DENVER—Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center officially opened its doors as the largest combined resort and convention center in Colorado. Just 10 minutes from Denver International Airport, the resort is the fifth Gaylord Hotels property and one of the largest resorts in the world to debut under the Marriott International brand this year. Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center has 1,501 rooms, 485,000 square feet of convention center space and an extensive indoor/outdoor water park on an 85-acre site. Numerous steps have been taken at the complex to reduce its environmental impact: Straw-less drinks: As part of the Marriott initiative to eliminate plastic straws and stirrers from...

SEATTLE—Hyatt Regency Seattle announced its opening, located in the heart of downtown at 808 Howell Street and near some of Seattle’s top attractions including the Space Needle, Chihuly Garden and Pike Place Market. With its sprawling, dynamic event space and number of guestrooms, Hyatt Regency Seattle is the largest hotel in the Pacific Northwest and new premier destination for meetings and events in the region. It joins two other Seattle-area Hyatt Regency hotels. Hyatt Regency Seattle is targeting LEED Gold Certification in 2019, which is the second highest green building rating in the world. As part of their efforts, Hyatt...

NEW ALBANY, MISS.—Master-Bilt, manufacturer and supplier of a full line of commercial refrigeration equipment, announced that Frank Fuller will assume the role of Vice President of Sales and Customer Care, effective December 3, 2018, reporting directly to Kevin Fink, President of Standex Refrigerated Solutions Group which is comprised of Master-Bilt and Nor-Lake. As Vice President of Sales and Customer Care, Fuller will develop and execute a commercial strategy to achieve not only sales growth but to expand new business opportunities as well.  Providing leadership and direction to the entire sales function, Fuller will work closely with other leaders driving group...

ODESSA, FLA.—Green Lodging News has added Quipworks Inc. to the “Recycling/Glass Bottle Crushers” category of its Green Product & Service Directory. The GLSand is a compact glass bottle crusher that reduces bottles in volume by 10:1 to a safe to handle sand like product. The machine is designed for waste reduction, cost reduction and sustainability for the food, hospitality, and leisure Industries. The GLSand will provide a positive impact on a property’s waste reduction goals, and create a usable commodity for landscaping, pavement patching, pool filtration and other uses. The GLSand is quiet and easy to operate. It offers a...

NEW YORK—A solar powered USB charging station. An electric bicycle lending program. A one hundred percent recyclable wine glass. A system that integrates an alarm clock, HVAC and lighting controls, Wi-Fi and more into a single unified platform. A salad-making robot (vending machine) named “Sally” that delivers eight-component meals in seconds. These are just some of the products that were introduced at HX: The Hotel Experience and Boutique Design New York (BDNY). Both events were held November 11 to 12 at the Javits Center in New York City. It would be impossible to list all the eco-friendly products and...

ELKHART, IND.—Dometic reintroduced its Basic Line of minibars at the BDNY show November 10 to 11. These minibars are manufactured in Europe. “The Dometic Basic Minibar line offers quality product at attractive pricing while featuring best in class Absorption cooling technology engineered by Dometic. Ranging from 30 liters to 60 liters, the Basic line ensures noiseless operation in the room and will meet hoteliers’ expectations from best cooling performance to low energy consumption,” says Patrik Mattson, VP of Lodging Division for Dometic Americas. With over 45 years of experience, Dometic currently has locations in more than 100 countries and has installed...

BERKELEY, CALIF.—Claremont Club & Spa has launched a comprehensive food waste prevention program in partnership with Alameda County’s StopWaste agency and technology provider Leanpath. Leveraging a subsidy from StopWaste’s Smart Kitchen Initiative, the Claremont, a 103-year-old resort in the Oakland hills, will install Leanpath food waste tracking and analytics technology to understand what is being wasted and why, and to develop strategies to prevent it. “The Claremont understands that food waste is a major contributor to our carbon footprint,” said Sean Minton, Sustainability Initiatives Manager. “Leanpath will help us understand our operations in a data-driven and systematic way, using our new...

TROY, OHIO—Vulcan, the food equipment manufacturer known for quality, energy efficient commercial cooking equipment, is the winner of the esteemed 2018 StarChefs International Chefs Congress Innovator Award for Heavy Equipment for the Versatile Chef Station (VCS). Awarded during the 13th Annual StarChefs International Chefs Congress, held October 21 to 23, 2018, in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Innovator Awards recognize kitchen equipment at the vanguard of product development. As a one-of-a-kind product in the United States, the Vulcan VCS offers chefs the ability to sear, braise, simmer, steam, boil, shallow fry, sauté and retherm, all with one state-of-the-art multi-function cooking station that...

BROOMFIELD, COLO.—Vail Resorts, Inc. took major steps in its Commitment to Zero, as the company announced a long-term wind energy contract to purchase the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power 100 percent of its estimated FY 2019 North American operations by 2020. Additionally, Vail Resorts announced a partnership with Eco-Products to supply all its North American restaurants with compostable and recycled-content items and eliminate conventional single-use plastics, a process which will begin during the 2018-19 winter season. “As a growing company, deeply connected to the outdoors, we made a commitment last year to address our most pressing global and...

NEWARK, CALIF.—Mission Linen Supply, a leading provider of linens, uniforms, laundry services and supplies, has been honored with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification for its plant in Newark, Calif. The plant, which celebrated its grand opening in February 2018 and serves organizations throughout the Bay Area, includes a wide variety of “green” features. LEED certification, a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement offered through the U.S. Green Building Council, is awarded to facilities that are built to save water, energy and resources while generating less waste and supporting human health. Mission’s Newark plant received 52 points...