ENGLEWOOD, COLO.—Destination Hotels & Resorts, a hotel and resort management company, announced it has selected the Green Key Eco-Rating Program (Green Key) as the green certification of choice for its 30-plus properties. The announcement followed an extensive due diligence process whereby the Destination Hotels & Resorts sustainability task force reviewed several programs before selecting Green Key. Prior to making its selection, Destination Hotels & Resorts piloted the program at the Embassy Suites at the Chevy Chase Pavilion in Washington, D.C. The Embassy Suites, which had previously implemented a number of green operating practices as part of the Destination Hotels &...

CHICAGO—Linda Bill and Vicki McMullan have been added to the growing hospitality division as directors of business development at Protect-A-Bed, a provider of bedding protection products. In their positions, Bill and McMullan will focus on growing relationships with current Protect-A-Bed customers and forging new relationships with prospective clients across the United States. Bill is handling Protect-A-Bed’s Western Region (Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming). McMullan is covering Protect-A-Bed’s Northeast Region (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont). Bill and McMullan will be...

INDIANAPOLIS—Gilchrist & Soames announced that it will add the Thymes Eucalyptus Collection to its amenities lineup. The Thymes Eucalyptus Collection will be on display at the International Hotel/Motel + Restaurant Show in New York City and is available to ship immediately. Kathie De Voe, president of Gilchrist & Soames, says, “We are very happy to partner with Thymes. Their company philosophy and product standards blend very well with our own, and the popular Eucalyptus Collection allows us to present a high-performance product from a well known and well-respected boutique retail brand to our hotel partners.” Thymes is a leading bath and...

MONTREAL—CAN2GO announced the launch of a new Variable Air Volume (VAV) building automation controller capable of bidirectional communication with EnOcean and wired end-devices. The controller features an embedded EnOcean transceiver and EnOcean-to-BACnet gateway, allowing total wireless control of energy harvesting end-devices within an end-to-end BACnet system. Extending the reach of centralized building automation systems, the VAV controller is a fully-programmable device with an on-board pressure sensor capable of meeting VAV application requirements. The CAN2GO controller can act either as a stand-alone product or be integrated into a larger BACnet system. “The use of wireless technology within a building management system...

CROSSVILLE, TENN.—Urban Renewal by Crossville combines the beauty of real metal accent and trim pieces with a dimensional composite body, which means that although it has the look of heavy metal, the tile is actually lightweight and easy to install.  And, in keeping with its name, Urban Renewal has a 50 percent post-consumer recycled content, which has been certified by Scientific Certification Systems. Designed by color forecaster Barbara Schirmeister, ASID, DC, CAUS, for both commercial and residential installations, Urban Renewal is suitable for interior and exterior vertical applications, such as backsplashes, bathroom and shower walls, fireplace surrounds and feature walls....

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—More than 10 percent of the more than 700 exhibitors at this year’s 2010 International Hotel, Motel & Restaurant Show (IHMRS) in New York City will feature green products and services for the hospitality market. The show, set to run Saturday, November 13 through Tuesday, November 16, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, will feature suppliers showing off the latest in sustainable technology, including: guestroom energy management systems, green hotel amenities, upholstery or linen fabrics with recycled content, furniture that meets sustainability guidelines, eco-friendly key cards and more. “As more hotels adopt sustainable environmental policies,...

DALLAS—VingCard Elsafe, a leading hospitality security provider and part of the ASSA ABLOY Hospitality Group, recently completed the installation of Orion by VingCard Elsafe, its new intelligent energy management solution; VISIONLINE, the company’s leading wireless RF-online system; and Signature RFID, its contactless electronic door locks with NFC cell phone compatibility, at the 74-room Comfort Suites in Gothenburg, Neb. The newest innovation by Orion by VingCard Elsafe is an intelligent energy management solution, designed to reduce energy costs while ensuring guest comfort. Incorporating proprietary technology, the system’s intelligent thermostat detects whether a guest is in the room to automatically control room...

MADISON, WIS.—The Ozone Company, located in Madison, Wis., recently unveiled its new Ecowash Premier Ozone Laundry System. Like other ozone laundry systems, Ecowash allows one to reduce energy, water, chemical and labor costs at any laundry facility. It features a proprietary logic control board developed by The Ozone Company that allows it to independently supply ozone to four separate washing machines at the same time. Other ozone laundry systems can at most control only two washers, resulting in lower capital expenses for Ozone Company customers utilizing the Ecowash system. In addition, the Ozone Company’s Ecowash system only produces ozone when...

CHICAGO—This month hoteliers from around the globe will be flocking to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York with one goal in mind: “Powering Business for the New Economy”—the theme for the 2010 International Hotel, Motel + Restaurant Show from November 13 to 16. OpenWays, the hospitality industry’s first mobile key front-desk bypass solution, gives hoteliers a new platform for sustainability by dematerializing keys and cards and instead sending them over the air to cell phones. Through its new “Plastic or Data?” campaign, which will launch at the IHMRS in Booth No. 2551, OpenWays is giving...

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN—Sustainable Cards, a leading source of sustainable wood for hotel key cards, gift cards and retail point-of-sale signage, announced that Scandic Hotels, one of Europe’s leading hotel chains, will use its wooden hotel key cards in all of its 157 hotels in nine countries. After using an earlier version of the wood card at some of its properties for more than seven years, Scandic Hotels has now decided to implement Sustainable Cards’ new patent pending version of the decade old Swedish invention in all of its hotels. Scandic Hotels, headquartered in Stockholm and long regarded as an industry leader...