CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Active Safeguard as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Active Safeguard is a micro-thin, transparent coating applied to interior surfaces. One application of Active Safeguard creates a cleaning barrier that kills odors, bacteria, viruses and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) while preventing the formation of mold and mildew. The coating creates a completely non-destructive and economical decontaminating system that works 365 days per year. Active Safeguard is also completely non-toxic.Call (520) 582-5592, e-mail jimhempel@rocketmail.com, or click here for more information.

NATIONAL REPORT—Ten years ago, an infrared camera cost $50,000. Today, according to John Keane, director, Infrared Training Center, Nashua, N.H., one can purchase this type of camera for as little as $2,000. That price drop has made infrared imaging, also known as infrared thermography, more practical in a hotel environment. “The most common application is electrical inspections—looking for hot spots caused by bad connections, current overload, or other problems,” Keane says. “It would be common for a hotel to want to have all of its electrical infrastructure inspected, from the substation outside all the way to the electrical panels...

ST. PAUL, MINN.—Ecolab Inc. introduces Hydris, an innovative on-site generation system that combines water, electricity and mineral activator tablets with unique, patented electrolytic cell technology to produce three powerful daily cleaners that deliver affordable and sustainable cleaning for a variety of hard surfaces.“Every commercial building has a range of surfaces, from polished stone to painted walls to glass partitions,” said Mark Copeland, Ecolab vice president of marketing, Institutional Division. “Getting them clean, every day, requires a system that’s effective, easy to use and affordable. Hydris marks Ecolab’s entry into sustainable electrolyzed water technologies for hard surface cleaning and will...

PORT ORFORD, ORE.—“It feels like you are on another planet.” That is how Michelle Duarte describes the WildSpring Guest Habitat that she and her husband own along the coast of Oregon in Port Orford. Their small, eco-friendly resort sits on five acres of 100-foot trees and includes five cabins. “The cabins are built like small homes,” Duarte says. “They are not rustic.”Just about everything possible was done to minimize the environmental footprint of the five cabin suites. Duarte’s husband, Dean, who once worked on Hollywood sets in construction, played an integral part in the building of the cabins. Only...

CHICAGO—Reiterating his passion for clean hotels, Anthony Melchiorri, hotel restoration expert, has endorsed Cintas Corporation’s hotel cleanliness systems. Given that guest satisfaction within hospitality has recently declined—down seven index points from last year according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study—Melchiorri points to the importance of using professional services such as tile and carpet cleaning and A/C cleaning to help deliver positive guest experiences. “One of the biggest and most basic expectations of any hotel guest is that their hotel is clean and smells nice,” said Melchiorri. “However, when I’m traveling around...

TOLEDO, OHIO—Betco Corp. announces its new Symplicity Green Earth Pot & Pan Detergent and Symplicity Sanibet Multi-Range Sanitizer. Betco's Symplicity Green Earth Pot & Pan Detergent is a solid non-phosphate machine detergent which removes heavy food soils over a wide range of water conditions in both high and low temperature dish machines. Its soil suspension agents and water conditioners combat challenging water conditions and promote free and complete rinsing at the same time, preventing lime deposits on dish machine interiors.Betco's Symplicity Green Earth Pot & Pan Detergent is recognized by the EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) program as...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Dream Green Services as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Dream Green Services provides air conditioner cleaning, installation and repair services. The company specializes in Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners (PTACs). The company has provided services for major brands including La Quinta, Motel 6/Studio 6, and Marriott International. A single annual cleaning with the company’s unique process could extend the life of PTAC units another three to five years. Also, an annual cleaning can decrease one’s electric bill up to 6 percent per month.For more information, e-mail...

NATIONAL REPORT—Aside from mattress protectors, heat, steam and freezing, which have been reported on here at Green Lodging News, there are many other eco-friendly ways to address bed bugs—either from a detection or treatment standpoint. It is a challenge keeping up with the number of products available, especially those that do not involve toxic chemicals that can put employees and guests at risk, but with some investigation and comparison, one can find green solutions that work.Using detection devices can help find bed bugs early and help minimize or even eliminate the use of chemicals down the road—something many hoteliers...

PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO—Enviro-Solutions, a manufacturer of green cleaning products, announces the beginning of an ongoing feature on its Facebook site called “Ask Mike…About Green Cleaning.”The idea for the new feature came about as a result of questions posted on another social media site the company runs—Enviro-Solutions and Customers—which is a members-only site on LinkedIn.“We found we were receiving quite a few questions about green cleaning,” says Mike Sawchuk, vice president and general manager of Enviro-Solutions. “Because of this, we decided to open this up to more people and put it on Facebook.”One of the most common questions that Sawchuk thought...

LONGBOAT KEY, FLA.—Longboat Key Club & Resort, a strong proponent of green hospitality, has taken its commitment one step farther with the implementation of green golf course technology as standard procedures for their golf course maintenance programs.Long before “green” became the industry buzzword it is today, Longboat Key Club & Resort was well on its way to identifying sustainable and energy saving initiatives that have been widely implemented throughout the resort. When the focus turned to refurbishing their golf courses, they relied on the expertise of John Reilly, director of agronomy, to find a system that would accomplish the...