CHEVY CHASE, MD.—A new coffee is brewing at Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts across the United States. First Drop Coffee is proprietary and branded for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in America. It is made 100 percent from coffee beans harvested by Rainforest Alliance Certified farms in Mexico and Brazil.In addition, select hotels will feature the First Drop Reserve, also a 100 percent Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee. This premium artisan coffee is roasted in small batch form using only the top 3 percent of the world’s Arabica coffees. The Ritz-Carlton exquisite blend hails from East Africa, Central America, and South America....

PARIS—Next spring, 14 years after being conceived by Pierre & Vacances Center Parcs and Euro Disney, Villages Nature Paris will open 20 miles east of Paris. The resort will be a showcase for green design, geothermal technology and will be based on harmony between man and nature. Villages Nature Paris will open with 916 dwellings, more than two-thirds of which will be cottages and one-third family suites. The dwellings will be owned by individual and other investors and managed by Villages Nature Paris. According to Dominique Cocquet, CEO of Villages Nature Paris, within five years the development is expected...

NATIONAL REPORT—HVS conducts numerous walkthroughs of hotel F&B operations each year. In almost every full service property, it finds opportunities to significantly decrease utility costs through a combination of operating enhancements and capital projects. This article summarizes some of the more common F&B utility efficiency opportunities that HVS routinely identifies and addresses at its clients’ properties. Where to Start? It is important to begin by understanding the relationship between ownership and management. For example, is the restaurant or banquet department operated by the hotel management company, leased to a third party, or joint ventured in some manner? Correspondingly, which party pays...

INWOOD, N.Y.—Laundrylux recently announced the addition of industry veteran Corey Simonson to its On-Premises Laundry division. Simonson has been hired as OPL National Sales Manager and is charged with growing business and supporting the Electrolux and Wascomat distribution network.Simonson brings a significant amount of industry and sales experience with him. His laundry industry expertise spans over three decades and includes success in commercial laundry, wholesale, service, and retail environments.Most recently, Simonson served as Director of Midwest and Canadian Sales for a North American dryer manufacturer. Prior to that, he managed regional commercial and route sales for a laundry company....

AMELIA ISLAND, FLA.—Omni Amelia Island Plantation Resort is planning a “Fish to Fork” weekend. The competition, benefiting the James Beard Scholarship Foundation, will be hosted over Mother’s Day weekend, May 5 to 8. Two-time Fish to Fork winner Daven Wardynski, Executive Chef at the Omni resort, will welcome six competing chefs and guests for myriad events throughout the weekend. From taste tests to an actual fishing expedition alongside award-winning chefs, Fish to Fork offers a rare opportunity for gastronomes who have a love for the sea.Guests will have a variety of packages to choose from, including a VIP Package,...

HONG KONG—FCS Computer Systems (FCS), a leading comprehensive hospitality solutions and services provider, announces the launch of e-Laundry, an automated alternative to manual laundry and linen tracking. The new e-Laundry solution is designed to help hotels eliminate paper trails, while gaining greater perspective into real-time inventory, operational needs by shift, and future consumption forecasting. e-Laundry is especially suitable for hotels with more than 300 rooms, mega resorts and casino hotels with an exceptionally heavy demand for laundry services.The hub of e-Laundry is the Management Dashboard, which provides an overview of each day’s performance for laundry and linen activities. Accessible...

NATIONAL REPORT—Hotels around the planet are lining up activities for Earth Hour. The annual event will take place on Saturday, March 19 at 8:30 p.m. local time. The Earth Hour global initiative, now in its 10th year, aims to raise awareness about climate change and the need to find solutions to the world’s environmental problems. Las Vegas Sands, IBEROSTAR Hotels & Resorts, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide are a few of the companies with properties participating this year.Sands ECO360°, the global corporate sustainability program of Las Vegas Sands (LVS), is launching its fourth annual “I Will If You...

INWOOD, N.Y.—Commercial laundry equipment provider Laundrylux recently hired Robert Tudisco as its new Vice President of Technical Care and Training. Over the last 15 years, Tudisco has held a variety of technical leadership positions in several service industries that range from textile rental services, to facility critical power infrastructure support and data center infrastructure support services.“Ours is an industry that continues to grow in terms of technology, and with the addition of Robert to our team, we have a leader who will make certain that Laundrylux employees stay informed and ahead of the curve,” said Gary Brown, Vice President...

NEWARK, N.J.—AeroFarms, an indoor, aeroponic farm has grown more than 250 varieties of leafy greens and herbs with consistency and flavor, selling to a wide range of customers including chefs and restaurants. Based in Newark, N.J., AeroFarms serves the New York metro area, using its own unique aeroponic growing system to give leafy greens the perfect environment for uniform and predictable growth. Then they carefully manage that environment, from a proprietary nutrient mist to custom-designed LED lighting, to elevate the flavor and texture of each variety with pinpoint accuracy. Each AeroFarms harvest is monitored with 30,000 data points around...

BOSTON—Imagine a world where restaurants could find the greenest products and most sustainable food from their own distributors. Imagine if these distributors only listed the green products that meet the Green Restaurant Association’s (GRA) environmental standards, and that each product on that list was vetted by the Green Restaurant Association’s team of restaurant sustainability consultants. Imagine that each product would list the environmental standard it meets, along with its GreenPoints score. That world is now here. Up until now, it could be difficult for restaurateurs to find the green products they could rely upon to both work and have a...