DENVER—Atmosphere Hospitality Management, which introduced its full service, 180-suite Adoba Eco Hotel & Suites prototype earlier this year, has added a 112-room select service option for developers called Adoba Eco Inn. Every Adoba Eco Inn, like each Adoba Eco Hotel & Suites, will be required to achieve Gold or Platinum certification through the U.S. Green Business Council’s LEED certification process for new construction. The Adoba Eco Inn prototype features the brand’s green “DNA”—Distinctively New Attributes—such as Adoba Smart Solar Roofing, A-Gemini Alternative Wind Energy Solution, the A-Gemini Total Technology Property Management System, and the Journey Rewards program. “The development and...

MCLEAN, VA.—Hampton Hotels recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its award-winning employee-volunteer program, Save-A-Landmark. Since the program launched in 2000, more than 1,500 hotel employees have spent more than 8,000 hours aiding in restoration projects for historic and cultural landmarks throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Hampton started the Save-A-Landmark program as a way for hotels to give back to local communities. At each event, the volunteers from nearby Hampton hotels from hotel owners and general managers to housekeepers and front desk agents, take time out of their busy schedules of serving guests to serve their communities and assist...

NEW YORK—Former AH&LA chairman John Russell is partnering with Auromatrix Group from India and a team of lodging veterans to launch Advaya Hospitality. Speaking  before an audience of industry insiders at the International Hotel Motel + Restaurant Show (IHMRS) in New York, Russell said the new global company aims to bring the next generation of lifestyle hotels and related products to major cities worldwide. The hotels will be green properties incorporating technologies ranging from key card based energy management systems to wind and solar power. “Everything we do will be with a focus on sustainability,” Russell told Green Lodging News...

NEW YORK—Nine exhibitors were honored with Editors’ Choice Awards during the opening ceremonies of the 95th annual International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show (IHMRS) and the inaugural Boutique Design New York (BDNY), Sunday, November 14, 2010, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The awards program recognizes best new products within the categories of design, equipment & supplies, guest amenities, linens, technology, as well as an eco-friendly equivalent to each of these categories. From the nine winners, the Kenneth F. Hine “Best of Show” Award also was selected. The 2010 Editors’ Choice Award winners are: Green Design—GreenChance for EcoSmart...

ASHEVILLE, N.C.—The Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park announced that it has been awarded LEED Silver certification established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI). LEED is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. “The Hilton Asheville is a great example of how to combine sustainability with exceptional features and amenities to create a memorable guest experience,” said Ron Storto, vice president of hotel development with Biltmore Farms LLC. “From a destination spa and fine dining to eco-conscious products and operations, this new addition to...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and the Washington Convention and Sports Authority (WCSA) broke ground Wednesday, November 10 on the Washington Marriott Marquis. Joining them for this occasion were Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), city officials, representatives from WCSA’s board of directors, Quadrangle Development, Capstone Development, Marriott International, Inc. and Destination DC. The ceremony took place on the construction site at Ninth Street and Massachusetts Avenue, directly adjacent to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The hotel, which was designed to earn LEED Silver (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, is scheduled to open in spring 2014. “This is...

OKLAHOMA CITY—Encouraging Conservation in Oklahoma (ECO) announces its newest partnership in sustainability with Tulsa’s Inn at Woodward Park, the first bed and breakfast to qualify for a gold ECO certification. The inn, a renovated 1920s property located in the Swan Lake district of Tulsa, achieved a gold rating by documenting their current sustainable practices and committing to several improvements throughout the year. Their goals include eliminating unnecessary waste and reducing energy consumption by removing plastic water bottles from their operations and monitoring thermostat temperatures. The inn also contributes to Clean the World, a nonprofit that collects “gently-used” soaps from hotels...

NEW YORK—On Tuesday, November 9, Hyatt hotel housekeepers in eight cities across the United States filed injury complaints with OSHA, reporting repetitive motion and other kinds of injuries sustained on the job. The multi-city filing at 12 Hyatt properties that employ more than 3,500 workers is the first of its kind in the private sector. A major peer-reviewed study of hotel worker injuries at 50 U.S. hotels operated by the five largest U.S. hotel companies was published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine (AJIM) a year ago. (See study.) By company, housekeepers working at Hyatt hotels in the...

OTTAWA, ONT.—More than 95 percent of consumer products claiming to be green are committing at least one of the “sins” of greenwashing, according to The Sins of Greenwashing: Home and Family Edition, released last month by TerraChoice, a leading North American environmental marketing company and part of Underwriters Laboratories’ global network. The study also finds big box retailers stock more “green” products and more products that provide legitimate environmental certifications than smaller “green” boutique-style stores. Greenwashing is defined as the act of misleading consumers about the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or...

PASADENA, CALIF.—Because of its commitment to sustainability, the expanded Pasadena Convention Center has been awarded LEED Gold certification, making it one of only three U.S. convention centers to earn the prestigious Gold designation. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute, is the nation’s preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance buildings.  “We are proud to be one of the greenest convention centers in North America,” said Pasadena Center Operating Company CEO Michael Ross. “It is enticing to our clients,...