TETIAROA, FRENCH POLYNESIA—Located on the French Polynesian island of Tetiaroa and a product of the late Marlon Brando’s vision, construction on The Brando is progressing steadily with completion slated for late 2012. Pacific Beachcomber S.C. is developer of the resort. The president of French Polynesia, Gaston Tong Sang, recently made an official visit to Tetiaroa for a tour of The Brando construction site. Organized by Richard Bailey, CEO of Pacific Beachcomber S.C., and friend of the late actor, the trip was designed to share progress of the project’s construction with the president and his Minister of Environment, Jules Ienfa,...

EAGLE BEACH, ARUBA—Bucuti & Tara Beach Resorts has added a new feature to its expansive environmental program: INNCOM’s Glass Series Guest Interface Device Suite. The device is an eco-friendly, central control system that allows guests to opt in to the resort’s conservation program with just the touch of an aptly named “Green Button” that controls the lights, thermostat and humidity of guestrooms. The fully automated system uses motion detectors and door sensors to identify when the room is occupied and unoccupied and adjusts energy settings accordingly. For example, when the sensor identifies that a guest has left the room, lights...

DALLAS—Until the recent growth of the green building industry under the LEED program, the cost and time involved with using carbon dioxide sensors in commercial buildings often outweighed the perceived benefits. “Today, building owners and designers see more reasons than ever to include CO2 sensors in building design and remodels, as the cost and reliability have improved with the maturation of the technology over the last two decades,” says Jeff Hartnett, commercial split systems product manager for Lennox Industries.  While a certain level of CO2 is natural in buildings—humans produce it with every breath exhaled—high levels can cause a...

NEW YORK—The International Copper Association (ICA) announced a new heat exchanger coil technology that benefits from smaller diameter copper tubes. The new product designs and associated manufacturing processes are a culmination of years of research. Heat transfer from the refrigerant to the tube wall is more effective inside copper tubes with diameters smaller than the conventional diameter. Consequently, coils can be made less bulky and air conditioners with higher energy efficiency can be made smaller and lighter. “It is true that highly efficient air conditioners currently are being made with conventional copper tubes,” says Nigel Cotton, global leader of OEM Initiative...

NATIONAL REPORT—The American Hotel & Lodging Association is about to release the results of its 2010 Lodging Survey. Green Lodging News was provided with a copy of the survey results prior to the survey’s official release. The survey, which is conducted approximately every two years, was funded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation and prepared by Smith Travel Research. A total of 48,954 hotels were polled. The response rate was 18 percent (more than 8,500 participants). The survey report covers 14 green-related areas: Allergy-Free Rooms, Air Purifiers, Liquid Soap Dispensers, Linen/Towel Reuse Program, Energy Management Sensors in...

DENVER—Sage Hospitality has upped its own ante on helping the environment with its new Green Choice program. The “opt in” initiative offers guests the choice to decline daily housekeeping to reduce their carbon footprint while saving hotels money on energy, water and other costs. Introduced in March 2010 and currently offered at 18 Sage hotels across the country, such as The Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel and the Nines in Portland, Ore., Green Choice reflects a growing trend as hotel groups seek innovative solutions to save money—and the planet—amid challenging times for the travel industry. Green Choice has seen great success...

MT. VERNON, N.Y.—ICE AIR, the developer and manufacturer of a wide variety of HVAC units, has released ExactFit  PTACs (Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners) for demanding renovation or retrofit applications in the hospitality industry where existing cooling and heating units need to be replaced. PTACs, which are self-contained, individually- controlled air conditioners, installed through the wall of rooms with an outside wall, are found throughout the hospitality market. The ICE AIR ExactFit PTACs include the RS, RSC and RSMK Series, and replace existing equipment from various OEM PTAC manufacturers common in this market, including Carrier, Heil Quaker, ZoneAire, McQuay, Applied Comfort...

VINEYARD HAVEN, MASS.—Until this summer, the 16,000 gallons of groundwater that runs below the Mansion House Inn, Health Club & Spa was a nuisance. Because the inn’s subbasement sits in the middle of the groundwater, the water constantly had to be pumped away to protect the structure. Now, the water is an asset. How so? It stores energy not only from the sun above the inn but also energy pumped into it via a sophisticated geothermal heat pump system. For Sherman and Susan Goldstein, the inn’s owners, realizing the water’s potential was like striking gold. The history of the inn’s...

NATIONAL REPORT—The great irony of building green is that the very concepts intended to enhance a building’s performance over its entire lifetime are many of the same things that make a building highly susceptible to moisture and mold problems during its first few years of operation. While green buildings have many positive benefits, there is also strong evidence to suggest a direct correlation between new products/innovative design and building failures. Simply put, departing from the “tried and true” often means increasing the risk of building failure. Two strong characteristics of most green buildings are: 1) the use of innovative, locally-produced products...

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Pineapple Hospitality, a leading distributor of green hotel products and marketing programs for the hospitality industry, has added four new product partners: AquaHealth, Evolve Guest Controls, The Green Garmento, and Zero Odor. “We’re proud to have AquaHealth, Evolve, The Green Garmento, and Zero Odor join us as Pineapple Partners,” says Ray Burger, president of Pineapple Hospitality. “Whether it’s a sustainable water solution, energy controls, greener option for guestroom laundry service, or a unique way to actually eliminate odors instead of masking them, these companies demonstrate how everyone in the green hospitality market can work together to bring a...