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:
Driftwood Hospitality Management Celebrates 20 Years
Driftwood Hospitality Management (DHM), a North Palm Beach, FL-based hotel management company, this year celebrates a company milestone of 20 years. Since its launch with three hotels in February 1999, DHM has grown its portfolio, kicking off 2019 with 58 properties and an additional 17 currently under development. The company started with 11 employees based at the corporate office, and today, DHM employs more than 62 team members in Palm Beach County, in addition to its 4,015 employees nationwide.
In addition to its 20-year milestone, the company will achieve another milestone with local impact this year: Driftwood will open its first hotel in West Palm Beach, the Canopy by Hilton.
DHM also managed $59.1 million in renovations in 2018, a 74,428% growth since its inception in 1999, which totaled $7 million in renovation costs. Looking ahead to 2019, there are currently seven renovations scheduled, totaling approximately $43 million. In addition to renovations, DHM is involved in 17 projects under development in 2019, the majority of which are in the South Florida area. Throughout the years, DHM has worked with major brands such as Marriott International Inc., Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., Hilton, InterContinental Hotels Group, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Wyndham Worldwide, and Choice Hotels International Inc., among others.
In 2015, DHM launched an affiliate branch, Driftwood Acquisitions and Development (DAD), a boutique investment company. DAD has worked to target local development opportunities and attractive acquisition opportunities in markets across the United States for the company. Since inception, DAD has acquired 18 hotels totaling in $189 million in hotel revenue.
Davidson Hotels & Resorts and M3 Receive Atlanta Top Workplaces 2019 Award
The Top Workplaces 2019 honor by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution goes to Davidson Hotels & Resorts and M3. The list is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by research partner Energage LLC, a provider of technology-based employee engagement tools. The anonymous survey measures several aspects of workplace culture, including alignment, execution and connection, just to name a few.
California Faucets Takes Home Gold in AVA Digital Awards 2019 Competition
California Faucets claims another award for its signature Pixar-inspired videos. The company’s latest video, Bath Time, has won a Gold Award in the category of Digital Video Creation/Live Action/Animation in the AVA Digital Awards 2019 competition.
Following last year’s win for Aqua Pella, the story of five faucets in a singing competition, Bath Time creatively blends computer-generated imagery (CGI) with live action.
“With Bath Time, the idea was to have viewers interact emotionally, through animation, to something inanimate that they use every day—a faucet. We appreciate that the judges recognized us for presenting something refreshingly different for our category with this video,” explained Noah Taft, California Faucets SVP of marketing and sales.
AVA Digital Awards is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP).
Honeywell Unveils Energy Management and Guestroom Control System
Honeywell launched the Inncom INNcontrol 5, a platform for energy management and guestroom control. The INNcontrol 5 (IC5) system lets operators monitor and manage guestroom controls across an entire hotel property in real time to identify and resolve issues before they affect guests, track energy usage, and deliver better operational efficiency.
IC5 collects guestroom data and presents it on a configurable dashboard that displays key performance indicators (KPIs) that impact property operations and functions. Dashboards display KPI metrics that can include energy utilization property wide and by individual guestroom along with real-time occupancy status and overall system health. The cloud-based system provides mobile alerts, data analytics, and securely integrates with third-party systems to address each property’s unique operational goals. IC5 is backward compatible with INNcontrol 3, Inncom’s previous energy management and guestroom control system, and can use a property’s existing infrastructure to help reduce installation costs.
DuPont Tedlar Wallcoverings Earn GreenGuard Gold Certification
DuPont Electronics & Imaging’s DuPont Tedlar Wallcoverings have earned GreenGuard Gold certification from Underwriters Laboratories (UL), a third-party certifier of product and sustainability claims. GreenGuard Gold Certification demonstrates that the new DuPont Tedlar Wallcoverings are certified for low chemical emissions from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), contributing to healthier indoor air in offices, medical facilities and schools, according to the company. DuPont Tedlar Wallcoverings also received an Environmental Claim Validation from UL for mold resistance.
Geberit North America Names Texas Representative
Geberit North America has revealed that Southwest Sales Inc. has assumed responsibility for the company’s Texas market. Headquartered in Coppell, TX, Southwest Sales is an independent, employee-owned plumbing manufacturer’s representative that serves the Texas market.
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