As the manager of your property, you know every inch of it. That’s helped you identify key areas where green practices can be employed to save the facility in expenses and create a better feeling for guests staying on the property. Now be honest, have you taken a close look at your laundry? Have you talked with your chemical company representatives and equipment distributor to assess how the laundry’s setup and practices mesh with your green focus? Take a moment to think about how many hours your laundry operates. I suggest even stopping in and taking a look at the...

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...

GERMANTOWN, MD.—Telkonet, Inc., a leading provider of centrally managed solutions for integrated energy management, networking, building automation and proactive support services, announced that it has been awarded an exclusive two-year energy management contract with a major U.S.-based automation and control solutions Fortune 100 company, following an expansion of their program for a major West Coast utility. The Fortune 100 company will market Telkonet’s products to end users. Sustainable energy policies and aggressive carbon footprint reduction targets have moved to the top of the hospitality industry’s corporate agenda. As energy prices soar and guests increasingly cite environmental consciousness as a key...

FORT WAYNE, IND.—Lincoln Foodservice Products announces an addition to its highly successful line of Impinger conveyor ovens for foodservice. The new 3255 is engineered for quick production of baked items with a state-of-the-art combination of air-impingement and continuous-conveyor technologies. Perfect for baked sandwiches, appetizers and pizzas, the 3255 features easy-to-use digital controls with one temperature control for the entire oven and conveyor speed controls for each individual belt. In addition to its conveyor cooking process, the 3255 is equipped with FastBake air-impingement technology. Developed by Lincoln in 2006, FastBake is a patent-pending airflow management system designed to reduce baking times...

WISCONSIN DELLS, WISC.—Kalahari Resorts’ long-standing commitment to energy efficient operations continues as it adds the AquaRecycle system, a laundry water recycling and filtration system which will allow Kalahari Resorts to reuse 70 percent of its laundry water. The AquaRecycle system’s chemical-free filtration and treatment recycle process will provide clean, disinfected and pre-heated water to the laundry systems at Kalahari Resort properties in Wisconsin Dells, Wisc., Sandusky, Ohio, and eventually a third resort in Fredericksburg, Va. Home to a 740-room hotel in Wisconsin and an 884-room hotel in Ohio, Kalahari Resorts estimates the AquaRecycle system, which is expected to be operating...

SPARTANBURG, S.C.—Milliken & Co., long recognized for sustainable leadership and environmental stewardship, has launched its second partnership to harvest methane as an alternative energy source. Spartanburg County approved the initiative on the eve of Earth Day 2008, April 21. “Milliken is constantly seeking ways to conserve energy and to reduce our footprint,” said Richard Dillard, director of public affairs for Milliken. “With the success of our methane program in LaGrange, Ga., Spartanburg County immediately realized the benefit of this proposal to the local government, our community, Milliken, and ultimately the Earth.” Spartanburg County will be responsible for...

BOULDER, COLO.—The Renewable Energy in Tourism Initiative (RETI) has recently developed a set of Best Practices in Renewable Energy for the tourism industry. They can be downloaded for free and public input is strongly encouraged. These RETI best practice manuals were developed to feature industry leaders that have adopted best practices in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and to provide information and guidance to businesses of all sizes interested in realizing these benefits. Through the use of case studies, each manual outlines renewable energy adoption strategies and highlights that maximize energy efficiency, minimize environmental impacts, and result in cost savings...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes American DG Energy as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Waltham, Mass.-based American DG Energy’s On-Site Utility provides clean energy in the form of electricity, heat, hot water and cooling at a guaranteed discount rate. The energy is produced with small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) equipment located at the property site, but owned and operated by American DG Energy. Hotels have no capital costs for the equipment. Turnkey installations are available. Call (781) 522-6000, e-mail info@americandg.com, or go to www.americandg.com.

AMES, IOWA—Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. has expanded its sustainability product offering to include the industry leading educational touchscreen kiosk software, GreenTouchscreen, developed by Quality Attributes Software, Inc. (QAS). Siemens selected QAS technology so that it could offer its customers a powerful but accessible interface that displays energy consumption data and real-time interactive analysis. By presenting live building energy consumption data on the GreenTouchscreen kiosk in the foyer of the building, Siemens can reveal “hidden” energy conservation measures to building occupants. As people become aware of the energy they use and better educated as to its environmental impact, they just might...

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.—With zero money out of pocket and utilizing existing systems and equipment, the nine-floor, 273-room Colorado Springs Marriott reduced its electricity consumption by 18 percent from April 1, 2007 to April 1, 2008. In kilowatt hours, the decline was 815,000; in dollars the savings was $57,000—the equivalent of more than two months in electricity bills. How did they do it? By doing simple things such as turning lights and air conditioners off when they are not being used, re-calibrating thermostats, and emphasizing staff training. When Brian Healy took over as director of engineering at the Colorado Springs Marriott...