SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Participating members of FreshStay.com will have a new dress code for Fridays. To promote the benefits of being 100 percent smoke free, the hotel staff will don polo shirts and other clothing with a specially embossed FreshStay.com logo. The FreshStay apparel will be designed and produced by Vermont Clothing Company, which specializes in organic, recycled, Earth-friendly clothing. As an added bonus, a portion of the proceeds from the apparel will donated to the American Cancer Society and American Lung Association. “FreshStay Fridays is a great way for our members to promote themselves as 100 percent smoke free, and...

BERKELEY, CALIF.—Raksha Bella Organic introduces its Indian organic cotton duvet covers, quilts, pillow cases and Euro shams, handblocked in classic Indian patterns with low impact dyes. Raksha Bella means “protector of beauty.” “As a designer, I believe it’s my responsibility to create sustainable solutions to the things we consume every day,” said Carrie Peters, founder of Raksha Bella Organic. “With a handcrafted approach to the Raksha Bella line, I want to show the interconnectedness between product and person.” Cotton is one of India’s most important cash crops. Conventional growing methods (which use harsh chemicals and pesticides) harden the land and make...

THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF.—Founder/CEO of Investors Hospitality Management, (“IHM”) John Glen DiGuiseppe, has announced the launch of www.greenhotelbookings.com. “This is not a referral program nor a fee-based system but a free, actual verifiable green hotels booking engine, which, through its affiliation with bookings.com, Expedia, Orbitz, etc., provides reservations services in more than 18 languages for domestic and international visitors in quest of supporting sustainable hospitality in worldwide hotels and luxury estates,” DiGuiseppe says. The logical next step in implementation of technological tourism sustainability, DiGuiseppe states, “IHM conceived, developed and trademarked www.greenhotelbookings.com as a dual-focused site which both provides varied certification levels...

LANSING, MICH.—The new textbook, Managing Housekeeping Operations, Revised Third Edition, represents a collaboration between the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) and The Rooms Chronicle (TRC), a leading hotel rooms management publication and website. The book includes articles written by Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor of Green Lodging News. The revised housekeeping book was co-authored by TRC’s founder, Aleta A. Nitschke, CHA, and TRC’s executive editor, William D. Frye, Ph.D., CHE, associate professor, College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Niagara University. The book includes housekeeping operations-related content and excerpts from more than 100 The Rooms Chronicle articles, with content...

PANAMA CITY, FLA.—The Sugar Cane Paper Company, the largest manufacturer and distributor of bagasse-made, “treeless” paper goods in the world, announces the availability of bagasse-made napkins, toilet paper, tissue and paper towels; making it the only company with this complete line of eco-friendly products in the U.S. marketplace. Bagasse is the fibrous residue left over in the sugar-making process after the sugar cane has been crushed and the sugar extracted. All of The Sugar Cane Paper Company’s paper products are from recycled materials—85 percent is recycled waste (bagasse) and the remaining 15 percent, recycled paper. Sugar Cane Paper Company products...

HAMILTON, OHIO—For the second year in a row, Kaivac, Inc., developers of the No-Touch Cleaning system, won the Green Award at the ISSA/INTERCLEAN North America trade show, recently held in Las Vegas. According to ISSA, Kaivac won the award because conference attendees voted the firm as being one of the most innovative and environmentally responsible companies in the professional cleaning industry. Tom Morrison, vice president of marketing for Kaivac, said all Kaivac no-touch cleaning systems now have advanced three-stage vacuum systems as well as HEPA-filtered exhaust and blow systems—examples of the company’s innovation and environmental stewardship. “This helps...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Green Lodging News has added its eleventh case study to its Vendor Case Studies section. The case study focuses on Oakbrook, Ill.-based 1888 Mills and the way it has transformed its operations to reflect its commitment to the Triple Bottom Line: People, Planet, Profit. The company’s domestic mill, located in Griffin, Ga., is leading the way in this progressive enterprise, having established an Environmental Management System (EMS) to monitor natural resource efficiency and waste management. The intensive process is an ongoing endeavor, constantly optimized to maximize the beneficial impact on the local and global environment. 1888 Mills first established...

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Prescolite has introduced watts per square foot optics to its LiteFrame line. The new fixtures feature more lumens per watt, offering energy-saving benefits while increasing efficacy for retail, hospitality and design-build projects. LiteFrame’s new innovative optical design offers much more light than the typical 45-degree cutoff and opens up the opportunity to illuminate more space with fewer fixtures. With a slightly wider cutoff and broader light distribution, LiteFrame provides uniformity to increase safety and minimize distractions. Additionally, Prescolite’s patented watts per square foot optics controls brightness and glare at all lateral viewing angles, offering an even brightness control for...

ROANOKE, VA.—The Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center in Syracuse, N.Y., has installed Lodging Technology’s GEM System Energy Management in all 236 guestrooms. At the Sheraton, GEM System is interfaced directly to their existing SIEMENS Apogee Building Automation System to further enhance energy savings. GEM System, an infrared sensor-based guestroom energy management system, reduces room energy costs 35 percent to 45 percent. “We are very excited to start utilizing the system and begin to realize (increased) energy savings”, said David Heymann, hotel general manager. The SIEMENS Apogee system allowed the Sheraton to maintain setback temperature levels in unrented rooms,...

ONTARIO, CANADA—Tersano, a company dedicated to changing the way we think about cleaning chemicals, announced that it has begun working with major distributors across the country to offer its popular lotus brand chemical-free cleaning, sanitizing, deodorizing and stain-fighting solution for commercial use. The lotus Professional Cleaning System delivers the same sanitizing power of its consumer counterpart and presents hotels, restaurants and other businesses and organizations with a cost-effective and chemical-free alternative to other cleaners on the market. “The lotus Professional Cleaning System is an EPA-registered substitute for multiple chemical-based cleaners in a professional setting,” remarked Steve Hengsperger, president of Tersano....