SEDONA, ARIZ.—Sedona’s Kings Ransom Inn recently launched Green Suites International’s “EcoRoom Accommodation Program,” converting each of its 53 guestrooms into healthier, more environmental “EcoRooms.” They are the first property in the area to do so. The guestrooms will now feature more than a dozen environmental products. The products include compact fluorescent light bulbs, water-efficient showerheads and sink faucets; LED nightlights (according to a study at Livermore Laboratories, 40 percent of all travelers leave bathroom lights on as nightlights), nontoxic cleaning chemicals; a linen reuse program, and Natura brand liquid soaps, lotions and shampoo products offered in shower and vanity dispensers....

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Energy Eye as a Founding Sponsor. Founded in 2001, Energy Eye’s HVAC energy management systems have been successfully used to control all types of heating and air-conditioning systems—driving immediate, day one cash-flow positive investments to hoteliers worldwide. The company’s EYEPOWER Solution is currently being used by hotels and resorts ranging from under 30 rooms to more than 600 rooms, across the United States, as well as in Mexico, the Caribbean, Australia, Asia and the Middle East. The EYEPOWER solution has been installed in many property types, including limited...

ATLANTA—Kimberly-Clark, a leader in non-woven technologies, announces the availability of its newest line of high-efficiency filtration media for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system air filters. Based on the company’s patented, bi-component, nonwoven technology, the new media is ideal for a range of HVAC filter styles delivering MERV 11-15 performance. The new Kimberly-Clark Filter Media delivers both high initial and high sustained particle capture efficiencies, helping to deliver excellent indoor air quality (IAQ) and keeping HVAC components clean for more efficient and less costly operation. It also maintains a low airflow resistance, which reduces energy costs, as the HVAC system...

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CALIF.—LG Electronics USA announced the grand opening of the LG Training Academy in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., to support the company’s expanding commercial air-conditioning business in the United States. As a growing participant in the climate control industry, this second U.S. training facility for LG Electronics Commercial Air Conditioning illustrates a burgeoning U.S. HVAC business. The first was opened a year ago just outside of Atlanta. Opened specifically with LG’s West Coast customer base in mind, this academy has the capability of training hundreds of engineers, contractors and technicians annually. The training academy will educate a diverse audience on...

LAS VEGAS—Control4, a leader in IP-based home and hospitality control systems, announced that Control4 Suite Systems is being used to enhance the guest experience in more than 4,300 guestrooms in the ARIA Resort & Casino and Mandarin Oriental, Las Vegas at CityCenter. Control4 Suite Systems enables guests to control every aspect of the room environment and interact with entertainment and hotel services, while providing CityCenter with control of energy usage. CityCenter is the largest Control4 Suite Systems deployment to date. “Today’s consumers are just as conscious of being green when they travel as they are when they’re home,” said Scot...

ROANOKE, VA.—The Best Western Clock Tower Inn, Billings, Mont., has installed Lodging Technology’s GEM Link Wireless Energy Management in all 127 guestrooms. GEM Link Wireless reduces hotel/motel guestroom HVAC energy consumption 35 percent to 45 percent by resetting room temperature to an energy conserving level, pre-selected by the hotel, only while the guest is out of the room. GEM Link uses the reliable ZigBee wireless protocol and consists of wireless passive infrared (PIR) occupancy sensors, wireless door switches, and a transceiver control module connectable to any HVAC unit. The Best Western Clock Tower Inn has a mixture of GE and...

ATLANTA—The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners announced that 100 percent of their new vending machines and coolers will be hydrofluorocarbon-free (HFC-free) by 2015. Coca-Cola is committing to use its scale to aggregate demand and encourage supply as a means of accelerating the transition to HFC-free refrigeration equipment. This announcement is a direct result of work with Greenpeace that began in 2000, and a demonstration that phasing out the use of HFCs is a tangible and near-term action corporations can take to protect the climate. The transition to HFC-free refrigeration will reduce the equipment’s direct greenhouse gas emissions by 99...

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—With its recent $1 billion in renovations, the Holiday Inn brand has earned well-deserved publicity. Perhaps the Holiday Inn property deserving of the most buzz this year, however, is the brand new Holiday Inn Northwest/Sea World in San Antonio. The 194-room hotel is on track to be the first LEED certified hotel in Texas and the first LEED certified property within the 3,300-property Holiday Inn brand. The hotel, which opened on October 5, is owned by a group of investors out of Lubbock, Texas, and managed by Dallas-based Hospitality Management Corp. Green highlights of the 100 percent...

MADISON HEIGHTS, MICH.—Two long-time hospitality industry stalwarts—SAFLOK and INNCOM International Inc.—recently announced a strategic alliance. The collaboration has yielded a new radio-frequency (RF) interface for energy management. Hyatt Regency Chicago, a four-diamond, 2,019-room hotel in the heart of downtown Chicago, just off the Magnificent Mile, is the first property to adopt this new interface. An existing SAFLOK customer, Hyatt Regency Chicago is updating from the SAFLOK MT (multi-technology) locks to SAFLOK’s Quantum ädese locks and installing energy management thermostats with an RF interface. The new RF interface provides a cost-effective energy management solution by allowing the lock and thermostat to...

NEW YORK—The total number of exhibitors may have been less than previous years due to the economy and other factors but the number of vendors offering green products and services was stronger than ever at this year’s International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS). The event was held November 8 to 10 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Visitors to the show found exhibitors featuring amenity bottles that biodegrade much faster than traditional plastic bottles; dispensers that eliminate amenity bottles altogether; a nonprofit that matches up hotels with other nonprofits to help eliminate food, toiletry...