A little more than a year after breaking ground on its LEED Silver CAESARS FORUM conference center in Las Vegas, Caesars Entertainment says its 550,000 square-foot facility is on pace to open in March 2020. Green Lodging News asked Caesars some questions about the $375 million complex that will feature two of the largest pillarless ballrooms in the world. 1. Please provide a few examples of what has been sourced locally for the construction of the center. At Caesars Entertainment we help local communities flourish through economic contributions, in the form of employee wages and benefits, payments to vendors for...

NATIONAL REPORT—Traditional heating solutions in the winter months can break your budget. Plus, they aren’t good for the environment because they typically use some sort of fossil fuel. Using coal, oil, or natural gas to heat your hotel can harm the environment, including contributing to global warming, causing air pollution, and increasing the chance for an oil spill. If you’re looking for an eco-friendly way to heat your hotel once the weather turns chilly, you’re in luck. There are several different ways you can heat your hotel without harming the environment. Some of these methods may even save you money. Heat...

WEST CALDWELL, N.J.—MaxLite proudly announces the launch of WarrantyMax, a comprehensive service program that gives lighting customers automatic 10-year warranty coverage on most commercial and industrial LED fixtures. This initiative provides MaxLite customers with the highest levels of quality assurance and value across a broad range of commercial and industrial indoor and outdoor fixtures. The WarrantyMax program, which took effect July 22, 2019, offers automatic coverage—no registration or minimum product purchase required—with longer product operating hours and a wider ambient temperature range. The 10-year warranty covers materials and workmanship from the earlier of the actual installation date or 90 days after...

MACAO—The Parisian Macao has earned a LEED Silver certification for the entirety of its operation, in the building design and construction (BD+C) category for new construction projects—making it the first integrated resort in Macao to do so. LEED is an industry-leading environmental sustainability rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). Its stringent standards of quality and integrity address sustainability categories ranging from energy and water efficiency to waste management, purchasing, and indoor air quality. Many of The Parisian Macao’s comprehensive sustainability initiatives represent new features previously not seen in Macao or in an integrated resort of its scale...

SOUTH CASCO, MAINE—Migis Lodge opened in June in South Casco, Maine. The property is powered by solar energy. The century-old vacation destination—a lodge and 35 cottages on Sebago Lake—is offsetting 95 percent of its annual electrical power needs with a 912-paneled solar array. To conserve the pine forest on the 125-acre property, Revision Energy designed an off-site solution in a former gravel pit. “Migis Lodge is committed to the environment and sustainability,” said Jed Porta, General Manager for Migis Lodge and Managing Partner for Migis Hotel Group, a family-run, Maine-based hotel management company. “Our guests will have one more reason to enjoy...

SEATTLE—Hyatt Regency Seattle, a 45-story premier meeting and event hotel located in the heart of downtown Seattle, has officially received a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, becoming the first and only LEED Gold–certified hotel in the Seattle area. It earned LEED as part of the New Construction rating system. “Hyatt Regency Seattle is thrilled to receive this well-deserved recognition, as we are committed to enriching the communities we call home and protecting the planet for future generations,” said General Manager Tom Wolf. “As the largest meeting and event hotel in...

COMMERCE, CALIF.—Nora Lighting’s low profile, surface-mounted AC Opal LED Series is now offered in three sizes: 4”, 6” and 8”. Models range from 1” to 1 3/4” in depth, and the low profile cULus-listed fixture is ideal for bathrooms, laundries, utility areas, pantries, closets, showers and more. AC Opal does not require a driver and mounts easily over a standard 4” J-Box, even pancake-type fixture boxes in retrofits or new construction. The fixture is dimmable and produces even illumination with 650lm to 2000lm (10.5W to 32W) at 90+CRI. A white polymer lens diffuser eliminates LED diode images. Color temperatures are offered from...

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL—WOM Allenby, the first of a new brand of pod-style hotels, will open next month in the Mediterranean seaside city of Tel Aviv. Located at 21 Allenby Street, the hotel is a block away from Tel Aviv’s beach promenade and offers 40 stylish, private and modern pod rooms in both single and double-occupancy arrangements. WOM’s new hybrid accommodation is engineered for today’s contemporary, urban traveler who values design, a sense of community and the experience of staying in a central urban location at a wallet-friendly price point. WOM is a member of Brown Hotels, the pioneering Tel Aviv-based hospitality group known for...

Did you know that you breathe over 11,000 liters of air a day? If you’re reading this, you will probably spend around 2,000 hours per year breathing the air in the office for which you are about to sign that lease.  This year alone, you will bring into your lungs over 900,000 liters of whatever is in the air of that cool new office space. Would you drink 900,000 liters of water if I said, “I actually have no idea what’s in it or how long it has been sitting in this room…but it’s fairly clear and doesn’t really...

Name: Daniella Foster Title: Senior Director, Global Corporate Responsibility Company: Hilton Years in Current Position: Two years, seven months Primary Responsibilities: “I lead global strategy, business integration, youth economic opportunity, social and environmental investments, signature partnerships and ESG reporting across Hilton’s value chain.” Organization’s most significant sustainability-related accomplishment: “Last year we relaunched Travel With Purpose with 2030 goals. Part of those 2030 goals included a lot of industry firsts.” Organization’s most significant sustainability-related challenge moving forward: “The No. 1 challenge is to engage the guest in this journey and help them understand what sustainable travel looks like—the guest engagement piece and how we gamify that.” MCLEAN,...