SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.—Wen-I Chang, founder and president of Atman Hospitality Group, Inc., has published a book that profiles 23 green hotels—both pre-LEED pioneer green hotels and the LEED certified hotels that followed. The creator of the book, called "World's LEED Hotels: Innovation, Renovation & Development," is Ling Ling Chang, project manager with Atman Hospitality Group. Twenty of the hotels profiled in the hard cover book are in the United States, one is in the U.S. Virgin Islands, one is in Sri Lanka, and the other is in Chile. Hotels profiled include: Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, Calif.; Maho Bay Camps,...

KEMP, TEXAS—Larson Electronics’ magnalight.com announced the addition of the SPLED-5 solar powered area light with rechargeable 12 hour run time battery. The SPLED-5 LED light can be surface mounted or affixed to a pole or rail. The 8 watt solar panel powers a 5 watt LED light that dims and brightens automatically based on an integrated motion detector. An integrated day and night sensor will trigger the light to come on in dim mode once the ambient light reaches a low lumens threshold, like late evening or dusk.Featuring a motion detector and low light sensor, the SPLED-5 solar powered...

VISTA, CALIF.—Sustainable Industries named Solatube International’s Solatube 750 DS Daylighting System as one of its 2010 Top 10 Green Building Products award winners. This is the second consecutive year the Solatube 750 DS has been selected as a “Top 10” product by Sustainable Industries, making it the first product to earn the distinction more than once. The Solatube 750 DS, designed for use in all retrofit and new construction commercial applications, was selected by Sustainable Industries from more than 100 entries based on its environmental performance, scalability/market impact, innovativeness, design aesthetic, value and compatibility with the U.S. Green Building Council’s...

ORLANDO—INNCOM International recently unveiled a new Radio Frequency (RF) Tabletop/Bedside Controller as part of its Integrated Room Automation System (IRAS) that is completely customizable. It is a multi-purpose device that features customizable touchscreen guest control of room temperature, lighting, drapes and alarm clock. The Internet-enabled TBL-80LCD can also display guest services information and online communications, automated CRM information delivery and easy staff reporting functions. INNCOM’s Privacy/Make-up Room, its patented ecoMODE, and in room/outdoor temperature also are part of the branded and customized display. INNCOM debuted its TBL-80LCD at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference (HITEC). Also on display was...

NATIONAL REPORT—LEDs (light-emitting diodes) have been making their way into the lodging industry for years now—in exit signs, exterior signage, for downlighting, track lighting, and in other applications. In the guestroom or in other spaces where standard incandescent or compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) need to be replaced, however, LEDs have not been practical due to cost. Could that be changing? The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 will end the sale of 100-watt incandescent bulbs in the United States by January 1, 2012, 75-watt bulbs by 2013 and 40- and 60-watt bulbs by 2014. As incandescents are phased out,...

LONDON—Whitbread PLC, the United Kingdom’s largest hotel and restaurant group, announced that as part of this year’s capital investment program it will be spending more than $10.6 million on a sustainability program to boost the environmental performance of its hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. The move forms an important part of Whitbread’s ‘Good Together’ sustainability strategy and will help the business deliver against its targets of a 26 percent reduction in energy consumption and a 20 percent reduction in water use by 2020. The investment drive will focus on Whitbread’s existing estate and will see the introduction of a package...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Bulbs.com as a Founding Sponsor. The company offers a wide selection of energy-efficient replacement bulbs, ballasts, fixtures and can consult on almost any lighting project. With its prepaid recycling containers, Bulbs.com also can help with bulb recycling programs. The company has certificates of proper recycling and disposal available and its prepaid containers follow EPA guidelines and keep businesses compliant. Bulbs.com first entered the lighting market in 1999. The company is now one of the largest Philips Lighting distributors, servicing more than 91,000 businesses operating 250,000 business locations. Bulbs.com’s...

ATLANTA—Two newly constructed Marriott International-branded hotels located in Atlanta’s Gateway Complex—adjacent to one of the world’s busiest U.S. airports and home to the Georgia International Convention Center—will be among the greenest hotels in the city. The SpringHill Suites Atlanta Airport Gateway is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) registered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and on track to becoming Atlanta’s first LEED Gold hotel. The Atlanta Marriott Gateway will apply for LEED Silver status upon opening in August. This major step in Atlanta brings Marriott one step closer to its goal to expand its LEED portfolio...

BOSTON—Spend some time chatting with Brian Gorski, director of engineering at the 498-room Hyatt Regency Boston and you will quickly understand how the all-electric hotel has been able to slice its annual power consumption by a whopping 42 percent—from 12.3 million kilowatt hours of usage per year to 7.1 million. The drop in energy consumption did not happen in just one year but over a time period of approximately 10 to 12 years when approximately $3 million was spent on improvements in infrastructure, equipment and other systems to improve energy efficiency. NStar, the Massachusetts-based, investor-owned electric and gas utility,...

TOLLAND, CONN.—Reflect and Glow Products has introduced Find a Light and GloPlate. The purpose of the products is to help people find their light switch plates in total darkness without the use of electricity. Their simple installation is one of the benefits and existing wall plate screws make it easy to attach each product to the wall plate in seconds. The products can be attached to both standard toggle wall plates and the more modern plates such as the Rocker Plate. The glowing fields of Find A Light guarantee that the product will glow all night when exposed to daylight...