April 19th, 2013 by TRT Blog

This upcoming Monday, the world will celebrate Earth Day for the 43^rd time. The Refinishing Touch is dedicated to preserving the world’s resources year-round, but we welcome this day of environmental celebration and sustainable awareness with open arms.

The first annual Earth Day took place in 1970, and boasted participation from nearly 20 million people. Next week, it is projected that an astounding one billion people, across 180 different countries, will join together to commemorate the special day and make a difference to the environment we all share.

Our premier clientele, which include hotels, college dormitories, on-base army barracks and more, possess the ability to make impactful changes. Our world’s environment greatly depends on the act of not only individuals, but organizations at large. Whether you’re in a position of power at a global corporation, or simply trying to increase environmental awareness in your own home, here are a few reasons to go green on Earth Day and for years to come:

- The amount of wood and paper thrown away each year is enough to heat 50 million homes for two years. To cut down on such environmentally-hazardous routines, increase the amount of recycling bins in your edifice and repurpose existing assets whenever possible.

- Recycling a newspaper each day would save about 250 million trees each year, yet only 27 percent on Americans currently recycle the daily read.

- An individual goes through seven trees each year in paper, wood, and other products made from trees.

- Furniture asset management services, like The Refinishing Touch’s refinishing and re-upholstery, can reduce a large-scale renovation project’s greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent.

After 35 years of delivering cost-effective, sustainable furniture asset management services within the hospitality, higher education and government sectors, we’ve taken pride in the amount of reduced greenhouse gas emissions and preserved landfill space resulting from repurposing furniture assets. From our studies, The Refinishing Touch estimates it has saved approximately 2,250,000 pounds of wood from making its way into landfills nationwide since our inception in 1977.

If you would like to learn more about The Refinishing Touch’s fiscally-responsible and environmentally-friendly refinishing, re-upholstery and remanufacturing solutions, visit our website or request a free quote here.

Earth Day, environment, furniture asset management, refinishing, reupholstery, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch

April 5th, 2013 by TRT Blog

Along with providing high-quality furniture asset management services to our clients in the US and Canada, The Refinishing Touch also tries to spare some time to attend tradeshows, giving us the opportunity to hear more of the research, innovations and trends in our key industries.

Over the past quarter, we’ve packed our bags not once, but twice, to attend two conferences in the sunny state of California. To start off the New Year, we made our way to the Americas Lodging Investment Summit (ALIS) in Los Angeles, California. From January 22^nd until the 24^th, we attended the leading hotel investment conference in the world, accompanied by over 2,400 top industry leaders. Through networking, seminars and panel discussions, we walked away from the event with in-depth knowledge of the hospitality sector, which we have served for over 35 years.

Nearly one month later, we found ourselves at yet another tradeshow – this time at the Buyer Interactive Trade Alliance & Conference (BITAC) Purchasing & Design West, in Dana Point, California. Each and every year, as blogged about in the past, we make it a priority to attend this conference, as it provides us with a great venue to meet with past customers and future prospects. From March 10^th through the 12^th, our team experienced a warming reception, relationship-building dining, interactive educational sessions, one-on-one meetings, and evening entertainment. We had a wonderful time getting to meet industry professionals, and informing them of our award-winning furniture refinishing, re-upholstery and remanufacturing services – we already can’t wait for the next BITAC event!

While the first quarter of the fiscal year 2013 was certainly busy, filled with renovation projects and tradeshows, it was also very rewarding. By attending these conferences, we connected with potential clients, learned more about how our existing clients operate and were able to help spread the message about the work we do.

Were you at the BITAC or ALIS events with us this season? We’d love to hear more about your own experiences, and connect with you! Please email us or tweet us your feedback: @RefinishTouch.

To find out which events we will be traveling to next, be sure to subscribe to our InTouch quarterly newsletter by visiting our past archives here. The next edition will be hitting email inboxes on Tuesday, April 16^th – you don’t want to miss it!

March 19th, 2013 by TRT Blog

Over the past 35 years in business, The Refinishing Touch has been proud to provide sustainable and fiscally-responsible furniture asset management services to some of the largest, most well-known hotel corporations, including the Hilton, Hyatt, Best Western, IHG and more.

From our work, we’ve witnessed firsthand the tremendous progress in sustainability and environmental leadership throughout the hospitality industry – from the smallest gestures, like adding more easily-accessible recycling bins, to larger-scale initiatives like the construction of green roofs and solar panels.

Recently, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council hosted a conference where individuals and businesses alike shared this one common goal – making the world a better, greener place. Held in New Jersey, the conference highlighted the major trends and achievements in sustainability both in the city and worldwide.

Some of the key takeaways from the event included:

- 41% of leisure travelers today expect some progress in energy efficiency, waste recycling and water conservation in hotels

- Nearly two-thirds of business travelers cite an establishment’s eco-friendly initiatives when booking a room

- Wyndham is the greenest hotel company, according to Newsweek, while Fortune rates it as ‘the most admired company in the industry’

With these figures in mind, it’s important that property managers think outside of the recycling box, when attempting to further sustainable practices. For example, when undergoing renovations, one should think twice before buying new furniture in an effort to help prevent wood from making its way into landfills. Not only will The Refinishing Touch’s refinishing, re-upholstery and remanufacturing help reduce the amount of waste, but it will also lessen a property’s carbon footprint and prevent deforestation.

Operating a sustainable hotel is not only beneficial to the environment; it is also a low-cost way to capitalize on short- and long-term ROI. By up-cycling furniture assets, one can save up to 80 percent in renovation costs – a critical factor when faced with the increasing number of budget cuts. While some may view ‘green tourism’ as a pricey goal, it is now more cost-effective and attainable than ever before.

For more information on The Refinishing Touch and its refinishing, re-upholstery and remanufacturing in the hospitality, government and higher education housing sectors, please visit our website or listen to an audio overview here.

carbon emissions, conference, furniture asset management, Global Sustainable Tourism Council, hospitality, New Jersey, recyclying, remanufacturing, rennovations, reupholstery, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch, tourism

March 5th, 2013 by TRT Blog

As a company that prides itself on providing our government, higher education and hospitality clients with cost effective, innovative ways to enhance sustainability, celebrating and supporting environmentally-friendly initiatives is important to us.

One particular initiative that we’ve discussed on our blog before is National Telework Week, and yesterday marked the start of the event’s 3^rd year anniversary. Brought to you by Telework Exchange and Cisco, employees vow to work from home during the entire week in order to aide in minimizing their individual and our nation’s carbon footprint.

Last year, more than 71,000 people pledged to work from home for the first week of March, ultimately saving the planet $5,651,890, 3,453 tons of air pollutant, and 6,413,006 miles of gas fumes.  Telework Research Network found that on average 20 to 30 million people work from home at least one day a week, while 3.1 million work from home full time – and if these figures continue to increase, carbon emissions will continue to decrease.

While employers may be weary of letting their staff work from home, studies have shown that not only will productivity increase but so will revenue – big time. Each employee that no longer makes the trip into the office will cut bills in half, resulting in savings worth thousands.

Teleworking was reportedly conceptualized back in the 1990’s during the Information Age when personal computers and high technology advancements really took hold. Then in 2010, President Obama declared his support by signing the Telework Enhancement Act, an act requiring Federal agencies to create policies for teleworkers, and Telework Week was officially born.

The idea of teleworking has its critics, but for one week negative connotations can, and should, be put aside for the greater good. The five-day event not only reduces waste for the week, but brings wide-spread awareness to the pollution problem that affects our planet every day, a critical first step towards improving our environmental future.

To join the movement and take the pledge, click here.  To learn more about how The Refinishing Touch is helping our clients reduce their environmental impact through furniture asset management solutions such as refinishing, re-upholstering and remanufacturing, visit our website: www.therefinishingtouch.com.

Information Age, National Telework Week, refinishing, Remanufactuing, reupholstery, Telework Exchange, Telework Research Network, The Refinishing Touch

November 16th, 2012 by TRT Blog

“Sustainable practices navigate successfully through time and space, while others crack up and vanish.” – Bruce Sterling

Last week travel operators, hospitality organizations and professionals celebrated Responsible Tourism Day, an event introduced five years ago by the World Travel Market (WTM) Responsible Tourism Day and supported by UNWTO. Its vision includes several key elements: bring the travel and hospitality industries together to educate travelers on responsible behavior; explore how travel destinations can be more sustainable; and best practices to encourage the debate and drive change of key environmental-related issues.

One of the most interesting aspects of this event and movement is it provides different individuals and groups the opportunity to drive a range of positive messages, helping take the tourism and hospitality industry forward.  To show the breadth of these messages, each driven by an individual interpretation of ‘responsible’, here are a few items that caught our eye:

- An interesting post from Harold Goodwin, professor of Responsible Tourism Management at Leeds Metropolitan University and founding member of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism, created at the first World Responsible Tourism Day.  Professor Goodwin discusses how the responsible tourism movement has developed to cover all forms of tourism – including individuals with disabilities or limited financial means – and has worked to “escape the tiny ecotourism niche”.

- In a news story titled ‘Responsible Tourism Day: Ban plastic bags for a healthier environment’, Pakistan’s The Express Tribune, associated with the International Herald Tribune, wrote about high school students in the region who went around to local shops asking them to stop using plastic bags. The students also joined local government officials in a walk, holding placards which said: “Say No to Plastic Bags”.  According to The Tribune, 500 million plastic bags are used each year, and it takes between 60 to 100 million barrels of oil to make those bags. It’s estimated that it takes 10,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose.

- In a passionate blog post on The Travel Word, Ethan Gelber encourages individuals to get involved and take action, highlighting how sustainable, responsible practices are common across so many industries. Gelber notes that while there are still challenges, unsustainable practices are frequently being replaced in the travel industry.

As a team that has been encouraging, challenging and enabling sustainable practices across the hospitality, government and education sectors for the last 35 years, we couldn’t agree more with the sentiments of these articles and the mission behind Responsible Tourism Day. We hope that individuals and organizations alike will continue to embrace responsible, environmentally-friendly actions, and that sustainable education remains at the forefront of change.

environment, Ethan Gelber, furniture asset management, Harold Goodwin, hospitality industry, Hotels, International Herald Tribune, Leeds Metropolitan University, plastic bags, refinishing, remanufacturing, Responsible Tourism Day, reupholstering, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch, The Travel World, tourists, traveling

October 26th, 2012 by TRT Blog

The Refinishing Touch team has remained busy throughout the month of October – not only have we been preparing the third quarter edition of our digital newsletter, InTouch, but we’ve also been attending various tradeshows all across the nation.

The month kicked off with the 10^th annual ACUHO-I / APPA Housing Facilities Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on October 2^nd through the 6^th. The trade show was held at the Hyatt Regency and Convention Center (a brand we’ve worked with before), with more than 250 attendees from colleges and universities joining together to discuss sustainability.

The Refinishing Touch spent most of the event networking with key decision makers and speakers, along with learning about the future of housing in the higher education sector. Several attendees expressed an interest in refinishing, one of our specialties, and it’s easy to understand why – our furniture asset management services can save up to 90 percent of a project’s estimated carbon emission output and 80 percent of a company’s budget when compared to buying new.

Our next stop brought us to booming Las Vegas, where we attended the Best Western International Conference & Trade Show on October 10^th. Over 2,000 owners, general managers and property management companies gathered at the conference, giving us great insight into the current and future direction of the hospitality industry. While there, The Refinishing Touch connected with potential prospects and attended a Supplier Training Course, where we learned how to navigate through Best Western’s supplier site and effectively use the brand’s templates. To top it all off, the event raffled off 65 Apple iPads and several other great prizes.

If that weren’t enough, next we headed out to BITAC West at the Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, California. While there, our team held 22 face-to-face meetings throughout two full days. Over the years, we’ve found one of the most rewarding aspects of tradeshows is being able to convey the benefits of our sustainable furniture asset management services to past, current and potential customers, alike. During the second day of the three-day event, The Refinishing Touch president and founder, Mario Insenga, gave an informative speech during lunch hour. Our favorite line was, “Remember: the last three letters in trend are ‘e-n-d’”. This couldn’t be more true of the hospitality industry, which has seen its fair share of trends come and go, especially through the recession and recovery.

Were you at any of these trade shows during the month? We’d love to hear your thoughts and takeaways! Send us an email at sales@therefinishingtouch.com.

For future event listings, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter by visiting: http://www.therefinishingtouch.com/news.php. The next edition is coming soon!

ACUHO-I/APPA Housing Facilities Conference, Best Western, BITAC West, California, Government, higher education, hospitality, Las Vegas, New Mexico, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch, tradeshows

September 7th, 2012 by TRT Blog

As everyone in the country knows, our nation is in full election swing – including one of the properties we are currently working on, the Marriott Charlotte City Center. Known for its central Charlotte, North Carolina downtown location and the current $10 million renovation project it is going through, the hotel is also hosting 300 Florida delegates attending the Democratic National Convention this week.

In order to prepare for the big event, which will bring 6,000 total delegates to 56 hotels, the Marriott brought in The Refinishing Touch team to reupholster 842 banquet chairs with our customized fabric line, Touch Textiles in August and will complete the projects upon the close of the Convention. Through our furniture asset management services, we are able to save the Marriott Charlotte City Center approximately 80 percent on budget and 90 percent on carbon emissions when compared to buying new.

In addition to reupholstering banquet chairs during its wide-spread renovations, the Marriott Charlotte City Center has also overhauled its Internet services, updated its TV to LCDs, and brought in all new Marriott Revive beds. The hotel is also prized for its fine dining, proximity to local attractions and large meeting spaces, including a 20,000 square foot meeting space.

For more information on this project, please continue to check our blog for the latest updates, as we will provide a complete overview of the project upon its completion. To learn more about The Refinishing Touch’s furniture asset management services, visit our website at www.therefinishingtouch.com.

To find out more about the Marriott Charlotte City Center’s renovation project, or to book your next stay, visit their homepage here.

carbon emissions, Charlotte, delegates, Democratic National Convention, Florida, furniture asset management, Marriott, Marriott Charlotte City Center, North Carolina, reupholster, Sustainability, Touch Textiles

August 17th, 2012 by TRT Blog

Here at The Refinishing Touch, we take pride in our innovative, award-winning furniture refinishing processes. All of the lacquers we use are clean, non-toxic and non-flammable – ultimately allowing us to complete all refinishing services on-site, ensuring a safe, healthy environment throughout our project locations.

Hazardous chemicals are more prevalent than most people realize, making their way into millions of buildings across the nation, even during today’s health-conscious movement. Toxic stain protectors can be found in fabrics and textiles, which upholster public seating areas, while formaldehyde and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) lurk in common finishing lacquers across the market.

Fortunately, progress has been made in the battle for chemical regulations. Since 2003, 30 states have passed more than 150 policies to ban toxic chemicals, according to a recent article in The Huffington Post. A push for a national ‘Safe Chemicals Act’ grabbed headlines last month, making its way to the US Senate Environment and Public Works committee in late July.

Until regulations are implemented, consumers have been turning to other alternatives. The Refinishing Touch’s furniture refinishing process guarantees indoor air quality and safety for both our technicians, and a business’s guests and employees. Our non-toxic lacquers are free of VOCs, making them hypoallergenic, clean, and safe. And because of our innovate services, our environmentally-friendly refinishing alternatives have been implemented by the government, universities and hotels across the nation.

For more information on the Safe Chemicals Act, click here. To find out more about The Refinishing Touch’s sustainable, environmentally-conscious refinishing techniques, visit http://www.therefinishingtouch.com/impact_env.html.

chemical regulation, furniture asset management, non-toxic chemicals, refinishing, reupholstery, Safe Chemicals Act, The Refinishing Touch, US Senate Environment and Public Works committee, VOCs

August 3rd, 2012 by TRT Blog

Here at The Refinishing Touch, we always enjoy attending industry events because they allow us to meet other vendors, catch up with past customers, and connect with new, promising contacts. And last month was no exception – we spent a good portion of July flying across the country to attend ACUHO (Association of College and University Housing Officers – International) in Anaheim, CA and BITAC East in Hollywood, FL.

Our whirl-wind month began in Anaheim on July 7^th. The ACUHO event was held at the Orange County Convention Center and kicked off on Friday night with a group outing to the Angels baseball game. The next day, in spirit of the event’s theme of ‘Going Green’, we were able to speak with both newcomers and long-time ACUHO participants on the positive environmental impact that our services provide. While we attend the ACUHO event annually, this year it was great to see a large number of first-time attendees.

Next, we traveled to Florida for the BITAC East event, beginning on July 22^nd. We started the event with a wonderful dinner and networking session where we got to meet potential customers who are eager to get renovation projects in the pipeline. We also had the pleasure of speaking during Monday’s lunch about the financial and environmental benefits of furniture asset management – we even gave away ‘office dirt’, a little can of grass to brighten up any office desk.

Finally, we participated in The Peanut Butter & Jelly Challenge, an event-wide charity effort that provides sandwiches for needy individuals and families. This year the BITAC event helped feed over 1,600 people.

Now that these two events are complete, The Refinishing Touch is looking forward to connecting with the people we had the pleasure of meeting, while continuing to save our customers money and carbon emissions by embracing furniture asset management services.

Were you at the ACUHO and BITAC events this past month and didn’t get the chance to speak with us? Send us an email at sales@therefinishingtouch.com. We would love to connect!

ACUHO, Anaheim, armoire modification, BITAC, Events, furniture asset management, Hollywood, refinishing, reupholstery, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch

July 20th, 2012 by TRT Blog

Like many around the world, The Refinishing Touch team is counting down the days until the 2012 Summer Olympics, and we have officially reached the one week mark!

The summer event – which is held once every four years – means more to us this year than ever before.  That’s because the 500-acre Olympic Park venue, based in London, has earned the honor of hosting the ‘first sustainable Olympics’, and we are thrilled.

The efforts from the Olympic planning committee are proof of the increased importance placed on sustainability, especially in today’s world.  Designers of the Olympic Park took many measures to create the greenest stadium possible, including:

- Constructing the Park out of recycled materials

- Building the velodrome (track cycle arena) using sustainable wood

- Cleaning up any contaminated water and soil on the Park’s site

- Planting more than 300,000 wetland plants and nearly 4,000 trees

- Hiring food vendors that only utilize compostable packaging

- Testing a new waste management system that, if successful, can make its way into every future sporting event

As a sustainable furniture asset management company, we believe eco-friendly initiatives are critical to reduce our carbon footprint and preserve our environment, especially at events as widely influential as the Olympic.  So this year, not only will The Refinishing Touch be cheering on the United States as they compete for the gold, but we will also be applauding the historic behind-the-scenes sustainable efforts that are also making an enormous mark on the 2012 games.

armoire modification, furniture asset management, London, Olympic Park venue, Olympics, refinishing, reupholstery, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch