DENVER—Sage Hospitality has upped its own ante on helping the environment with its new Green Choice program. The “opt in” initiative offers guests the choice to decline daily housekeeping to reduce their carbon footprint while saving hotels money on energy, water and other costs. Introduced in March 2010 and currently offered at 18 Sage hotels across the country, such as The Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel and the Nines in Portland, Ore., Green Choice reflects a growing trend as hotel groups seek innovative solutions to save money—and the planet—amid challenging times for the travel industry. Green Choice has seen great success...

PISCATAWAY, N.J.—New high performance, high efficiency toilets (HETs) are now available as part of three complete bathroom collections from American Standard Brands, including the Studio, Tropic and Evolution series, which offer styles that range from traditional to contemporary. “Savvy shoppers can focus on finding the ideal bathroom fixtures and coordinating design accessories, knowing that water efficient technology and top-rated flushing performance are built in,” says James Walsh, director of chinaware for American Standard. The top-rated flushing platforms used in these three bathroom collections, including the new high efficiency toilet additions, are capable of flushing more than 2.2 pounds of solids without...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes Newton Distributing Co. as a Product & Service Directory partner. Newton Distributing Co. specializes in supplying restroom products including environmentally friendly hand dryers, faucets, flush valves, baby changing stations, drinking water fountains, toilet accessories, partitions and much more. The products represented in Newton’s selection are manufactured by leading companies such as Excel Dryer, Rubbermaid, Sloan Valve, Moen, American Standard, Elkay, Kohler, and TOTO. For more information, e-mail lance@NewtonDistributing.com, call (877) 837-7745, or go to www.newtondistributing.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Washington Marriott at Metro Center announced that it has received the 2010 Environmental Excellence Award for “Outstanding Achievement by a Hotel.” The hotel is one of nine District businesses and nonprofit organizations recognized for their environmental stewardship, innovative best practices, pollution prevention and resource conservation. “We are delighted to be recognized by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and the city of Washington, D.C. for our efforts to reduce energy, water, waste and the way we demonstrate how responsible hotel operations can be a positive force for the environment,” said Meg Bobinski, general manager, Washington Marriott at Metro Center. “Our...

ALBUQUERQUE—In keeping with its commitment of being one of the most eco-conscious hotels in the country, the historic Hotel Andaluz—formerly La Posada de Albuquerque in downtown Albuquerque—used a mere 300,000 gallons of water for the entire month of May this year. That compares with 1.2 million gallons of water that the La Posada used in May 2004 and 730,000 gallons in May 2005—the last two years it was open. Since Hotel Andaluz opened in October 2009, the hotel is consuming an average of 770,000 gallons of water less per month than its predecessor, the La Posada. In fact, when comparing...

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF.—Wen-I Chang, founder and president of Atman Hospitality Group, Inc., has published a book that profiles 23 green hotels—both pre-LEED pioneer green hotels and the LEED certified hotels that followed. The creator of the book, called "World's LEED Hotels: Innovation, Renovation & Development," is Ling Ling Chang, project manager with Atman Hospitality Group. Twenty of the hotels profiled in the hard cover book are in the United States, one is in the U.S. Virgin Islands, one is in Sri Lanka, and the other is in Chile. Hotels profiled include: Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, Calif.; Maho Bay Camps,...

AUBURN, N.H.—Aquawing Ozone Injection Systems (AWOIS) LLC, in Auburn, N.H., recently released a new laundry ozone injection system engineered to serve the hospitality market, including hotels, motels and B&Bs, according to Brett Daniels, the company’s vice president. The new ozone system works by infusing a continual flow of ozone, at a consistent concentration, into the wash process to properly clean moderately soiled linens and towels. The system, according to Daniels, produces cleaner linens over traditional washing, while significantly reducing the use of natural gas, water and chemicals, as well as resulting costs. “This system was created to address the laundry...

TROY, OHIO—Hobart has launched Advansys, an advanced warewashing system. Advansys technology includes innovations that save operators time and money, makes the equipment easier to maintain and service, and improves productivity. The first product available in the Advansys line is Hobart’s new Advansys Ventless Door Type, which was introduced earlier this year as the AM Select Ventless warewasher. The unit is a recipient of this year’s National Restaurant Association Kitchen Innovations award, which recognizes groundbreaking foodservice equipment as selected by an independent panel of experts and received the Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI) Product of the Year award for 2010. The patent-pending...

LOS ANGELES—Falcon Waterfree Technologies, a leading global manufacturer of waterfree urinals, earned ‘2010 Money-Saving Product’ recognition by Buildings Magazine for the new Falcon F7000 splash-free waterfree urinal. The Falcon urinal was selected from a field of hundreds of products for its cost savings based on utility bills and ease of maintenance. Like all Falcon urinals, the new F7000 waterfree urinal is engineered to provide simple operation for new construction and restroom upgrades. The low purchase price and life cycle cost provides better payback than other urinal technology options. Besides saving up to 40,000 gallons or more of water and sewer...

NATIONAL REPORT—Going blue is not only about cheering for the University of Michigan. Going Blue is also about becoming more water efficient, and is as important a component of the greening of the lodging industry as any other. The hotel industry has made great strides in managing water consumption—changing faucet aerators and showerheads, and replacing older toilets—but there are still more opportunities for additional savings.  A water audit can help to find them. Why Pay Such Attention to Reducing Water Use? Water may still be cheap, but that does not mean it is plentiful. In many parts of the country water...