NIANTIC, CONN.—HEI Hotels & Resorts, a rapidly growing hotel ownership and operating company, has invested more than $4 million in an aggressive energy conservation program designed to improve profitability across its 29 hotels. Of that investment, $1.2 million has been spent replacing existing HVAC control systems with the e4 Smart Digital Thermostat from INNCOM international Inc. Approximately 3,600 of HEI’s 7,900 guestrooms were equipped with INNCOM’s e4 energy-management system last year. As a result, the company expects to add $400,000 to the bottom line this year, with a return on the total INNCOM investment achieved in less than three years....

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has added its sixth case study to its new Vendor Case Studies section. The case study focuses on the Holiday Inn Hotel North Vancouver and how it has benefited from Energex Inc.’s sensor-based guestroom energy management system. The hotel installed Energex’s solution in 162 guestrooms. So far, it has saved the hotel approximately $16,000 a year in energy costs. The Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites North Vancouver joins nearly 100 other properties in 11 countries that have adopted Energex’s energy management technology. Energex has been providing property and hotel managers with energy saving solutions since 1992....

ROANOKE, VA.—Give Kids The World Village is a 70-acre, nonprofit resort in central Florida that provides accommodations at its whimsical Village. It donates attractions tickets, meals and more for a week-long, cost-free Wish vacation to children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Give Kids The World has partnered with Lodging Technology on the installation of the GEM System Energy Management Sensors in each of the villas. The sensors will provide a significant reduction in energy use and cost to Give Kids The World. “We are excited to work with Lodging Technology,” says Michael Bausman, facilities director, Give Kids The World....

KINGSTON, ONTARIO—Bill Allinson, one of the owners of the Confederation Place Hotel here, was skeptical at first when approached several years ago about installing a $52,000 rooftop solar water heating system. At the time he thought that money could be better spent on FF&E, marketing and other necessities. Eventually, he changed his mind and now the 95-room property is benefiting big time from a system he describes as almost maintenance-free. With the help of a federal grant, which took care of 25 percent of the system’s cost, a 20-panel rooftop system was installed on the hotel’s roof in November 2005....

GERMANTOWN, MD.—Telkonet, Inc., a leading technology solutions provider for broadband networking, end-to-end service support and energy management, announced that it has been awarded a $3.8 million dollar contract by InTown Suites for the intelligent Telkonet SmartEnergy (TSE) energy management system. Under the contract, Telkonet will install TSE products in 125 InTown Suites locations across the United States, as an integral component in the organization’s ongoing commitment to achieving increased energy efficiencies at their properties. Commencing in January 2008, Telkonet will begin an aggressive implementation of the scheduled installations to ensure completion of this initiative within a six-month time frame. Telkonet was...

SEATTLE—After eating an evening meal of fish and chips, tourists in Juneau who retire for the night at the Westmark Baranof Hotel may find themselves warming their toes in a room partially heated by the oil used to cook their food. The Baranof collects the town’s used vegetable oil to help heat the hotel. Environmental benefits from using vegetable oil include releasing fewer pollutants into the air, recycling of carbon already in the system and a reduction in carbon output. In addition, businesses in Juneau have found a reliable way to dispose of unwanted cooking oil without running afoul...

UNITY VILLAGE, MO.—The Unity Village Hotel and Conference Center, opened January 2007, recently received LEED Silver certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The hotel is the first lodging property in the Midwest to receive LEED certification and the sixth in the United States. LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” LEED-certified buildings conserve natural resources, reduce operating costs and foster healthier and more productive occupants. “Unity sought LEED certification for the Unity Village Hotel and Conference Center to reflect our deep concern for the environment as well as the well-being and comfort of our guests,”...

WALTHAM, MASS.—American DG Energy Inc., a leading on-site utility offering electricity, heat, hot water and cooling to hospitality facilities, has entered into a 15-year agreement to supply low-cost energy to the Hotel Indigo Boston–Newton Riverside, a branded boutique hotel located in Newton, Mass. Under the terms of the agreement, Hotel Indigo will soon receive a substantial portion of its electricity, space heat, swimming pool heat and domestic hot water directly from an on-site cogeneration facility, providing 100 kW and 732,000 btu’s per hour of energy while offsetting up to 328 tons of CO2 gas each year. American DG Energy will...

CHICAGO—In a presentation at Greenbuild earlier this month, Destiny USA founder and chairman Robert J. Congel introduced the initial design of a hotel and conference facility that will be the next phase of the Destiny USA project in Syracuse, New York. The hotel, which will feature more than 1,300 rooms, is being designed to LEED Platinum standards and will serve as a showcase for sustainability. “Five years ago, Destiny USA was still learning what it takes to build a living laboratory for environmental stewardship, renewable energy and innovation,” Congel said. “Fortunately, we were ahead of the curve. Today we are...

ATLANTA—How low can you go when it comes to energy reduction in buildings? Try net zero. Guidance on how to get there is featured in the technical program at ASHRAE’s 2008 Winter Meeting, January 19-23, at the New York Hilton, New York City. For complete meeting information, including abstracts on all technical program sessions, visit www.ashrae.org/newyork. “This technical program is ASHRAE’s most ambitious ever,” promises Mo Hosni, chair of the ASHRAE Program Committee. “First, the technical program is filled with sessions that focus on the hottest issues facing the industry—sustainability and net-zero energy buildings. Second, the program is structured to...