The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) has released its 2006 Lodging Survey.
Funded by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation (AH&LEF), the survey tracks the size, scope, and emerging trends of the lodging industry. More than 9,300 U.S. hotel properties were polled on more than 100 areas, including types of in-room amenities, security, and technology features, food & beverage options, number of beds, guest services, and property offerings. The 2006 survey includes new categories on branded amenity products, upgraded bedding, flat screen TVs, early or 24-hour check-in policies, and electronic locks/key cards. Popular and returning categories include high-speed and wireless Internet access in meeting and guestrooms, pet policies, children’s activities, nonsmoking rooms, air purifiers, complimentary breakfast, minibars, fitness/exercise facilities, and resort fees. Among major findings, the survey results included:

• The percentage of hotels offering cable or satellite TV in rooms has grown since 1990 from 69 percent to 99 percent in 2006.
• Eighty-six percent of all hotels offer voice mail, up from 72 percent in 2004. All hotels in the luxury chain scale indicated they offer voice mail.
• Of all responding properties, 50 percent offered highspeed Internet in 2004, growing to 89 percent in 2006.
• Wireless Internet access is the fastest growing inroom amenity, with the number of hotels offering this service more than doubling over the last two years. In 2006, 82 percent offered this service compared with 35 percent in 2004.
• Sixty-nine percent of all hotels indicated they had upgraded the bedding last year.
• Branded bathroom amenity products proved to be popular with 85 percent of all hotels indicating they provide branded amenity products in bathrooms.
• Ninety-eight percent of respondents in 2006 indicated they use the Internet to obtain a booking, up from 89 percent in 2004.

AH&LA members can download a copy of the 2006 Lodging Survey via the Members Only section of the AH&LA website, www.ahla.com. Individual data points are available for $250 each from the AH&LA Information Center at 888-743-2515 ...

Foodservice equipment manufacturer Alto-Shaam announced it will be using its new EcoSmart™ logo on several equipment lines the company has engineered or re-engineered to save consumers’ operational costs in electrical power consumption and water usage, including Halo Heat Cook & Hold Ovens, Halo Heat Holding Cabinets, Combitherm Combination Oven/Steamers, and new gas fryers. For information, contact: 800-558-8744, www.alto-shaam.com ...

DayMark Safety Systems excelled at the Foodservice Equipment Reports 9th Annual Smallwares and Tabletop Competition. The SiliGlove was one of ninewinners in the Annual Smallwares and Tabletop Competition. Additionally, DayMark’s innovative SteamGlove and OSHA-compliant First Aid Kit were Competition Finalists. The SteamGlove is specifically designed for safety in commercial kitchens and also offers sanitary protection. The First Aid Kit is stocked with items for accidents that typically occur in foodservice settings. It's convenient individual refill boxes and up-to-date safety regulations make it costeffective and ideal for foodservice operations. Call 800-847-0101 or visit www.daymark.biz ...

McIlhenny Company, manufacturer of TABASCO® Brand products, awarded San Francisco-based mixologist Jacques Bezuidenhout $10,000 for the spicy cocktail recipe he entered into the TABASCO® Brand Hottest Bartender Contest™. The contest challenged professional bartenders and mixologists at commercial bars and foodservice establishments to incorporate today’s bold flavor trends into their original cocktail recipes with the help of one or more TABASCO® products. Contest judges decided Bezuidenhout’s “One Hot Minute” cocktail recipe, pairing tequila, cucumber, and apple juice with TABASCO® Brand Green Jalapeño Pepper Sauce, added that extra bit of sizzle to their swizzles to win top honors. When asked what flavor trends are “hot” today, he remarked, “We are seeing a trend in Latin American cocktails and spirits. Spirits like tequila, rum, pisco, and cachaca work deliciously with fresh ingredients from the garden and the kitchen.” For information, call 1-888-HOT-DASH or visit www.TABASCOfoodservice.com ...

In September, S.Pellegrino® Sparkling Natural Mineral Water demonstrated its long-standing support for its restaurant partners and the fine dining community with the launch of its 5th Annual S.PellegrinoTM Dine OutSM program. The program, which benefits Share Our Strength® (SOS), one of the leading organizations working to end childhood hunger across America, presented restaurateurs with the opportunity to attract new customers and build on existing loyalty while offering consumers a chance to support their community. Patrons of participating Dine Out restaurants were presented with an exclusive threecourse prix fixe menu ($20 for lunch or $35 for dinner) every weekday during designated weeks, and S.Pellegrino® offered a complimentary bottle of Sparkling Natural Mineral Water or Acqua Panna® Natural Spring Water to enjoy with their meals. Understanding the need for restaurants to give back to their communities, S.Pellegrino® donated $1 to SOS for each meal served on those days. “This program gives consumers an effortless way to get involved in the fight to end childhood hunger while supporting the Chicago restaurant community,” according to the company. In the last four years, the S.Pellegrino Dine Out® program has donated close to $40,000 to the efforts of SOS. For more information on the program, and to see a complete list of participating restaurants, please visit www.usadineout.com ...

More than 85 leading culinary and foodservice professionals participated in the Third Annual Chefs on Bikes rally on June 20 to raise funds for the Share Our Strength (SOS) national campaign against childhood hunger. Participants and supporters contributed $1 for every mile traveled to the SOS fund; this year’s event raised $17,000, nearly doubling last year’s proceeds. Chef-riders from Washington D.C.’s top restaurants and from establishments as far away as New York and North Carolina were given a police escort on this year’s tour— a 125-mile trek from D.C. to Lovettsville, Virginia—which culminated in a gala and giant BBQ cook-off at Blue Hill Farm. Fittingly, participants compared recipes during the gala, and ten qualified for the final BBQ contest. Daniel Labonne, executive chef at Washington’s Tabaq Bistro, took top honors for his Honey-Ginger-Orange Ribs with Grilled Plantains. Chefs on Bikes was co-founded by Jean-Philippe Krukowicz, a former chef who heads Kruko, a Washington foodservice company; and Scott Hamberger, vice president, Fortessa, Inc., a tableware company based in Sterling, Virginia. Other sponsors of the 2006 event included: Garnier-Thiebaut, a French fine linens company; Louisiana Contract Furniture; Sitram and Staub, cookware manufacturers; and Nap, a French paper manufacturer ...

Scotsman Ice Systems, Fairfax, South Carolina, operation was named one of the ten Best Plants in North America by IndustryWeek. Scotsman Ice Systems, an Enodis company, offers a wide variety of ice forms, machine sizes, storage bin sizes, icemaker dispensers and ice-only dispensers—including the new ProdigyTM cuber, a technologically advanced, energy-efficient machine. The awards program has been recognizing top manufacturers for the past 17 years, with judges scoring nominees in the areas of competitive edge, customer satisfaction, and employee retention and workplace environment. The Fairfax plant employs 290 people and produces commercial ice-making units and luxury consumer ice machines for Scotsman. Plant achievements contributing to Scotsman’s win were reducing scrap by 46 percent since 2000, improving first-pass yield by 53 percent since 1999, and improving productivity by 41 percent since 2001 ...

The J.M. Smucker Company Foodservice Division presented nine companies with its 2005/2006 Sales Agency of the Year awards during the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago. The company named Grant Hanson Associates the 2005/2006 National Sales Agency of the Year in the north and named Innovative Concept Group, Inc. the winner of the same award in the south. Regional Sales Agency of the Year award winners were: Advance Sales & Marketing, Inc.; Asmussen Waxler Group; MarketSmart, Inc.–Las Vegas; McIntyre Sales; Osage Marketing, Inc.; The Market Dynamics Group –Upstate N.Y.; and Western Foodservice Marketing. For more information about the J.M. Smucker Company’s variety of foodservice products, call 330-682-3000.