SILVER SPRING, MD.—Choice Hotels International, Inc. announce its recent recognition as the 2009 Top Franchise for Excellence in Diversity, as selected by Oliver Tree Publishing, Inc., publishers of the Black EOE Journal, Hispanic Network Magazine and Professional Woman’s Magazine. The company’s Excellence in Diversity award comes as part of the publisher’s 2009 “Best of the Best” Annual Review Series, now in its eighteenth year. This annual evaluation sets the standard for identifying corporations that are providing the best career opportunities for minorities and serves as an evaluation of corporate America’s career advancement opportunities for minorities. Choice Hotels was selected...

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—With its recent $1 billion in renovations, the Holiday Inn brand has earned well-deserved publicity. Perhaps the Holiday Inn property deserving of the most buzz this year, however, is the brand new Holiday Inn Northwest/Sea World in San Antonio. The 194-room hotel is on track to be the first LEED certified hotel in Texas and the first LEED certified property within the 3,300-property Holiday Inn brand. The hotel, which opened on October 5, is owned by a group of investors out of Lubbock, Texas, and managed by Dallas-based Hospitality Management Corp. Green highlights of the 100 percent...

NEW YORK—The total number of exhibitors may have been less than previous years due to the economy and other factors but the number of vendors offering green products and services was stronger than ever at this year’s International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show (IH/M&RS). The event was held November 8 to 10 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Visitors to the show found exhibitors featuring amenity bottles that biodegrade much faster than traditional plastic bottles; dispensers that eliminate amenity bottles altogether; a nonprofit that matches up hotels with other nonprofits to help eliminate food, toiletry...

LAS VEGAS—Crystals, the retail and entertainment district at CityCenter, has achieved LEED Gold Core & Shell certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), making it the world’s largest retail district to receive this level of recognition. Opening in December, CityCenter was created with a vision to introduce a new level of environmental consciousness to the world-famous Strip and has emerged as a leader in sustainable urban development. Crystals’ achievement marks the fourth LEED Gold certification for CityCenter; previous recipients included 1. ARIA Resort’s hotel tower, 2. ARIA’s convention center and theater, and 3. Vdara Hotel & Spa. CityCenter...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released its first WaterSense specification for a commercial building product. WaterSense labeled flushing urinals will use 50 percent less water than standard urinals, saving businesses 4,000 gallons of water per year for every model installed. While current federal standards set the maximum allowable flush volume at one gallon per flush, an estimated 7.8 million urinals in use today are older inefficient models. In addition to using no more than a half gallon per flush, urinals bearing the WaterSense label must meet EPA’s performance requirements, ensuring they work as well or better than...

ALPHARETTA, GA.—The Hansgrohe formula of blending modern and traditional design elements with state-of-the-art technology is once again on display with the new Metris C line of lav, bidet and tub faucets. All of the lav models in this new series feature ceramic cartridges and Hansgrohe EcoRight technology to limit flow rates to 1.5 gallons per minute (GPM)—a 30 percent savings over conventional lav faucets. Like the new Talis C series, Metris C faucets are designed to be combined with Hansgrohe Raindance C showerheads, handshowers and bodysprays, creating a coordinated look that brings a classical elegance to the bath, but with...

SAN FRANCISCO—When the upscale Hotel Griffon in San Francisco receives its October water bill, they can anticipate a pleasant surprise. That’s because the boutique building’s 57 rooms and five luxury suites have recently been retrofitted with Perfect Flush dual-flush systems by Brondell. This dual-flush functionality will reduce the Hotel Griffon’s toilet water use by upwards of 18,000 gallons monthly, thereby saving the establishment close to $3,500 dollars per year. In 2007, the Hotel Griffon underwent a full renovation. While that makeover included the installation of 1.6-gallon toilet tanks in all of its rooms, the popular Bay-area hotel wanted to...

VALLEY CENTER, CALIF.—Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort has diverted more than 400 tons of recyclables, reduced Styrofoam use by 25 percent and cleaned up more than eight miles of San Diego County beaches. These conservation efforts are the result of the employee driven “Green Committee,” which meets bi-weekly in support of the company’s CODEGreen Commitment. “CODEGreen is our commitment to conservation and sustainability,” says senior vice president and general manager Janet Beronio. The Green Committee is comprised of Harrah’s employees who want to make a difference. “There were so many ideas at the first meeting,” exclaims Brendan O’Kane, facilities manager...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—Hasek Communications, the Cleveland, Ohio-based publisher of Green Lodging News, welcomes the Edro Corporation as a Green Product & Service Directory Partner. Edro washer-extractors are fitted with the company’s proprietary on-board DynOzone—DynaWash Ozone System. The machines reduce hot water requirements and shorten cycles to save on operating costs. Edro washer-extractors feature highly efficient motors and drives and state-of-the-art HMi touch screen controls. The company’s high efficiency tumbler dryers, available in capacities from 35 to 450 pounds, complete the laundering process. For additional information, call (800) 628-6434, e-mail aholaday@edrodynawash.com, or go to www.edrodynawash.com.

LAS VEGAS—CityCenter announced that it has received three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council for: ARIA Resort’s hotel tower; ARIA Resort’s convention center and theater; and Vdara Hotel. ARIA and Vdara will open in December on the Las Vegas Strip and are the first of CityCenter’s developments to be LEED certified. CityCenter anticipates Gold or Silver LEED certification for its remaining developments which include Las Vegas’ first Mandarin Oriental; Crystals, a 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment district; Veer Towers, the community’s only strictly residential buildings; and The Harmon (opening late 2010),...