|
|
|
Combats Mother Nature�s Wrath . |
 |
Hurricane Ivan slams into 150-room Ramada Inn Bayview in Pensacola,
Florida; tornado at tail end rips away hotel�s roof. Green Suite®�s
Nature�s Mist helps the hotel save 100 rooms hit hard with mold and mildew.
Deodorization/cleaning system protects and renews storm damaged drywall and carpeting, and helps the hotel stay open to serve displaced residents and disaster relief workers |
| PENSACOLA, FLORIDA � March 3, 2005 � Talk about
having a bad day at the office.The 150-room Ramada Inn � Bayview in Pensacola
had just been pummeled by Ivan � the largest,,strongest hurricane on record
in years � when a tornado triggered by the storm ripped off the property�s
80,000 square foot roof as easily as a kid rips off the lid of a Pringles
can.
Despite more than a foot of water in the lobby and rain pouring in from above, nearly 600 people jammed their way into the Ramada Inn � Bayview on that fateful eve, Sept.15, because they had no where else to go. The storm of a lifetime had sucked three-and-a-half-feet of water from the hotel�s pool (the water line was down 26 inches despite 16 inches of storm-related rain). More importantly, it had devastated 120 of the property�s 150 rooms with seemingly irreparable water damage to drywall and carpeting. With mold and mildew rapidly occupying the premises � and humid temperatures and weeks of subsequent roof leaks creating an ideal mold-breeding ground � it almost seemed an entire write--off � Or so the owner//operators thought � Until they started using bleach and Green Suites® International�s Nature�s Mist deodorization and cleaning system on water-damaged walls and carpeting, and were able to save two-thirds of the room inventory � 100 of the mold -- and-mildew damaged rooms � from Ivan The Terrible. Lifesaver Richard Parkinson, maintenance engineer for Birmingham, Ala. based Southern Hotels, which operates the property, said Nature�s Mist was a lifesaver. �Nature�s Mist helped save tens of thousands of dollars tied into keeping the 100 salvageable rooms open and protecting their water- damaged walls and floors. As if that wasn�t enough, Nature�s Mist also allowed us to give our guests peace of mind at a time when you can�t overestimate the need for true Southern hospitality,� Parkinson said. �All the while we were trying to keep guests safe and figure out how to get the major water out and temporarily patch up our roof, more and more people flocked to our property,� he said.� Most were displaced residents. They had nowhere else to go � We had to take them in. We were in this thing together � all about 600 of us that night!!� After a few days, the hotel began to pick up the pieces, as did many of the last minute unplanned guests. Many more rooms than the 18 designated as �smoking � and many non-smoking areas smelled of tobacco, and Nature�s Mist again was called on to save the day. �When someone loses their home, you can�t really tell them not to smoke and look yourself in the mirror,� Parkinson said. �We had hundreds of displaced, unnerved guests and some of them dealt with that stress with a �light �em if ya got �em� attitude. I can�t blame them one bit. Who knows how any of us would have dealt with what they were dealing with. At least we could be here for them.� �We also had an obligation to our non-smoking guests and to the property�s owners, who need to protect both their non-smoking customer base and their physical assets,� he said. �Nature�s Mist helped us again do this by allowing us to quickly, easily and cost effectively knock out the tobacco in guestrooms and public areas for good It really is an amazing little machine and all-natural mist � How It Works Ray Burger, Green Suites International�s Vice President of Sales & Marketing,said Nature�s Mist typically can convert a smoking room to a non-smoking room in 12 to 15 minutes by using the two part Nature�s Mist system which includes an all-natural non-toxic concentrate of plant extracts diluted and sprayed from the vapor phase atomizer (aka �The Green Machine�). Nature�s Mist combines two unique treatment solutions to deliver optimal odor-free environments. The first part involves a proprietary liquid solution consisting of more than two dozen plant extracts that neutralize � not cover up � tobacco odor. Each molecule of Nature�s Mist liquid bonds with odor molecules to neutralize even the most pungent odors (smoke, body odor, food odor, vomit, urine, mildew, etc.) The system�s second component involves an atomizing sprayer that puts out thousands of microscopic pressurized droplets, allowing the Nature�s Mist compound to reach hidden areas such as mattresses, pillows, bedspreads, heating and cooling ducts and acoustic ceilings. Just 1 gallon of Nature�s Mist can deodorize up to 200 guestrooms. More than 1,200 properties across the United States currently use Nature�s Mist, including marquee hotels such as the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, the Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco, New York�s Waldorf-Astoria, and about 10 Ritz-Carltons. Burger said properties of all types � from the aforementioned upper-upscale properties in destination cities to mid-market, economy and extended-stay hotels in secondary and tertiary markets � are WOWing guests with Nature �s Mist. �No toxic chemicals are involved,� Burger said. �Nature�s Mist is a safe, two component natural deodorization process with no ozone, enzymes, toxins or masking agents. It�s not a fragrance. It�s a true deodorizer because it neutralizes, not masks, tobacco and all other odors on the spot. Nature�s Mist creates a room without any odor, just freshness.� �Even the everday consumer wants to get his hands on Nature�s Mist, but right now we�re continuing our 10-year focus on providing the hospitality market Profitable Solutions with Environmental Benefits,� Bornholdt said. .�Nature�s Mist truly has become a household name. For example, I recently received an e-mail from a homeowner who begged his neighbor who works at one of our client hotels to borrow Nature�s Mist to help out his four-legged friend who found himself on the wrong end of a skunk. Not surprisingly, Nature�s Mist again captured Best In Show by working its �smell be gone� trick like a champ.� �It�s rare for hotels to get hot consumer products before homes. Cable TV, in-room irons and coffee machines, and high-speed Internet access are all examples of guest-pleasing amenities that lodging reactively provided after they were long standard in homes. But Nature�s Mist is different � it �s become �the standard � in hotels, before hitting the home market,� Burger said. �Talk about an opportunity to differentiate: There �s nothing like giving guests something they crave and need in their homes but can �t get yet � like Nature�s Mist � that also helps you flex smoking/non-smoking room inventories to accommodate all guests and sell to the last room,� Bornholdt added. �Some of our clients have had extended-stay guests who smoked up a storm and others who allowed pets in their rooms. After turning the rooms over to Nature�s Mist, in short order they were able to host, for example, a swim team � and the only one who knew any different was the hotel owner eyeing occupancy and the bottom line with a grin from ear to ear.� Based in Upland, Calif., Green Suites International is lodging�s leading provider of profitable solutions with environmental benefits. For more information on Green Suites International, contact Ray Burger, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, at 888-590-2285, e-mail [email protected], and visit www.greensuites.com . MOLD MOLD PREVENTION TIPS
|
###
Contact:
