Jul 21 2008
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.”