The Rittenhouse, a AAA Five Diamond luxury hotel on Rittenhouse Square in the heart of downtown Philadelphia, has selected The Refinishing Touch, a world leader in providing environmentally-safe, onsite furniture refinishing and re-upholstery services, to refinish over 700 pieces of furniture in its 98 rooms.
While planning an upgrade of the televisions in its guest rooms, The Rittenhouse discovered that the rooms’ existing armoires would be unable to house new 42” screens. Rather than go to the expense and waste of replacing them, the hotel worked with The Refinishing Touch to modify the armoires by removing the top of each one and replacing it with a granite top to match the luxury aesthetic of the room.
The Refinishing Touch was chosen not only for its ability to save the hotel money, but also for its environmental focus in every project. Refinishing furniture onsite dramatically reduces the carbon footprint of the work, plus each project is completed using only environmentally friendly materials. The Rittenhouse is committed to green efforts throughout its business: it recently underwent a complete energy evaluation resulting in a switch to more energy efficient light bulbs through a program with General Electric.
David Benton, Vice President and General Manager of The Rittenhouse, said: “The process that The Refinishing Touch uses is remarkable and is an incredible option financially. Being able to conduct refinishing work of that scale on the premises while keeping the rooms in working order and maintaining our environmental focus was extremely valuable to us. It’s great to work with a company that can deliver the exact work we need and that shares our goals of sustainability and environmental conservation.”
Mario Insenga, President of The Refinishing Touch, said: “It is wonderful to see a fine boutique hotel such as The Rittenhouse choose an environmentally friendly solution. The Rittenhouse management has a great understanding of the positive impact this work will have for each room, with its minimal carbon footprint and opportunity to save a considerable amount of money compared to replacing the furniture outright.”
To learn more about The Refinishing Touch’s environmentally conscious work, visit http://www.therefinishingtouch.com
About the Rittenhouse
Ranked among the top hotels in the world by Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure, The Rittenhouse enjoys a premiere location on historic Rittenhouse Square, in the heart of the city’s shopping and cultural attractions. The spacious and elegant guest accommodations include marble bathrooms, complimentary high speed WiFi, and superb furnishings. The Adolf Biecker Spa and Salon continues to delight visitors with its signature array of treatments and services.
For more information, please go to www.rittenhousehotel.com
About The Refinishing Touch®
Founded in 1977, The Refinishing Touch® is a world leader in providing on-site environmentally safe, furniture re-finishing and re-upholstery to private and public organizations. It enables its 20,000 customers across the following markets; government, hotel, hospitality and academia to save up to 80% of their budgets and maintain environmental sustainability.
To date the company has transformed over 1.5 million rooms of furniture worldwide, preventing the equivalent of approximately two million hardwood trees being lost to landfill. Services comprise furniture refinishing, re-upholstery, armoire modification and re engineering, granite and fabric selection through the Touch Textiles division. The company has patent pending waterborne material processes that are odorless, non-toxic and non-flammable and environmentally safe enabling immediate room re-occupancy.
The Refinishing Touch® was awarded the US General Services Administration Evergreen Award for innovative environmentally friendly practices. Long term clients include: The White House, The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, US Department of Justice, US Congress, Department of Defense, US Military and Coastguards; Hilton, Hyatt, Marriot Intercontinental, plus a number of top universities. The company is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.