WESTBURY, N.Y.—When Westbury, New York’s Viana Hotel & Spa was in its design stage, it was shortly after Hurricane Katrina pummeled the Gulf Coast. Oil prices shot up and the United States’ dependence on foreign oil was in the spotlight. It was within this climate of energy uncertainty that Alan Mindel and his team at Samar Hospitality decided to build the most energy-efficient hotel possible. Designed to achieve LEED-NC Silver certification, the 116-room Viana Hotel & Spa on Long Island features a closed-loop water-source heat pump system for heating and cooling as well as an 11-kilowatt photovoltaic system on...

CHICAGO—Culligan, a leading provider of advanced filtration and water softening solutions, recently unveiled its High Efficiency (HE) Water Softener as part of its Culligan Matrix Solutions water treatment systems, which provide greater flexibility, speed to market and cost savings to commercial companies. Culligan’s HE Water Softener offers commercial users a range of advanced features and options based on their unique water usage and quality requirements. Its unique design addresses the most common user concerns such as: operating, labor and maintenance costs, as well as the impact of poor water quality on operational efficiency and customer service levels. “Selecting the right...

FRANKLIN PARK, ILL.—Sloan announced the hiring of Mike Gipson as product line manager, Flushometers, and Carrie Halle as product strategy manager. Gipson will be responsible for managing and marketing the flushometer product line. While serving as the voice of the customer for this product category, Gipson’s duties will include defining flushometer product strategy, positioning and pricing strategies. He will work closely with Sloan’s new product development team, as well as with quality, supply chain, customer service and technical support teams to ensure customer needs are met.  Gipson has more than 20 years of experience in product and brand management, most recently...

NEW CASTLE, DEL.—Speakman Company recently unveiled the newly redesigned Anystream Icon 8-Jet showerhead. The Icon 8-Jet, also known as the Speakman #1 is one of Speakman’s most recognizable showerheads. The newly redesigned Anysteam Icon 8-Jet showerhead joins the Icon 6-jet showerhead, which was redesigned and introduced in March. The Anystream Icon showerheads have undergone many changes over the years but still retain their signature spray performance which made them known throughout the plumbing and hospitality industry. Upgrades to the product include a metal faceplate free from screw holes, contoured peanut handle, and extended body to create a smooth body shape up...

ANGUILLA, BRITISH WEST INDIES—When chefs at the CuisinArt Resort & Spa on the Caribbean island of Anguilla need vegetables or herbs for dishes they are making, they do not have to go far. The 93-room resort has its own one-half acre, 18,000-square-foot hydroponic farm in a greenhouse. Staffed by four people, including hydroponics expert and author Dr. Howard Resh, the farm produces a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, edible flowers, and herbs such as tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli rabe, bok choy, arugula, watercress, parsley, sage, chives, dill, chervil, mint, oregano and more. Only organic bioagents and natural organisms...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Neo-Metro as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Neo-Metro specializes in contemporary bath decor that has the classic and industrial look of stainless steel. The miniLOO is a toilet that’s made from 80 percent recycled stainless steel. It is designed with an in-wall dual-flush mechanism, which minimizes water waste by allowing users to select either a 1.6- or 0.8-gallon flush, for an average of 1.2 gpf. Neo-Metro’s waterless urinal has furthered Neo-Metro’s commitment to the environment by utilizing a proprietary technology that does not require messy and...

LAS VEGAS—Investigative and magazine journalist Charles Fishman, author of “The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water,” will be keynote speaker for the 4th annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference and Exposition luncheon Thursday, October 6, at the South Point Hotel and Conference Center in Las Vegas. A finalist for the Goldman Sachs “Financial Times” Business Book of the Year award in 2006, Fishman is a former metro and national reporter for The Washington Post. Since 1996, he has worked for the innovative business magazine Fast Company. His story about bottled water, “Message in a Bottle,” was a finalist...

SNOWMASS, COLO.—Viceroy Snowmass, which opened to rave reviews in late 2009, announced that it has been awarded LEED Gold 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. Viceroy Snowmass is the first hotel in Aspen/Snowmass to be awarded LEED Gold as well as the first luxury hotel in Colorado to receive this prestigious designation. By incorporating sustainable design and construction, innovative operational practices, and a culture of environmental stewardship, Viceroy Snowmass aims to...

MIAMI—Up on the roof of the 16-story Hampton Inn & Suites, a 221-room hotel in the Brickell Financial District of downtown Miami, building developer Hospitality Operations, Inc. originally planned to install solar thermal panels for the purpose of heating hot water. A local hurricane ordinance will prohibit them from adding the system to their property that is scheduled to open September 15. Even without the panels, the hotel is set to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification, according to Howard Wolfson, vice president operations for Nashville-based Hospitality America, Inc., the company that will manage the...

OSHKOSH, WIS.—Continental Girbau recently released the new MG-Series hard-mount washer-extractors, available in 40- and 55-pound capacities. Continental’s highest performing hard-mount washers, MG-Series Washers feature up to 200 G-force extract speeds, superior energy-efficiency, and advanced programmability. The new MG-Series Washers—suited for an array of on-premise laundry facilities—are engineered to reduce utility costs and labor, while boosting productivity. Unlike many other hard-mount washers on the market, which typically produce extract speeds between 70 and 120-G-force, MG-Series generates speeds of 200 G-force. In addition to the new 200 G-force MG Series hard-mount line, Continental offers a full array of washers for on-premise laundries, including...