NEW YORK—Drew Schlesinger, a veteran of the hotel industry and a 12-year resident of Scarsdale, N.Y., was recently named general manger of the InterContinental Times Square. One of the greenest hotels in New York City, the hotel opened in July. The 36-story, 607-room hotel cost half a billion dollars to build and is being billed by its parent company, InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, as one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the city. It’s already the largest hotel in New York to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, which is assigned by the U.S. Green Building...

PARIS—Concorde Hotels & Resorts has partnered with leading French fragrance house Annick Goutal to create the Annick Goutal Organic Line, in-room amenities exclusive to Concorde Hotels & Resorts around the world. The hotel group is among the first in the hospitality industry to offer custom-designed, organic amenities brand wide, collaborating closely with the fragrance house to develop 100 percent organic, eco-labeled, and Cosmebio-certified amenities for all hotels in the collection, including the world-renowned Hotel de Crillon and Hotel Lutetia in Paris; Hotel Martinez, Cannes; Hotel Concorde Berlin; and the Palais de la Mediterranee, Nice.  Reflecting Concorde Hotels & Resorts’ strong...

SAINT PAUL, MINN.—3M Architectural Markets introduces the 3M Sunlight Delivery System, a new daylighting solution that captures and harnesses sunlight in an energy-efficient lighting system for commercial buildings. This hybrid system combines multiple technologies to bring sunlight deep into interior spaces and provides consistent light levels throughout the day. The technology holds promise for both energy efficiency and improving the productivity and morale of building employees.  The 3M sunlight delivery system provides the industry with a new method of daylighting that offers significantly greater capabilities than existing alternatives. Traditional daylighting methods such as skylights or tubular daylighting devices present a...

BETHEDA, MD.—Marriott International has been named a member company of the FTSE4Good (Financial Times Stock Exchange) Index Series for 2011. The company has been a constituent of FTSE4Good since its inception in 2002. According to FTSE, increasingly stringent inclusion criteria focused this year on the environment, human rights, supply chain, social programs, stakeholder engagement, labor standards and anti-corruption policies and procedures. The FTSE4Good Index Series is managed by the FTSE Group and consists of a series of benchmark and tradable indices for socially responsible investors. In order to meet the FTSE4Good Index criteria, Marriott provided evidence of continued improvement and...

LAYTON, UTAH—Home2 Suites by Hilton recently celebrated the official grand opening of the brand’s second U.S. hotel in Layton, Utah, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an announcement of a charitable community partnership. The first Home2 Suites opened in February 2011 in Fayetteville, N.C. To commemorate the event, Home2 Suites executives joined Mayor Steve Curtis, representatives from developer and property manager Western States Lodging and Management, owner Summit Lodging and members of the local business community for an afternoon of on-site activities. The Home2 Suites brand is committed to environmentally conscious practices. In addition to recycling throughout the hotel, appointments include...

CORONADO, CALIF.—Established in 1888, the legendary Hotel del Coronado has achieved another milestone by being the oldest hotel in the United States to receive Bronze Level certification by Green Seal. In accordance to Green Seal’s environmental management system, the hotel has made significant progress against the four pillars: climate change, waste, natural resources, and health and well-being. “The entire staff embraced a culture of environmental responsibility, which supported our efforts to overcome the challenges associated with being a 123-year-old property,” says Donna Gonser, hotel manager. Paper, cardboard, wood pallets, plastic containers, aluminum cans and glass are separated and recycled resort-wide....

SILVER SPRING, MD.—Choice Hotels International, Inc. announced a number of efforts it has undertaken to underscore its ongoing commitment to the environment. These initiatives are in support of the company’s Room to Be Green environmental protection program and in honor of the 41st anniversary of Earth Day, being celebrated Friday, April 22. At the hotel level, the company has significantly increased the number of hotels in its Room to Be Green program to more than 1,300 hotels. Since the program launched in 2009, these hotels have achieved significant reductions in energy and water usage, measurable in billions of kilowatt hours...

A little more than two years ago, while attending the Americas Lodging Investment Summit in San Diego, I had an opportunity to attend a media event at which Hilton Worldwide unveiled its new mid-tier extended-stay brand—Home2 Suites by Hilton. The timing was not the best, just four or five months after the economy took a dive, but the launch has turned out to be a very successful one. Two hotels have already opened—one in Fayetteville, N.C. (see article), and another in Layton, Utah. According to Bill Duncan, global head, Home2 Suites, eight or nine Home2 Suites properties should be...

SAN FRANCISCO—Smith & Fong Co. announced the company has launched a new range of sugar-palm plywood, wall paneling and flooring products. Joining the company’s line of Durapalm coconut palm plywood, flooring, veneers and panels, Smith & Fong’s new Deco palm products feature an almost three-dimensional appearance. “The new Deco palm design is an assemblage of the full range of textures and rich colors inherent to this species of palm,” company founder and president Dan Smith said. “The Deco wall panel product is actually three-dimensional, as the surface is constructed of varying thicknesses of material. Our flooring and plywood sheet products...

DALLAS—An interactive dashboard that integrates in-room electronic systems and status including occupancy, locks, safes, lighting, energy management and more, allows hotel properties to manage subsystems remotely over the hotel LAN or Web-based connection. This software-based system, Integrated Room Control Dashboard, is an integral part of Orion by VingCard Elsafe, the new intelligent energy management solution from VingCard Elsafe. The energy management system was designed to automatically control temperature settings as guests travel in and out of their rooms, thereby reducing energy costs while ensuring guest comfort. As it integrates with a hotel’s wireless online locks, safes, lights and other networked...