UNIFORM TRACKING
Managing a workforce of approximately 8,000 employees has to be challenging enough for the executives of the 5,044-room MGM Grand Las Vegas, but imagine the daunting task of taking care of all those uniforms.

“Imagine the largest dry cleaners you have ever seen, with moving conveyors of hanging clothes and storage for all its customers’ garments and then multiply it by the power of 10 — that is our operation,” says Jackie Murphy, the executive director of uniforms for MGM Grand. “We track every single item of staff uniform clothing from the neckties on our concierges to the heavy duty jumpsuits of our engineers. Our system records when each piece was purchased, how much we paid, how often it has been cleaned and repaired and when it is forecasted for replacement.”

MGM uses the GIMS uniform inventory control system from InvoTech Systems to track the 90,000 garments in active rotation. Murphy says a bar code, much like a license plate, is placed in every piece of clothing at purchase, making it easy to track and then forecast when items are ready to be replaced.

INDOOR AIR QUALITY
The Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Lakefront recently unveiled a 720-square-foot living wall in the hotel’s lobby. Installed by Ambius, the eco-friendly display features 3,840 plants across six species, and provides not only beauty, but also helps with clean air, noise reduction and energy efficiency by moderating indoor temperatures and humidity levels.

IN-ROOM COFFEE
Not surprisingly, in-room coffee service is as important to hotel guests as having flat-screen TVs in guestrooms. Yet, many guests (46% in a new survey commissioned by Keurig) don’t believe in-room coffee is as good as they have at home. Two-thirds of those surveyed are aware of Keurig’s coffee units, and it’s the preferred system by 44% of them.