Upland, Calif.— Green Suites International, the lodging industry's leading environmental marketing and distribution company, has teamed with GE Lighting to help hotels reduce their lighting bills up to 75 percent by installing new, energy-efficient lighting solutions.

Green Suites International President and Co-Founder Dan Bornholdt said that total lighting costs (for guestrooms and public areas such as lobbies, passageways, restaurants and meeting rooms, etc.) typically account for40 percent of a property's overall electrical expenses. Bornholdt said many hotels are suffering from electricity bills that have skyrocketed 50 percent or more, but that GE Lighting's hospitality replacement lamps offered by Green Suites International can help properties reduce overall electrical bills by 30 percent almost overnight.

Just as important, Bornholdt said, GE Lighting's energy-efficient Hospitality Solutions help hotels improve room ambiance, safety and security, and green conservation initiatives that not only help protect the planet, but also serve as solid sales tools when marketing to today's more than 43 million environmentally conscious U.S. travelers.

As part of the marketing agreement, GE Lighting's specialized hospitality market team will assist Green Suites International in providing prospective properties with complimentary energy audits and consulting, as well as timely, professional local support.

"The hospitality market is wide open for GE Lighting, and Green Suites International has the key contacts, breadth of environmentally friendly products, and the commitment necessary to successfully market our energy-efficient Hospitality Solutions during a time of great need," said Jim Schmidt, GE Lighting's Market Development Manager. "We are pleased to partner with a proven performer such as Green Suites International, which will be instrumental in delivering our message as well as substantial energy savings to lodging properties across the country."

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"As of late, the hospitality industry has been hit hard by the overall economic downturn, unforeseen increases in utility costs, and a substantial decrease in occupancy," Bornholdt said. "Now, more than ever before, hotels need to review their so-called 'fixed costs' such as energy consumption in search of creative ways to cut costs to recoup revenues lost to dropping demand.

"Not only can we offer hotels energy-efficient GE Lighting Hospitality Solutions to reduce lighting costs up to 75 percent, but rebates from local utilities typically will shoulder 75 percent of the upfront investment in lamp replacement, allowing for paybacks in six months or less," Bornholdt said. "Just as important, this energy savings will only increase with time as utility costs continue to climb."

GE Lighting's Schmidt said the new partnership with Green Suites International already has garnered a few dozen projects in hospitality. Schmidt expects hundreds of other properties — from independents to regional brands to international chains operating in the budget to upper-upscale segments from the West Coast to the East Coast — to follow suit in the coming months.

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The 110-room Radisson Pavilion in Beverly Hills, Cailf. is among the dozens of lodging properties already capitalizing on Green Suites International's recent partnership with GE Lighting. Abdalla Eldib, GM of the upscale property, said the hotel in October replaced approximately 1,000 lamps. Eldib estimated that the $15,000 project, covered in large part by rebates totaling thousands of dollars from a local utility, will pay for itself in nine months.

"We're replacing all of the lamps in our guestrooms, corridors and passageways, and public areas with GE Lighting's energy-efficient Hospitality Solutions now offered by Green Suites International," Eldib said. "Sometime next summer, we expect to have paid for the entire project, with annual energy savings of $16,000 or more projected to be reaped by our property for many years to come."

Eldib said The Radisson Beverly Pavilion's energy bills have gone up 60 percent since May. More than ever before, he said it is imperative that the property take immediate action to explore all

cost-saving opportunities and neutralize today's skyrocketing energy expenses.

"We're ecstatic about being able to bank $16,000 a year," he said. "Just as important, we expended very little effort — we made one call and Green Suites International and GE Lighting did most of the homework, providing us with a comprehensive on-site energy audit outlining several substantial cost-saving opportunities. I can only imagine the bottom-line impact that such a simple lamp replacement project would have on a convention-size hotel."

An in-depth brochure of GE Lighting's energy-efficient Hospitality Solutions is available for download at www.gelighting.com.

One of the General Electric Company's major businesses [NYSE: GE] , GE Lighting is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. A leader in lamp technology, manufacturing and marketing in the global lighting industry, GE Lighting has operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. Today, the company manufactures approximately 7,000 various lamp products for commercial, industrial and consumer markets.

Based in Upland, Calif., Green Suites International assists hotels by developing solutions that are profitable to hotels and image enhancing to the more than 43 million environmental travelers in the United States. Solutions include natural amenities delivered from elegant dispensers, non-toxic cleaners, air and water filtration systems and energy and water efficient products. Facilities reaping the benefits of Green Suites International's solutions include properties from every state and 12 different countries. For more information on Green Suites International or GE Lighting's Hospitality Solutions, please contact

Ray Burger, Green Suites International VP Sales & Marketing, at 888-590-2285, e-mail rburger@greensuites.com, or visit www.greensuites.com.