For Andrew Alexander, president of the Red Roof Inn budget hotel chain,a $24 strip of electrical outlets proved to be the killer room addition.

That wasnt the only change Alexander made as part of a sweeping renovation following the companys default nearly five years ago. At dozens of Red Roof Inn locations, the company ripped up carpet and installed faux-wood flooring, replaced old countertops with granite surfaces, changed out the sinks, switched to larger flat-screen televisions and higher-quality beds, and began doling out free snack boxes to guests. The cost to upgrade each room runs as high as$10,000and nowhere has the return on investment been better than those inexpensive power strips fitted on nightstands. Can you imagine all those people in fancy hotel rooms crawling around the floor looking for a plug? says a bemused Alexander, a former corporate attorney. Everyone travels with their gadgets.

The Red Roof Plus+ concept debuted at 31 properties this spring, with nine more upgrades planned by yearend. Ultimately, the chain expects to have as many as one-quarter of its 360 properties converted to the new design. The privately held company says the new rooms cost an average daily rate of $72, or 8 percent above pre-renovation rates, and the upgrades have led to increased occupancy of about seven additional rooms per night at the revamped properties.

The average daily hotel room rate across the U.S. was $112 in the first quarter, according to lodging research firm STR, almost twice Red Roof Inns average room rate. Theres a limit to how far upmarket the brand will go. We are not about amenity creep, Alexander says. We are not about throwing things at our customers that they dont want.

Across the budget hotel sector, however, amenities are on the rise, from free Wi-Fi to nicer pillows. Since the 2008 financial crisis decimated the hospitality industry, budget chains such as Wyndham Worldwide (WYN)s Days Inn and Super 8 and Choice Hotels International (CHH)s Quality and Comfort Inn brands have been making strategic investments aimed at boosting room rates without alienating their core customers: families on vacation, truckers, small-business travelers, and the self-employed. The trend is being driven by travelers who insist that a hoteleven at the budget endoffer the comforts of home, says Red Roof Inns chief marketing officer, Marina MacDonald.

That has led to some blurring of the lines between budget and midrange brands, such as Hilton Worldwide Holdings (HLT) Hampton Inn and La Quinta Inns & Suites (LQ). It has also left economy to a hodgepodge of brands with varying levels of consistency, Alexander says,creating a new opportunity for Red Roof Inn. You want consistency of quality, and our competitors are not delivering that.

Red Roof Inns sale by Accor in 2007 was among the last of the big buyout deals before the financial crisis, a $1.3 billion transaction led by Citigroup (C)sGlobal Special Situations Group. The chain collapsed into default two years later amid more than $350 million in debt payments it was unable to make. Its now owned by three real estate investment firms: Dune Capital Management, Five Mile Capital Partners, and Westmont Hospitality Group.

The Columbus (Ohio)-based company owns nearly half its properties and franchises the rest, a higher ratio than many of its budget rivals. Over time, as Red Roof Inn seeks to expand to 500 properties next year and 600 in subsequent years, it is likely to have more franchisees. The company also needs to add properties west of the Mississippi River, Alexander says, given its meagerfootprint there.

Read more:
Red Roof Inn and the Blurred Lines of Budget Hotels

Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at 10:24 p.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at 10:24 p.m.

Its scary when you or a family member needs to go to the emergency room. By next spring, residents living in northern New Hanover and eastern Pender counties will have greater peace of mind should a medical emergency occur. New Hanover Regional Medical Center broke ground Tuesday for a new, full-service emergency room near the county line.

It will be a welcome addition to the areas health care network. Access to good medical care is one of the many things people consider when they move or retire to an area. NHRMC regularly treats patients from a seven-county area, and as the population of the region grows, the hospital must keep up.

The hospital has grown over the years, from a single facility to buildings on several sites that specialize in orthopedics, cancer treatment, womens and childrens medical needs, psychiatric care and rehabilitation. New Hanover Regional owns Cape Fear Memorial Hospital and has management agreement to operate Pender Memorial Hospital.

Population growth in the Hampstead/Porters Neck/Scotts Hill area has created a need for a 24-hour emergency room to serve the area. Whether by ambulance or by personal car, its important to get to an emergency room quickly. It can be quite a drive from those and nearby communities to a full-fledged emergency room, and when you or a loved one needs help right now, the distance seems even longer.

A recent report by the nonprofit news organization Pro Publica found that wait times in New Hanover Regionals emergency room were longer than other hospitals in the region, although they were not too different from other hospitals with trauma centers, which treat critically injured patients. The main emergency department gets more than 80,000 visits per year, and Cape Fears smaller emergency room sees about 35,000 a year. Those numbers are only projected to grow.

The new emergency room should help reduce wait times by providing residents of northern New Hanover County and eastern Pender County a more convenient place to go with medical conditions that need immediate treatment. It also will create 50 new jobs, many of which will go to locally trained people.

The new facility will be next to the hospitals outpatient surgery clinic, Atlantic SurgiCenter, off Market Street just south of the Pender County line. Trauma patients and patients who need critical care will be taken to the main hospital off South 17th Street, but the new facility will be a fully operational ER with the means to stabilize patients before sending them to Wilmington.

The Porters Neck area has a privately run urgent care center that is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. It serves a need and will continue to do so; not all ailments or injuries need ER treatment, and having facilities that handle less critical medical problems takes the burden off already-busy emergency rooms.

The 30,000-square-foot building will cost about $15.1 million and is expected to open in June 2015.

Read this article:
Editorial - New emergency facility will serve growing population

COTTONWOOD - In the 12 years since it was built, a lot has changed at Lakeview School. One of the biggest and most pressing changes, school officials said Sunday, is that student enrollment has started to outgrow the building. Lakeview's never needed a waiting list for preschool registration until now, Superintendent Chris Fenske said.

"It's a good problem to have, but at the same time we don't want to turn families away," Fenske said to an audience of about 50 area community members on Sunday night.

To help address those needs, the Lakeview School District is considering building a 27,000 square-foot addition to the school building, and remodeling several existing classrooms and offices. The building proposal will go before the public in a special election on May 13. Sunday's meeting was the first of three public information sessions the school district is holding before the vote.

One of the major features of the proposed building project would be an addition including preschool and elementary-level classrooms, a gymnasium and space for community education. More than 11,000 square feet of the existing school would also be remodeled, to offer expanded space for special education classrooms and reconfigured school offices.

The parking would also be expanded to allow more space for event parking, said Jeri Fink of architectural firm Wendel.

Under the proposed building plans, both the elementary and secondary school offices would be relocated closer to the school's main entrances. This would help staff screen visitors and provide better security for the school, Fink said.

If approved, the cost of the building addition would be paid for through a $7.98 million bond, with a term of 19.5 years, said a representative of financial consulting group Ehlers. The bond would mean a property tax increase for taxpayers in the school district. In one example, for a residential property valued at $100,000, it was estimated that property taxes would increase about $47 in 2015.

Speakers said it was more complicated to try and estimate the bond's tax impact on non-homestead agricultural land. However, a property tax calculator tool is available at the Lakeview School district website, along with other information on the proposed building addition.

Fenske said the proposed school addition is the end result of months of study, as well as input from community members who served on a building task force.

"The school board has been very clear that it wanted the process to include the community, be community-driven, and be transparent," Fenske said. The task force identified several priorities for a building project, including school security, adequate educational space, flexibility, and community use.

Excerpt from:
Lakeview seeks elbow room in school addition vote

Westcon Group's resellers are now being rewarded for the artfulness of opening a deal, rather than closing one.

In a partnership with vendor, Avaya, it has launched the Deal Room, a new application which has been developed for the Australian reseller market.

The new Deal Room app attempts to address the issue of deal-swooping' and rewards partners on their individual sales efforts for Avaya products.

The application encourages resellers to open more deals by then feeding the user more hot leads to assist with their sales pipeline.

In addition to offering the reseller pricing and priority pre-sales support, it also delivers a useful space for resellers to store information during the sales process. According to Westcon director of vendor alliances, marketing and innovation, Nick McMenemy, the Deal Room is a response to a significant and recurring issue for resellers worldwide. What were seeing are sales people opening a deal with a potential customer and a third-party reseller swooping into the conversation and closing the deal with a better offer on the product," he said.

"Its a universal pain-point for resellers, and we worked hard with Avaya to develop the Deal Room to address this. McMenemy said the company was now rewarding resellers on opening a deal, not closing.

"With the Deal Room we can identify resellers who open an Avaya deal, and help build out their sales pipeline in return," he said.

"The more deals they open, the more lead opportunities we can provide, McMenemy said. According to a company statement, it offers Westcons Avaya resellers with a deal registration system thats easy to use and available to sales staff on the run, with instant accessibility on tablet and smartphone devices, including iPads, iPhones, and Android devices. McMenemy said it also enabled his company to build a strategic stock profile to ensure it had the stock available to help the salesperson deliver the deal. Avaya managing director A/NZ, Tony Simonsen, said it had become clear from conversations with resellers that an application such as the Deal Room was needed. Sales people within the channel put considerable effort into starting the conversation with a potential customer and sales executives can become easily demotivated when another reseller comes in at the last minute and closes the deal," he said.

"This application is a real game-changer for resellers of Avaya products.

Tags marketing and innovationNick McMenemywestconWestcon GroupAvaya managing director A/NZdeal roomWestcon director of vendor alliancesTony SimonsenAvayadeal swooping

View original post here:
Westcon launch the 'Deal Room' for resellers

Westcon Group's resellers are now being rewarded for the artfulness of opening a deal, rather than closing one.

In a partnership with vendor, Avaya, it has launched the Deal Room, a new application which has been developed for the Australian reseller market.

The new Deal Room app attempts to address the issue of deal-swooping' and rewards partners on their individual sales efforts for Avaya products.

The application encourages resellers to open more deals by then feeding the user more hot leads to assist with their sales pipeline.

In addition to offering the reseller pricing and priority pre-sales support, it also delivers a useful space for resellers to store information during the sales process. According to Westcon director of vendor alliances, marketing and innovation, Nick McMenemy, the Deal Room is a response to a significant and recurring issue for resellers worldwide. What were seeing are sales people opening a deal with a potential customer and a third-party reseller swooping into the conversation and closing the deal with a better offer on the product," he said.

"Its a universal pain-point for resellers, and we worked hard with Avaya to develop the Deal Room to address this. McMenemy said the company was now rewarding resellers on opening a deal, not closing.

"With the Deal Room we can identify resellers who open an Avaya deal, and help build out their sales pipeline in return," he said.

"The more deals they open, the more lead opportunities we can provide, McMenemy said. According to a company statement, it offers Westcons Avaya resellers with a deal registration system thats easy to use and available to sales staff on the run, with instant accessibility on tablet and smartphone devices, including iPads, iPhones, and Android devices. McMenemy said it also enabled his company to build a strategic stock profile to ensure it had the stock available to help the salesperson deliver the deal. Avaya managing director A/NZ, Tony Simonsen, said it had become clear from conversations with resellers that an application such as the Deal Room was needed. Sales people within the channel put considerable effort into starting the conversation with a potential customer and sales executives can become easily demotivated when another reseller comes in at the last minute and closes the deal," he said.

"This application is a real game-changer for resellers of Avaya products.

Tags marketing and innovationNick McMenemywestconWestcon GroupAvaya managing director A/NZdeal roomWestcon director of vendor alliancesTony SimonsenAvayadeal swooping

Read more:
Westcon Group launches the 'Deal Room' for resellers

Rockleigh, NJ, Crestron has infused the beauty, style, and ease-of-use of its TSW line of touch screens into the new TSS-752 room scheduling touch screen.

Now shipping, the TSS-752 features a brilliant 7-inch widescreen capacitive color display, bright color beacons that indicate room availability from afar, and a touch screen-centric interface with at-a-glance meeting and scheduling information. As with Crestron TSW touch screens, Smart Graphics delivers a dynamic, gesture-driven user experience with advanced, customizable room scheduling capabilities. A simple swipe of the new scrolling calendar ribbon conveniently reveals the rooms entire schedule for the day.

The TSS-752 represents a leap forward in room scheduling touch screens, both aesthetically and functionally, said Glen Marianko, Technology Manager. Its sleek, stylish, and simpler to use than our previous models. It delivers groundbreaking capabilities such as the responsive, intuitive scheduling interface, highlighted by the time-saving scrolling calendar ribbon. Now, you can view meeting details and reserve a room on the spot without having to flip through screen after screen.

No more wandering the hallways The TSS-752 features new side-mounted, multi-colored LEDs that act as beacons to provide clear indication of a rooms status. The touch screen sits just far enough from the wall to let you clearly see the LEDs from down the corridor. The TSS-752 eliminates the time-wasting, productivity-draining practice of wandering the hallways searching for an available room to hold your meeting.

Enterprise-wide integration Now, its easy to find and reserve any room on the network. The TSS-752 uses Crestron Fusion software to enable seamless integration with popular scheduling applications such as Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, IBM Notes, CollegeNET R25, and Google Calendar.

Crestron Fusion supports the use of room occupancy sensors to detect when no one has shown up for a scheduled meeting. In such an event, the current reservation can be cancelled automatically to make the room available to others. If a meeting ends earlier than scheduled, a touch of the End Now button makes the room available to others immediately.

New advanced room scheduling capabilities The Find room function lets you quickly locate an available space nearby. End or extend a reservation with one button touch, and reserve extra setup time ahead of the actual scheduled event. Scheduling panels also display broadcast messages sent from Crestron Fusion for emergencies or notices, such as an upcoming fire drill.

Simple, versatile mounting The TSS-752 can be installed in places other touch screens cant: on a wall over a standard 2-gang electrical box, or mounted to virtually any flat surface even glass, granite, or marble. An optional Mullion Kit (shipping soon) allows the TSS-752 to mount and route its cabling to any hollow, vertical support, or door jamb. A single Ethernet cable with PoE technology delivers operating power to the TSS-752 right through the LAN wiring.

Learn more For more information, including specifications, photos, pricing, and accessories visit the TSS-752 product page.

About Crestron For more than 40 years Crestron has been the world's leading manufacturer of advanced control and automation systems, innovating technology and reinventing the way people live and work. Providing integrated solutions to control audio, video, lighting, computer, IP and environmental systems, Crestron streamlines technology, improving the quality of life for people in corporate conference rooms, hotels, classrooms, auditoriums, and in their homes. Crestrons leadership stems from its dedicated people who are committed to providing the best products, programs and services in the industry. In addition to its World Headquarters in Rockleigh, New Jersey, Crestron has sales and support offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia. Discover the world of Crestron by visiting http://www.crestron.com.

Continue reading here:
Capacitive Touchscreen suits room scheduling applications.

The new hospital addition under construction in Rock Island is exciting some health experts with a new emergency room design that takes a calming approach to patients with behavioral health issues.

Designers of the Trinity Rock Island construction project have included a large "living room" to the mental health crisis unit within the emergency department.

Trinity's new addition, to be completed in 2015, is being done by a nationally known firm called Cannon Design that has announced the living room project will be part of a multi-year research study with implications across the country.

"This could be a national model," said Dr. Whitney Austin Gray, the lead health researcher for the global firm that has offices in 15 cities around the world, including Chicago.

The data will show whether it is an effective way to treat some patients who come to receive care in the emergency department, Gray said, adding that there is no empirical research on such a program at present.

It is better understood how patients in crisis react in a normal emergency setting, said Mary A. Petersen, a registered nurse who is the director of behavioral health services for the Robert Young Center for Community Mental Health. The area is typically very busy, she said, and there can be cardiac emergencies, people with broken bones, cuts that need stitches and constant noise from alarms, announcements and ambulance sirens.

That is typical, she said. Emergency departments across the nation usually have all their patients in one general area.

"With this new model, we believe we can positively impact the care and safety of the patients," she said.

The $61.3 million addition is the biggest in the history of the hospital. Besides the emergency department, the addition is for Trinity's heart center.

The new emergency department will include a crisis stabilization unit, or CSU, Petersen said. Inside that will be the living room, a separate space with woodwork, comfortable seating, artwork, a dining room table and a saltwater fish tank.

See more here:
Trinity Rock Island's new ER to include a 'living room'

Dream Sun Room Addition

By: RAL Architecture + Design

More here:
Dream Sun Room Addition - Video

April 26, 2014

EAST LANSING, Mich. - A leadership gift from former Michigan State All-America offensive tackle, Flozell Adams, brings the fundraising efforts for Spartan Stadium's North End Zone Expansion Project to over $20 million. The two-story, 50,000-square-foot structure features new locker rooms, training room, media center and recruiting lounge. The $24 million addition is scheduled for completion in July 2014.

Adams' $1.5 million gift is among the largest donations Michigan State Athletics has received from a former student-athlete, and it will enhance the home locker room area. Pending Board of Trustee final approval, the home locker room in Spartan Stadium will be named for Flozell's late mother, Rachel Adams.

"The primary reason I made the financial commitment is because there's a real need for the new facility," Adams said. "The reality is that the locker room has changed very little over the last 30 years, so it's time for a major makeover."

Before she passed away in 1996, Rachel Adams would wait for her son in the tunnel outside the Spartan locker room to greet him after his games. She was proud of Flozell's athletic accomplishments as well as his academic success. Adams recently launched The Fairman-Adams Project, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to aid those diagnosed with breast cancer. Adams lost his mother to breast cancer and in addition to his gift to MSU, he will pay tribute to her legacy through the work of his foundation.

"My mother was my rock. I could talk to her about anything and everything. We spoke on Fridays before every game, and I looked forward to her hugs after every home game. This donation and naming opportunity is the appropriate way to thank her and pay tribute to her. She was certainly a difference-maker in my life, and she loved Spartan football Saturdays."

A four-year letterman and three-year starter while at Michigan State, Adams earned Walter Camp First-Team All-America and Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year honors as a senior in 1997. A first-team All-Big Ten pick by both the coaches and media as a senior, he started all 12 games at left tackle and helped the Spartans rank No. 24 nationally in rushing offense.

Adams was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round (No. 38 overall) of the 1998 National Football League Draft and became a five-time Pro Bowl selection (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008). He spent 13 years in the NFL, including 12 seasons in Dallas (1998-2009) and one year with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2010). In 2009, Adams was ranked among the Cowboys' Top 50 all-time players (No. 43). He played for the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010 and started in Super Bowl XLV against Green Bay.

Read the original post:
Football. Flozell Adams Provides Leadership Gift For Stadium Project

A shift in the wind Saturday afternoon apparently sent embers from a nearby fire into an old one-room schoolhouse in New Liberty, destroying the structure.

No one was hurt in the midday fire, but the loss of the stone building surely will be noticed by people who live in the area and often used it as a local landmark.

New Liberty firefighters said a member of the family that owns the building was burning debris in a nearby ditch when the wind evidently shifted and ignited the building.

By the time firefighters arrived, the roof had collapsed, and because the building was not insured, they allowed it to burn rather than risk injury trying to fight it. A large part of one of the walls had already collapsed long before the fire even started, they said.

A handful of rural Scott County fire departments responded to the blaze.

As firefighters kept watch over the building to make sure the fire didn't spread, people watched from across New Liberty Road, some of them taking photos.

Among those gathered was Beverly Meyer. She was in the last eighth-grade class to attend school in the building during 1952. She lived just across the road, Meyer recalled, so it was easy to get to school in the morning and go home for lunch.

Meyer also recalled that the school housed kids from kindergarten through eighth grade, all in one room. She said that while one class was taking instruction, the rest would move to the back of the room and quietly do their studying.

Like a lot of old schoolhouses, this one had been used as a barn.

Lynn Sievers, the owner, who lives across the road, said she had chickens in it. But because of its condition, she had been thinking of tearing it down.

Read the original:
Old one-room rural school burns