Partner News

NATIONAL REPORT—Whether it’s celebrating an anniversary, receiving an award, earning a certification, debuting a new product or expanding the business, hotel companies and vendors achieve new milestones on a daily basis. Here’s a look at recent accomplishments:

Serta Launches “Stay Home, Send Beds” Program
Serta has launched “Stay Home, Send Beds,” a program that will facilitate bed donations for hospitals and temporary medical facilities nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitors to SertaReliefBed.com can purchase up to 10,000 beds to be distributed in the city of their choosing.

For every 25 beds donated through “Stay Home, Send Beds,” Serta will donate an additional bed on top of the 10,000 mattresses it committed to New York City hospitals on March 26. Those beds are currently in production and will begin shipping this week.

The need for hospital beds is significant. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the University of Washington, 41 states will require more hospital beds than they currently have available due to the spread of the coronavirus.

“At times like these, we all have to ask ourselves what we can do to help,” said David Swift, Serta Simmons Bedding chairman/CEO. “Serta Simmons Bedding understands the importance of giving back to those in need with the resources we have available, and we hope to encourage our fellow citizens and our fellow bedding manufacturers to do the same.”

All donations are being facilitated through a collaboration with Relief Bed International, a nonprofit organization that provides beds to impoverished people and disaster victims around the world.

Rentokil Launches Disinfection Service
Rentokil has launched The Disinfection Service designed to protect employees and customers from the transmission of viruses, bacteria and fungi, and help businesses maintain the highest level of hygiene during this time of increased concern for public health.

Certified specialists use ultra-volume (ULV) disinfection foggers to disperse disinfectant, which is environmentally friendly and hypoallergenic, according to the company. The foggers create small disinfectant droplets, which treat surfaces such as floors; handrails and doorknobs; and large areas in a short time frame. The treatment inactivates pathogens in 10 minutes, and customers can be back on site 30 minutes after treatment.

“As many of our commercial customers remain in operation to serve the public in this unprecedented time in history, they understandably have concerns about keeping their staff and customers safe,” said John Myers, Rentokil president & CEO. “Our mission is to protect people and enhance lives, and we developed this service to help businesses disinfect safely, quickly and efficiently.”

Enduratex Introduces Vlog Series
Enduratex has launched Vinyl 101, a Vlog series produced to educate and inform the design community on the many terms, technical processes and differences between characteristics of coated fabrics.

“We received numerous positive comments, and even more questions, after a recent speaking engagement titled ‘Vinyl 101,’” said Eric Petersen, director of sales & marketing for Enduratex. “We realized that there was a lot of information that designers wanted, that either wasn’t easily accessible to them or they hadn’t been taught, so we decided to create a series that informs, educates and provides a vehicle to answer questions.”

The series features Enduratex veteran ‘Professor’ John Kessler and Petersen, as they sit down and discuss the many questions often fielded by the Enduratex team.

Hotel One Sixty-Six Chooses Agilysys Solutions
Hotel One Sixty-Six in Chicago has selected Agilysys Inc.’s rGuest Stay PMS solution to help streamline operations and deliver an improved guest experience, as well as rGuest Pay to ensure the efficient processing and security of guest payment information.

The property required a PMS that offered the simplicity of a SaaS solution with the ability to improve the guest journey throughout the property. Agilysys’ rGuest Stay brings an easy-to-use browser-based UI and robust guest-centric capabilities. The addition of rGuest Pay ensures secure guest payment transactions and seamless integration to rGuest Stay.

“I have been very pleased with how easy it is to set up the system to our exact needs,” said Ian Heffron, general manager at Hotel One Sixty-Six. “We’re looking forward to being able to customize the system further as our needs continue to evolve in the future. The check-in and reservation processes are also super simple and straightforward which means training and adoption of the system for the team will be very positive.”

Boston Four Seasons Selects Assa Abloy
Assa Abloy Global Solutions has implemented custom-designed VingCard Essence door locks alongside VingCard Signature RFID locks at the Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street, Boston, a 61-story skyscraper that serves as both a hotel and residential building.

Desiring to maintain its modern appearance and incorporate the building’s triangular exterior design into interior spaces, the hotel opted to implement VingCard Essence due to the lock’s minimalistic style. With all electronic components encased within the door itself and only a sleek RFID/BLE reader visible to guests, VingCard Essence can circumvent the commercial and bulky appearance of traditional hospitality-based door locks. To fulfill the property’s goal of implementing a triangular design within hallway environments, Assa Abloy custom-tailored handles that mirrored the building’s exterior appearance.

Additionally implemented were VingCard Signature RFID locks for parcel delivery rooms located within the building’s residential areas. This ensures that authorized delivery personnel can securely drop off and store resident packages without having to enter individual apartment units.

Speakman Names New Executive Management
Speakman, a manufacturer of shower heads and plumbing products, has added Sharmin Welch to its executive team as director of distribution sales. She supports Adam Horwitz, who was appointed general manager at the beginning of this year.

Both executives bring a wealth of industry experience with them from their previous positions. Horwitz joined Professional Plumbing Group (PPG) as VP of marketing in 2018 before also being entrusted with leading the Speakman brand as general manager. He honed his leadership skills as general manager of Kallista and in other executive marketing roles during his 10 years at Kohler Co., and at other internationally recognized business-to-business companies

Welch worked in sales management for 18 years at Kohler Co. and then spent two years in plumbing distribution.