) highest classification of barrier performance (Level 4). Vartest Laboratories of New York, N.Y. certified CleanRest’s MicronOne fabric passing the ASTM F1671 Viral Penetration Test on April 8, 2020. The CDC established test method assesses the ability of a fabric to block Phi-X174 Bacteriophage which is approximately 32 nanometers in diameter. Covid-19 is known to be of spherical shape 120 nanometers in diameter or nearly four times...

SACRAMENTO, CALIF.—INOX is now offering an antimicrobial coating for its line of stainless steel products, including commercial and residential door levers and pulls, deadbolts, panic devices and push/pull plates. INOX MicroArmor Antimicrobial Coating is a powder coating infused with antimicrobial technology that is applied during the hardware’s manufacturing process and works to inhibit the growth and reproduction of harmful bacteria, mold and mildew by up to 99.9 percent. “In light of the current COVID-19 health crisis, it was incredibly important to us to focus our research and development on products that can help lessen the spread of harmful bacteria and...