Hospitality Design - August 2014 - 42

perspectives

sketchbook

harrah's resort
southern california
> With the tagline "come out and play," the
brand evolution of Harrah's Rincon Casino
& Resort to Harrah's Resort Southern
California included a phased $160 million
renovation to the property, which is located
about an hour from the San Diego airport.
"Harrah's wants to offer their customer the
relaxation portion and then amp it up with a
dayclub to give another customer that type of
feeling," says Albie Colotto, design director at
Las Vegas-based Friedmutter Group, which
has completed a number of projects for the
resort over the years, including the recent
addition of a 403-room hotel tower and pool
expansion to accommodate the Vegas-style
Dive Day Club that attracts guests from all
over the region.
For the pool area, the design team added

a swim-up bar (the only one in Southern
California), lazy river, and nine new cabanas.
"We made the swim-up bar the centerpiece of
the whole pool experience," says Chris Knotz,
senior associate at Friedmutter. "Before it was
a little nine-seat bar off to the side." The color

palette features green and orange in the
umbrellas and lounge furniture as well as
"a clever mix of materials," that includes
weaved fabrics and wicker that "can
survive the thousands of people that are
there on the weekend," Colotto explains.
The new guestrooms feature "a lot
of soft curves," says Colotto, designed to
be in line with an at-ease "come out and
play" vibe. But the main inspiration for
the rooms was their mountain views, done
in an overall cream-based tone with rich
wood and custom carpets in brown hues that
mimic the trees in the area and, at the same
time, allow other colors to stand out. "Some of
the colors we used you see right outside-little
pops of green in contrast with some striking
orange," Colotto says.

mindclick's mcg index
> Formerly the Hospitality Sustainable
Purchasing Index (HSP Index),
MindClick's new Global Sustainability
Index mcgindex.com offers a user-friendly
experience "more in line with consumer
shopping sites," explains MindClick
Global's CEO JoAnna Abrams, adding
that there are 115 suppliers involved in the
Index, and 70 listed online.
The website primarily exists to solve
four problems. It lifts the burden from
suppliers who are confronted by customer
questionnaires about their sustainability.
Because less time will be spent answering
surveys, the index can save the industry
more than $1 million in reporting costs.
Secondly, the purchasing and design
community will find it easier to identify
suppliers who follow sustainable practices, saving between $5,000 and
$10,000 per project. Third, it helps hotel guests who are seeking out
hotels that are more environmentally and socially responsible. "Guests
care about local sourcing, recycled content, fair labor practices, energy
efficiency, toxin-free products, and more," says MindClick Global's
director of hospitality, Dina M. Belon. Finally, it helps suppliers become
more sustainable.

042

August 2014 hospitalitydesign.com

A few site highlights include: a "Made
in the USA" button that makes it easier
to locate suppliers within the boundaries
described; products that can be searched
by sustainable attribute, winnowing
results to suppliers who offer recycled
content or recyclable packing, for
example; and a "Did You Know" button
that is "a quick snapshot of the suppliers'
efforts," Belon says.
Manufacturers' pages will consist
of a summary of their social and
environmental practices, their products'
sustainable attributes, a map to their
headquarters and manufacturing
locations, and contact information.
Additionally, suppliers are ranked based
on surveys covering social responsibility.
The website will continue to add new features over the next year,
including converting sustainability checklists to include more specific
details; a feature that allows purchasing teams to do a side-by-side
comparison of supplier sustainability efforts in addition to typical price,
lead time, and specification assessment; and dashboard reporting for
brands to automatically generate reports to use in aligning suppliers'
efforts with solutions to help their hotel properties.
http://www.mcgindex.com http://www.hospitalitydesign.com
Hospitality Design - August 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hospitality Design - August 2014
