JASPER, IND.—Furthering its dedication to be a go-to supplier of relevant office furnishings, Indiana Furniture has announced enhancements and additions to their surface materials program. Customers will find new additions to veneers, laminates, and acoustical panels, as well as having the increased ability to coordinate colors across various types of materials and product series. Inspired by nature and current marketplace trends, this new, holistic palette provides a relevant light-to-dark spectrum that adds to the beauty of any environment and features low-emitting finish systems to meet indoor air quality standards which support sustainable initiatives in the workplace. From the depth of veneers...

SAN FRANCISCO—Awair, the creators of intelligent air quality monitors for homes and enterprises, announces a $10 million Series B financing led by The Westly Group, with additional investment from Altos Ventures, Emerson Electric, iRobot and Nuovo Capital. With the newly secured funding, Awair will focus on increasing production to fulfill the rising demand for both their consumer solutions, research and development for new products and continued growth of their enterprise business through an expanded sales process. “Air impacts all aspects of our health and well-being,” says Awair co-founder, Ronald Ro. “There is a massive opportunity in how we design, build,...

NEW YORK—Volara—the fully integrated voice-based conversation management software for the hotel industry—and Schneider Electric, a global leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, have signed a partnership agreement to combine their automation and voice technology expertise to co-develop new innovative solutions in the hospitality industry. Together, Schneider Electric and Volara will provide intuitive voice activated guestroom control that enhances the guest experience and provides enriched analytic capabilities that can improve operational efficiency for the hotel. As the first step in this collaboration, the two companies have completed a new application programming interface (API) which connects Schneider Electric’s room...

COMMERCE, CALIF.—Nora Lighting introduces the M2 Series with a mini 2” aperture downlight or adjustable gimbal. Designed for easy installation, the M2 does not require a housing unit; it is outfitted with a prewired junction box that includes a quick connect to the LED fixture. The M2 is IC- and air-tight rated for remodel and new construction applications and an optional new construction frame-in plate is available. The downlight has a deep 2.5” regression while the gimbal trim offers a maximum adjustability of 25°. M2 delivers 400lm (6W) or 650lm (8W) and is offered in 2700K or 3000K at 90+CRI. Die-cast...

ODESSA, FLA.—Green Lodging News welcomes Boxed Water Is Better™ to its Green Product & Service Directory in the Water/Sustainably Packaged category. Guests want to do all they can to help end the plastic pollution problem. Boxed Water offers award winning pure water in a box that is made from 74 percent sustainable materials (paper). When Boxed Water Is Better customers post pictures on social media, the company will plant two trees in national forests. Boxed Water Is Better has planted 790,000 trees so far. Boxed Water is Better can also help hotels organize events that support sustainability. Visit boxedwaterisbetter.com,...

PORT CHESTER, N.Y.—The Shade Store, a leading resource for premium custom window treatments, will show at HD Expo for the first time, May 15 to 17 in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Featuring a selection of new offerings and bestsellers curated for the commercial market, The Shade Store’s booth #3275 will highlight full-service solutions and state of the art window treatment products that can be tailored for hospitality, retail and workplace commercial design projects. “At The Shade Store, many of our customers are interior designers, and our work in the contract market is in many ways a...

ATLANTA—Pure Wellness, a pioneer and leader in hotel guestroom wellness solutions, announces two luxury property additions to their portfolio of certified Pure Rooms. The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta and The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota now offer certified Pure Rooms to their guests. “Ritz-Carlton, where ‘Ladies and Gentleman serve Ladies and Gentlemen,’ has long represented the gold standard in service and luxury,” notes Larry Hall, CEO of Pure Wellness. “With the addition of certified Pure Rooms to The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota and The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta, discriminating travelers can now enjoy the benefits of a certified Pure Room in the warm, relaxed, and refined ambiance of a...

SAN FRANCISCO—Awair, the creators of intelligent air quality monitoring solutions, announced that Awair Omni, the company’s enterprise air quality monitor, now tracks light and noise levels in addition to air quality. Thanks to this new functionality, facility owners, building managers, realtors and other professionals will be able to track light and noise levels in a way that benefits employees, tenants, customers and other occupants. This new addition makes Omni one of the few devices available that tracks tenant wellness through a variety of factors, incorporating light, noise and air quality into its monitoring to create healthier, more productive spaces. Importance...

MIAMI—Watergen and Baker’s Cay Resort, a Curio Collection by Hilton, are working together to provide real solutions to reduce single use plastics and to generate clean drinking water. Baker’s Cay Resort in Key Largo, Fla. is taking action locally to help cut its environmental footprint in half, from water stewardship and energy conservation to reducing waste and leading community projects. Watergen is supporting the wide range of activities by providing an atmospheric water generator included in the Watergen Emergency Response Vehicle. Together, the resort and Watergen provided clean drinking water to guests and the community on April 22, 2019, Earth Day....

ORLANDO, FLA.—Welcoming all kinds of people is the heart of hospitality, so awareness of unconscious bias is necessary for hospitality operations to build a positive business reputation and retain workers. Understanding Unconscious Bias in Hospitality is a new online training suite developed by the National Restaurant Assn. in conjunction with the Multicultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance (MFHA) and the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI). As part of the ServSafe Workplace platform, this training educates learners about unconscious bias with hospitality industry-specific examples presented through modules for employees and managers. “The hospitality industry is as diverse as the communities we...