We are pleased to announce that the renovations are going smoothly as planned. The first of eight truck loads of interior “Canvas Prints” ( Island Girl ) have arrived at the warehouse. Installation will proceed starting on November 4th, 2024. Stay tuned for updated as we get them.
Sonesta Continues Expansion of Newest Brand with Latest Opening
NEWTON, MA [September 24, 2024] – Sonesta International Hotels Corporation (Sonesta) today announced the opening of Sonesta Essential Rapid City. The 200-room, upper-midscale property is located at 1902 North Lacrosse Street in Rapid City, SD. The hotel offers a convenient location to explore Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Custer State Park, the Crazy Horse Memorial, The Badlands National Park and Black Hills National Forest.
“We are excited for the opening of Sonesta Essential Rapid City, which represents a milestone in the growth of our newest brand,” said Keith Pierce, Sonesta’s EVP and President Franchise & Development. “Since its debut in January 2023, Sonesta Essential’s appeal to both franchisees and consumers has made it Sonesta’s fastest growing brand.”
Sonesta Essential provides guests with only the essentials for their stays. Sonesta Essential features elevated bedding as part of the brand’s unique sleep program, high-speed complimentary WiFi, complimentary hot breakfast, premium all-day coffee and a fitness center.
Sonesta Essential Rapid City guests can earn or redeem points as members of the award-winning Sonesta Travel Pass loyalty program.
ABOUT SONESTA
About Sonesta International Hotels
Sonesta is the 8th largest hotel company in the U.S. according to Smith Travel Research (STR) with approximately 1,100 properties totaling 100,000 guest rooms across 13 brands in eight countries. Sonesta owns, manages and/or franchises under The Royal Sonesta; The James, Classico Collection by Sonesta, Sonesta Hotels, Resorts & Cruises; MOD Collection by Sonesta, Sonesta Select; Sonesta Essential, Sonesta ES Suites, Sonesta Simply Suites, Red Lion Hotels, Inns & Suites by Sonesta; Signature Inn by Sonesta; Americas Best Value Inn by Sonesta and Canadas Best Value Inn by Sonesta. Redefining hospitality through its award-winning Sonesta Travel Pass loyalty program, Sonesta offers guests the opportunity to earn and redeem points for unparalleled value and personalized experiences. Sonesta Travel Pass members receive the best rates, earn immediate points towards free nights, and accelerated status progression based on stays. For more information about Sonesta, visit Sonesta.com to make a reservation or franchise.sonesta.com to explore joining our portfolio. www./newsroom.sonesta.com
Construction sites are busy, hazardous places. Fences and security cameras help deter trespassers, but a method of jobsite access management is necessary to ensure that only authorized workers and visitors pass through entry points, and to generate a record of entrants. On large jobsites in particular, paper sign-in sheets at guard stations are simply inadequate. Worker ID badge scanning is a more rigorous method and provides a digital record of who entered the site and when. It leverages badges that are issued by workforce management companies and enabled with radio frequency identification (RFID), near-field communications (NFC) or Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology. Scanning badges with handheld scan guns is manual and repetitive, however, and it ties up security personnel who could otherwise be allocated to other tasks, such as searching bags or patrolling the site. What’s more, guard stations on their own aren’t physical barriers; especially during peak periods, as it is possible that entrants bypass the guard station(s).
Smart turnstiles provide a physical barrier to entry and automate jobsite access management. Modular units from some manufacturers come with one to 10 lanes and integrate with perimeter fencing. Some come with guard stations. A card reader authenticates entrants based on worker profiles stored in the workforce management software system. The profiles contain basic data such as name, company and trade as well as records of safety training that may be legally required for site entry. Turnstile units and other access management solutions can be installed not only at site entry points but also at entrances to sensitive buildings or areas. They create a searchable digital log of who is currently on site and who is in specific areas, which can be critical in the event of an emergency. Operators who lack appropriate training are more likely to injure themselves or nearby workers and damage equipment or structures.
Managing equipment access
All construction equipment is potentially dangerous. Limiting its use to properly trained and certified operators is the best way to mitigate risk. Most construction companies strive to meet this goal, with varying degrees of success.
Keypad ignition locks are a smart solution, particularly when PINs are assigned on an individual basis. (Sharing the same PIN with every operator frequently leads to PIN sharing, and it fails to create personal accountability.) For large jobsites with large fleets, however, assigning hundreds or thousands of unique PINs can be prohibitively time consuming.
By leveraging the on-boarding process related to worker ID badges for equipment access management we are able to generate accurate real-time and historical insights into equipment utilization. Adding a card reader to keypad ignition locks enables this approach.
In the event of a safety incident or damage to the equipment, managers can easily review which worker used a machine and when. Authorized workers who operate equipment in inappropriate ways can be assigned incremental operator safety training.
The role of a worksite management platform
Central to the desired outcome of a connected job site is the digital worker profile associated with the company-issued badge. For companies that want to seamlessly optimize and manage jobsite and equipment access management, these profiles should be imported into a cloud-based worksite management platform that enables both.
When it comes to equipment access management, we should evolve towards an operational environment that grants access to specific trades, groups or individuals, either for specific pieces of equipment or entire equipment category classes. This capability provides not only an unprecedented level of safety and productivity enhancements, but also, provides “game-changing” levels of control and insight. The same platform may also enable the monitoring of worker location and wellness via wearable devices.
Creating a safe and secure construction site means controlling access to both the jobsite and equipment. As jobsites become larger and more complex, scalable access management solutions are a must. Modern badge-based technologies provide an efficient and effective option. www.ur.com
They say that lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but for insurers, it strikes over 250,000 times per year, causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. In fact, the cost of homeowners’ claims for damage due to lightning strikes has increased dramatically — up 20 percent over the last three years. According to a new Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) analysis of homeowners’ insurance data, there were 256,000 lightning claims in 2006, causing about $882 million in insured losses. The I.I.I. puts the average claim for lightning at $3,446. By comparison, in 2004, there were about 278,000 lighting claims, which caused about $735 million in insured losses with the average claim totaling $2,646. The average cost per claim rose 30 percent between 2004 and 2006, even as the actual number of such claims fell by nearly 8 percent. “The paid losses are likely to increase to nearly $1 billion in 2007, despite the declining number of claims, in part, because of the explosion in the number and value of consumer electronics in homes,” said Loretta Worters, vice president of the I.I.I. “Wide-screen TVs, home entertainment centers, multiple computer households, gaming systems and other expensive devices are having a significant impact on claims losses.” Damage caused by lightning, such as fire, is covered by standard homeowners’ insurance policies. Some policies provide coverage for power surges — the direct result of lightning striking a home. There is also coverage for lightning damage under the comprehensive portion of an auto insurance policy. Preventing losses In conjunction with Lightning Safety Week (June 24-30), the I.I.I. offers the following tips to protect homes and businesses against power surges and lightning strikes: Install a lightning protection system to supply structural protection by providing a specified path on which lightning can travel. When a building is equipped with a lightning protection system, the destructive power of the lightning strike is directed safely into the ground, leaving the structure and its contents undamaged. The system includes a lightning rod or air terminals at the top of the house that can be disguised to look like a weather vane and wires to carry the current down to grounding rods at the bottom of the house. According to the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), the lightning protection system needs to be securely anchored to the roof. Otherwise, it may whip around in a storm and damage the building. So make sure to have a licensed electrician install your lightning rod and protection system. Use surge protectors. Today’s sensitive electronic equipment is particularly vulnerable to lightning. To assure the highest level of protection, UL-listed surge arrestors should be installed on electrical service panels. Installations typically include surge arrestors for the main electric panel, as well as incoming phone, cable, satellite and data lines. Surge arrestors protect against damaging electrical surges that can enter a structure via power transmission lines. By filtering and dissipating the harmful surges, arrestors prevent electrical fires and protect against electrical discharges that can damage a home’s electrical system, computers and appliances. UL-listed transient voltage surge suppressors can also be installed to protect specific pieces of electronic equipment. Keep in mind that power strips offer little protection from electrical power surges. Unplug expensive electronic equipment, such as TVs and computers, as an added precaution if you know a storm is approaching. For more information on insurance and home safety, go to the I.I.I.’s Web site at www.iii.org. The I.I.I. is a nonprofit communications organization supported by the insurance industry. (c) 2007 Cincinnati Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. www.theprotectionsource.com President: Robert W Rapp, PH 303-295-1695
I am an electric heat distributor with products from 3 manufacturers available and am interested in adding electric floor heat, snow and ice melt and ice dam prevention products to the projects being built. These are obviously luxury items and items that make hotels, commercial buildings and residences more comfortable and safer to access. IE… tile floors, parking garage entrances, north facing building entrances, roofs over hanging walkways subject to icicle hazards.
Tile is a cold but durable and easy to clean product. It is specified in many hotels, commercial buildings and residences. It is always better warm! Adding this to the bathroom floor will make the room warmer and more comfortable. These can be individually controlled or controlled by a multi room system control. Multi room system control will allow the hotel or commercial building maintenance to operate the floor heat at a suitable temperature and keep operating costs down.
Parking garages and north entrances. These areas tend to get snow and ice built up and make them dangerous or hard to navigate. Having a snow and ice melt system in place to operate when needed keeps these areas safe to use. I have many systems to aid in making all of these possible and cost efficient.
Roof ice dam and icicle prevention is a critical area of concern especially in mountain towns and resorts. Eliminating ice dams and icicles should be a major consideration for these buildings.
Please let me know if I may be of assistance with any of these areas of interest.
Thank you for your time,
Solutions for all of your electric radiant heat needs!
www.electricheatservicesupply.com
Cliff Shumate
720-934-2528
The state of the hospitality industry—and the trends to watch—are discussed with IMEG Director of Hospitality Bob Winter in the first in a series of episodes featuring the firm’s market leaders.
“Last year, 2022, was a tremendous year in the market for design and construction,” Bob says, citing the recovery of occupancy rates as the industry emerged from the pandemic. “I have seen a little bit of a headwind this year with some of our projects due to the cost of construction and the cost of money.” However, he adds, there are still a lot of “pent-up opportunities that are coming online,” along with growing demand for more hotels in urban and resort environments.
Bob also sees a growing focus on sustainability and energy efficiency, as well as continued growth in properties with a focus on wellness. “Many of the major brands have wellness hotels that are really retreats and are located in places like Sedona or Palm Springs or in wilderness settings, but they’re also in top urban markets, too. These are places where people can go to experience various mind and body rejuvenation or even a much more focused healing and recovery experience, with medical staff and licensed therapists.”
Bob is no stranger to the concept of wellness retreats. In 1912 his great grandfather opened the Hotel Thermia Palace in Czechoslovakia, one of the world’s first wellness resorts.
“It was built on natural hot springs and there were mud baths; people from throughout central Europe would go there for treatment, primarily for rheumatism,” he says. Though no longer owned by the Winter family, the Thermia Palace exists to this day as a luxury spa and wellness hotel catering to clients worldwide. Those who cross the bridge onto the property pass a statue of a man breaking his crutch—a likeness of Bob’s great grandfather and a symbol of the retreat’s long-standing healing properties.
“It’s still a very popular place,” says Bob, who has visited the site.
The Winter family’s hospitality legacy transferred to the U.S. at the outbreak of World War 2, when Bob’s grandmother emigrated with her sons to the U.S. She soon became the country’s first female general manager of a major urban hotel, the Hotel Pearson in Chicago. Bob continues the family legacy today as IMEG’s director of hospitality.
“It’s the ‘giant circle’,” he says. “It’s been an interesting journey.”
Listen to the podcast: Podcast
Superior service is at the core of One Source Restoration. Wherever feasible, One Source uses and supplies its own labor source, only using subcontractors when necessary for practical reasons such as M.E.P (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) services. Our project management advisor is trained to manage multiple projects simultaneously, while our field crews are more than skilled in multiple trades that help ensure the satisfaction of our customer. By using our own crews we can maintain tighter control on our schedule, and the quality of our work, which provides greater consistency and efficiency for our clients satisfaction. www.onesourceresto.com
At Rosendin, we have seen an upwards shift in women entering the construction field and taking on leadership roles in the office and on construction sites. But throughout the construction industry, women only make up between 11-16% of employees. To change perceptions and demonstrate that every individual can have a successful career in construction, Rosendin’s Marketing team developed a social media video campaign that showcased a diverse group of women who work across many specialties in electrical construction. We highlighted these amazing women who are making a difference at work and in their communities while raising young children and balancing work and personal life. These women come from diverse backgrounds and show up as their authentic selves no matter where they are. They are inspirations to young girls everywhere that women do belong in construction as seen in Rosendin’s Women in Construction campaign. Our video campaign was highly successful on social media and has earned internal and external recognition. https://www.rosendin.com/news/rosendin-wins-viddy-gold-award-for-women-in-construction-campaign/
TPG Hotels & Resorts, one of the nation’s premier hospitality management firms, announced today the appointment of Ben Perelmuter to President & Chief Operating Officer. Perelmuter will oversee the operational performance of TPG’s entire hospitality portfolio.
“I am excited and motivated to join the TPG Hotels & Resorts team,” said Ben Perelmuter, President & Chief Operating Officer, TPG Hotels & Resorts. “This entrepreneurial hospitality team is committed to defining the gold standard for management services in the hospitality industry. We plan to firmly establish TPG Hotels & Resorts as the market leader for third-party management services, and I look forward to working with our talented team to achieve this goal.”
Perelmuter brings almost 30 years of hospitality leadership experience to TPG Hotels & Resorts, most recently serving as Division President at Aimbridge Hospitality. Over his 15-year span with the organization, he was responsible for managing the operational performance of hundreds of properties across all the major brands within the United States. Prior to that, he spent eleven years in hotel operations of large convention hotels and resorts in General Manager and other director-level roles within operations at properties, including the Grand Hyatt New York, Hyatt Regency New Orleans at the Superdome, Marriott Suites Clearwater Beach, and Embassy Suites in Tampa.
“Ben shares our vision of offering a unique value proposition to our hotel owners and brings an entrepreneurial brand of leadership to the company,” said Robert Leven, Chief Investment Officer of Procaccianti Companies, the parent company of TPG Hotels & Resorts. “His track record of success and leadership makes him the right person as we continue our growth strategy.”?
Perelmuter graduated from State University of New York at Plattsburgh, earning a Bachelor in Hotel & Restaurant Management. He has served on a variety of boards, including the AHLA Management Company Board in addition to the franchisee advisory committees for both Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Marriott International. www.tpghotelsandresorts.com/
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