NORTHBROOK, ILL.—UL, the global safety science leader, announced that The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, Calif., has become the first hotel globally to earn the UL Verified Healthy Buildings Mark for Indoor Air and Hygiene. Set on 504 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the 332-room resort, operated by Irvine Company Resort Properties, recently underwent an extensive process to earn UL’s Verification, demonstrating that both front and back of house have excellent indoor air quality (IAQ) and hygiene. To achieve the UL Verification Mark, the hotel participated in numerous desktop audits and on-site IAQ performance testing and assessment inspections. These included assessment...

MIAMI—The Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the foremost gathering of international leaders in the multitrillion-dollar global wellness economy, announced a new location and dates for its 2021 conference. Originally to be held in Tel Aviv, Israel, in mid-November, it will now take place in Boston from November 30 through December 3 at the five-star Encore Boston Harbor—a Wynn property. The 2022 Summit will be held in Tel Aviv in the fall of next year. The Summit is a profoundly global event, and with shifting world travel restrictions, this fall’s conference will be “hybrid”: offering both in-person participation (where delegates are immersed in...

NATIONAL REPORT—Forced hot air heating has been the traditional way of heating spaces but the pandemic along with an increasing concern for efficiency is leading more hotel owners to choose radiant heating systems for space heating—the Atlantis Casino and Spa in Reno, Nev., and the Rush Creek Lodge in Yosemite, Calif., being two examples. Both were spa installations. “Our radiant heating solutions are perfect for hotels and spas in new construction or remodeling,” says President of STEP Warmfloor, Monica Irgens. “With forced air, you are just blowing air around which aggravates allergies. We are actually warming the air with gentle heat...

MONTEBELLO, CALIF.—Furthering its commitment to sustainability by helping reduce the massive textile waste that ends up in landfills, Allied Home, manufacturer of quality crafted bedding products designed to give you a better sleep experience, has launched its new RENU:700 Performance Recycled Down bedding, the first of its kind on the market. By working with a global recycling supply chain, Allied is able to collect post-consumer bedding from Germany, Italy, Russia and North America and reuse the down inside these products for its RENU:700 Performance Recycled Down bedding. The collected down undergoes an intensive sanitation process at Allied’s facility. It is cleaned...

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.—While the practice for using germicidal UV fixtures to disinfect air has been well established in hospitals for over 70 years, ULTRA Germicidal Smart Fan by Modern Forms now helps you create a safer sanctuary for hospitality settings. “We didn’t intend to enter the established ceiling fan market. Our friends in the industry told us it was futile for us to even try, but here we are. We realized that we could use technology to stir things up,” says Dirk Wald, Co-CEO of Modern Forms and WAC. “And this is just the tip of the iceberg.” ULTRA uses...

DALLAS—Lennox International, a global leader in the heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration markets, is revolutionizing the commercial HVAC industry by introducing the rooftop unit Ultimate Indoor Air Quality system as part of its Building Better Air initiative. With the ability to remove 99 percent of the virus that causes COVID-19 from the air, Lennox has developed a rooftop unit that can help commercial businesses improve the health of their building. Using a factory-installed combination of MERV 16 filters and UVC Germicidal lamp, the Ultimate IAQ system has been third-party tested to show a 95 percent single pass efficiency rate with a 70 percent...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The following is a statement from Chip Rogers, President and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA), on easing face covering and physical distancing requirements for hotel employees in response to updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance. “In response to increasing vaccination rates across the country and of our workforce, and consistent with CDC and OSHA guidance, the hotel industry supports vaccinated employees being given the choice whether to continue wearing face coverings, in accordance with state and local laws. This change in policy for vaccinated employees is a result of our industry’s...

AUSTIN, TEXAS—Alen Air Purifiers, a leader in High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) solutions, announced that it is helping restaurants and bars around the country reopen safely due to its top-of-the-line air purification technology. These air purifying units are helping schools, government offices and specifically restaurants, which have been the hardest hit since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic over a year ago. Rosebud Steakhouse, a high-end, well-known steakhouse in downtown Chicago, equipped the restaurant with Alen’s air purifiers to further signal their priority of safety to customers and staff. “We researched for weeks to find the right partner and the Alen system...

ST. LOUIS, MO.—The U.S. Green Building Council launched its global economic recovery strategy last month, which outlines a path for how healthy places and LEED will support recovery efforts as businesses prepare for a post-pandemic world. The hospitality industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, and as the world prepares to travel again, hotels and restaurants around the globe are looking for ways to evolve the health and wellness of their indoor environments. Hotels have been turning to green building to demonstrate their re-entry plans and safety measures to guests. Green strategies that consider air quality...

TAMPA, FLA.—In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many hotels have enacted enhanced cleaning procedures and housekeeping standards, including the promise of cleaning high-touch surfaces. But are those hotels delivering on that promise? AAA—which conducts annual anonymous in-person inspections at more than 26,000 hotels across North America—will now test sanitation levels of high-touch surfaces, as part of its evaluation. “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on travelers’ expectations for cleanliness,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Travelers trust AAA for recommendations that focus on their safety and security. The Inspected Clean enhancement to our Diamond Program...