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The Refinishing Touch

On-site furniture refinishing.

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Americans have caught the travel bug again

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This year, 83% of Americans will pack their bags and head for the hills – or wherever their pent-up wanderlust may take them.

airplaneThis high number of projected travelers for 2013 – as highlighted in a recent study done by Priceline.com – is up as much as 50% when compared to recent years. Following a period of economic downturn, the hospitality and travel industries have begun to see an increase in new reservations.

Travelers, however, are still looking to cut costs – driving nonstop, sleeping in scars and pre-packing meals – so, it is imperative to ensure guest satisfaction when they do, finally, arrive at your hotel, motel or resort.

By integrating appealing design aesthetics, cost-effective amenities and various sustainable and eco-friendly initiatives throughout facilities, hoteliers can garner and maintain a competitive edge, as well as increase guest retention rates.

By upcycling guest room, lobby and meeting space assets, the life of your pre-existing furniture can be extended at a fraction of the cost to buying new. In addition to preserving valuable assets, by using The Refinishing Touch’s low-VOC lacquers, the renovation process’ carbon footprint will be greatly diminished and appeal to the green tourist.

Would you like to see a project from beginning to end? Click here for a time-lapse video of The Refinishing Touch’s hospitality work. To request a free quote today, please visit our website. 

The Refinishing Touch blog poll: Schools back in session – do colleges need to be greener?

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After a busy summer season of preparing dormitories and campus centers across the US and Canada for the influx of students come fall, The Refinishing Touch crew had sustainability on the brain. So, as you may have guessed, we took to our weekly polls to see if our readers were on the same page.

A resounding 100% of you do not feel that higher education institutions are doing all that they can to be sustainable. With numbers this high – we felt we should investigate further.

The Refinishing Touch blog poll: Sustainability /green questionsHere’s what we found:

Throughout our time spent in North American higher education facilities, we’ve seen steps being taken – across all departments, administration levels and committees – to implement greener day-to-day practices, sustainable building and development and energy-saving tactics.

While continuing to reduce our customer’s carbon footprints and harmful waste output through furniture asset management, The Refinishing Touch is looking forward to seeing future students, staff and communities create sustainable campuses nationwide.

Have an idea for a future blog poll? Get in touch with us [email protected]. To learn more about furniture asset management and what it can do for your campus, please visit our website here.

Fairfield Inn & Suites Montreal Airport ranks high in environmental and fiscal responsibility

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As an international furniture asset management company with offices in the US and Canada, The Refinishing Touch is always looking for industry leaders who demonstrate environmental preservation and fiscally-responsible behavior.

Our most recent research takes us to the Fairfield Inn & Suites Montreal Airport by Marriott, where the property has shown significant improvement to sustainable efforts, receiving a 4-Key rating from The Green Key Program.  The Green Key Program recognizes green hotels, motels and resorts that are committed to improving their environmental and fiscal performance. As of right now, an impressive 2,967 hotels are ranked, meaning that the establishments have proven their commitment to upholding sustainable practices.

Through reduced utility consumption, employee training and supply chain management tactics, the Montreal Airport hotel was able to achieve its high 4-star rating – just one star shy of top marks. The ratings are given based upon energy conservation, water conservation, indoor air quality, community outreach, building infrastructure, land use and environmental management.

The Fairfield Inn & Suites Montreal Airport shared some of its projects, rules and regulations that helped drive the Marriott-owned property to environmental leadership in an article found on Waste Management World:

– Extensive recycling: The hotel implemented recycling in all of its guestrooms, its banquet hall, and other public spaces, ensuring recycling bins were easily accessible from any area

– Paper waste management: The property removed newspaper delivery services, and replaced it with an over-the-counter free newspaper option. The Montreal hotel also began using 100% recycled paper towel products.

– Use of biodegradable materials: Easy to decompose, biodegradable glass, plates, bowls and utensils      were purchased for use in the breakfast area, in an effort to reduce the hotel’s carbon footprint.

Here at The Refinishing Touch, we’ve worked with several divisions of the Marriott brand, including Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Renaissance Hotels and Resorts, and Residence Inn, to deliver yet another eco-friendly, cost-effective solution – furniture asset management.

During renovations, hoteliers are often posed with the daunting task of maintaining brand standards and aesthetics, while balancing tightened budgets. The solution can be found in repurposing furniture assets – which can range from refinishing, re-upholstery, resurfacing and armoire modification. By using The Refinishing Touch’s services, hotels save an estimated 80 percent in budget costs, and 90 percent in projected carbon emissions – dramatically lowering a property’s overall carbon footprint.

In a sector with such a large capacity for change, it is imperative that hotels, motels, and resorts worldwide realize the impact they have on the environment and the ability they possess to further sustainable development.

To learn more about The Refinishing Touch and its services, please visit our website. For an in-depth look at the sustainable efforts implemented by the Fairfield Inn & Suites Montreal Airport, please read the full news article here.

The Green Key Program

American and Canadian companies most represented on Global 100 list

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Each year, Corporate Knights, a global media and research company, publishes a list of the world’s most sustainable businesses. Known as the Global 100 list, the research highlights 100 of the greenest corporate leaders, with rankings based on multiple factors including energy and water consumption, carbon emissions and waste production.

2013 Global 100With clients based in the US, Canada and around the world, and as providers of environmentally-safe furniture asset management solutions, The Refinishing Touch team was eager to scan the list and gain insight into the companies that were mentioned. While it was great to see organizations all around the world committing to sustainability, we were especially pleased that the US and Canada were tied with the most representation on the Global 100 – with 10 companies from each country making their mark on the list.

Canada noticed a significant increase in the number of businesses on the list, with four more companies appearing this year than in 2012. This, along with other factors frequently discussed in the news and on our blog, proves a recent surge in sustainability stemming from the country.

Any organization looking to mirror the efforts of companies featured on the Global 100 can start by investing in smart and sustainable initiatives like cost-efficient furniture asset management. By deciding to refinish, re-upholster and remanufacture existing furniture during renovations, companies avoid the financial and environmental burden of sending assets to landfills and having to buy brand new.

This tactic has been implemented by The Refinishing Touch in countless hospitality, higher education and government agencies throughout the US and Canada. Through our work, our studies indicate that we’ve prevented approximately 2,250,000 pounds of wood from making its way into landfills since our inception in 1977 – a great way to save on waste, carbon emissions and one’s bottom line.

To read the complete list of the most sustainable companies on the Global 100, please go here. For more information on our furniture asset management solutions or to implement them in your US-based or Canadian business, request a free quote today.

Government and small businesses continue to invest in sustainability

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The majority of small business owners are taking steps to commit to sustainable, clean energy initiatives reveals scientific opinion polling out of Colorado. Polls surveyed small business owners in Colorado following the announcement that the U.S. government has set aside more than 285,000 acres in six states – Colorado, Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah – for solar energy projects.

On the heels of that announcement, three fourths of Colorado small business owners agreed that government commitment and investment in renewable, sustainable energy and energy efficiency are pivotal in supporting the recovering economy and in the creation of new jobs.

Many small business owners have already implemented their own clean energy projects, with 61 percent reporting that they have installed energy efficient light bulbs, appliances, windows, insulation and energy-saving heating and air conditioning systems.

At The Refinishing Touch, we do our part through the offering of sustainable furniture asset management services, which include refinishing, reupholstering, remanufacturing and restoration. Already, we’ve contributed to a three-ton reduction in carbon emissions, and at the same time saved our clients more than 80 percent in costs.

Choosing renewable business practices not only benefits the environment, but it also redirects expenditures to allow business owners to invest in growth initiatives, rather than the costs of replacing an entire collection of worn furniture, for example.

For more information on how The Refinishing Touch’s services can be a part of your own renewable business strategy, visit our website at www.therefinishingtouch.com.