Green
Best Western Is Latest to Partner with Soap Recycler
Best Western International has partnered with Clean the World to recycle hotel soap and bottled amenities and provide poor folks around the world with hygiene care. Clean the World is a non-profit that collects used soap products from hotels, remanufactures them and distributes them to U.S. and Canadian homeless shelters as well as missions in 45 countries. ...
2012 Design Awards: Building Success
The amount of new openings in recent years has dwindled as a result of the credit crunch, but three new developments persevered through the downturn to open last year and ultimately prevail in this year’s Lodging Hospitality Design Awards contest....
Behind the Scenes March 15, 2012
Operational insights to help keep your property running at full speed...
$65 Milllion Turns NYC’s Helmsley into Westin
By early summer, the Helmsley Hotel in New York City will be no more. The circa 1981 building is undergoing extensive renovations and will become the Westin New York at Grand Central. This marks Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ second Westin in the city. The first is the nearby Westin New York at Times Square....
Kimpton Chief Talks Adaptive Reuse
CEO Mike Depatie claims Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants is likely the biggest adaptive-reuse boutique hotel company in the country. Of the company’s 52 properties, 12 are adaptive-reuse projects. The latest project is the Schofield Building in the heart of Cleveland, OH. Built in 1902, the 110-year-old office building will open this year as a 161-room Kimpton-style boutique hotel with a chef-driven restaurant. The yet-unnamed property, owned by CRM Real Estate, will include 25 luxury apartments and ground-floor retail....
LH Design Awards Call for Nominations
It’s once again time for Lodging Hospitality’s annual Design Awards competition. The Design Awards will run in the April 15 print issue and online, and we need your help identifying the year’s best hotel and resort design. ...
The Time Has Come for Amenity Dispensers
One of my favorite authors is Malcolm Gladwell, who among other books wrote The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. As Malcolm adeptly put it, the “tipping point” is that magical moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Another definition of tipping point is “the point at which the buildup of minor incidents reaches a level that causes most to do something they had formerly resisted.” ...
Lessons For Hoteliers From Other Sectors
Hospitality, government and education are very different verticals, with their own missions and operating procedures. Despite the differences, they also have a lot in common—in particular, concerns about standards, time, sustainability and budgets. Here’s a look at common challenges during renovation projects, and how best practices can be shared across industries....
Scheinblum, Cambean On a Green Mission
Brian Scheinblum, the head of Cambean Hospitality, views his Clifton South Beach hotel as a magnet for tourists seeking a travel experience based on sustainability. A 35-room boutique structure in the city’s Art Deco district in which Scheinblum invested $2.5 million, the Clifton is the first LEED Gold ...
Hampton Flexes Its Hotel Marketing Muscle
For Phil Cordell, innovation is a guidepost. As global head of focused service, Hampton brand management, Hilton Worldwide, it’s up to Cordell to execute the company’s elastic vision. The 15-story, 221-room Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Brickell Downtown embodies it....
Behind the Scenes Oct. 15
Operational insight to help keep your property running at full speed...
IHG Updates Online Tool Innovation Hotel
Who knew soap dispensers could be so controversial? IHG found out just how much when guests to their Innovation Hotel website debated the environmental benefits vs. hygiene concerns of the resource-saving measure....
Design Elements Sept. 5, 2011
A roundup of design and architecture news and notes....
Insuring Against Risks with Sustainable Hotels
Green building has grown exponentially in the past few years. As of March, 91 lodging properties had achieved the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification. An additional 1,100 properties have registered to seek certification. ...
Designing Hotels with the Forest in Mind
As green becomes the new gold standard, hotel owners and operators are increasingly looking to differentiate their brands through environmentally responsible facilities that get the attention of eco-conscious travelers. A 2010 survey of U.S. travelers found this strategy is effective; 48 percent of travelers said they would select a supplier that shows concern for the environment over those that do not....
Vertical Garden Debuts at Chicago Embassy Suites
Five years ago, vertical gardens started popping up in Asian buildings. It wasn’t long before they took root in the U.S. The Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Lakefront is likely the first hotel in the country to grow such a dramatic example of the indoor landscaping tool. The wall went ‘live’ in late spring. ...
Dolce Hotels and Resorts Prepares to Enter Indianapolis Market
Look at a map of downtown Indianapolis to see a vibrant city center, the striking Conseco Fieldhouse outpost, industries including the Indianapolis Farm Bureau and WellPoint, and a parking lot between Eli Lilly & Co. and the city’s bustling retail and commercial core. The 11-acre parking lot, more barrier than bridge, is about to be history....
Crosby Street Hotel Is Manhattan’s First LEED-Certified Hotel
The Crosby Street Hotel can now claim two firsts: It was the first Firmdale Hotel in the U.S. and just became the first Manhattan hotel to win Gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council....
Behind the Scenes April 2011
Operational insight to help keep your hotel running at full speed....
Design Awards: High Honors
From the towering 54-story L.A. Live project all the way down to the eight-story Padre Hotel in Bakersfield, CA, this year’s Design Award winners all stand out. Lodging Hospitality editors chose five projects to honor that displayed innovative, effective and creative architecture and design....
