The Holiday Inn chain of hotels is switching over to energy efficient LED lighting for their signage, which will lead to an estimated $4.4 million in savings annually.

Don’t let the name fool you- The Standard Hotel is anything but. In the past year or so  they’ve created an elevator that takes you from Heaven to Hell, created some of the most aerodynamic commercial structures seen in awhile, and now they’re rolling out a new collaboration with California swimwear extraordinaries Quiksilver to reissue their original boardshorts from the 70’s and 80’s- but with updated fabrics, fits, and technology. These new boardshorts will be available exclusively at poolside vending machines located at Standard Hotels, as well as at shopthestandard.com.
In addition, these shorts also act as tour guides- inside each [...]

With the economy still in a bad state state, travel across the board is down. Family vacations are losing ground to rediscovering the wonders closer to home, while business trips are increasingly being replaced by remote meetings conducted over webcam and phone. But assuming you still find yourself living out of a suitcase on occasion, there’s no reason you can’t do so on a budget, and without skimping on the finer things in life.
To that end, aptly named British comedian George Egg, shows how a bit of DIY ingenuity can transform your hotel room into an ad hoc kitchen, enabling [...]

Looking for a “sustainable suite” to present for hoteliers, travel executives and the design commnity, a new contest invites professionals and students alike to offer their take on environmental friendly hotel room interior design.

Swedish fashion brand Elvine has partnered with design firm Next Century Modern on a new hotel-in-hotel project called Creators Inn. The team have taken the idea of a shop-in-shop and transformed a series of rooms at the Scandic Malmen Hotel in Stockholm Sweden. Successful cities have a vibrant culture and established creative scene. Hoping to lure creatives to come to the city and check the area out, the Creators Inn offers free short term accommodation for creative individuals. To become eligible for a room, all that’s required is going online to the Creators Inn site and explaining why you deserve [...]

Here’s a list of 10 interesting links we’ve posted on Twitter this week. To stay in touch, be sure to join the conversation and follow PSFK on Twitter for site updates and our favorite links from around the web.
1. Duncan Watts on the overcomplexity of global finance
2. MIT developing concrete that lasts 16,000 years
3. On the decline of MySpace and Bebo
4. Augmented realiy mobile gaming
5. Arkitip + Shepard Fairey issue release

6. ArchDaily ranks PSFK among top design blogs
7. Reminder that one must always treat one’s copywriters well
8. Painkiller ban cuts suicide rate

9. Concept hotel generates its own water from air
10. [...]

On a recent stop in Chicago, PSFK noticed the James Hotel uses 100% recyclable keycards as an eco-friendly alternative to the more common plastic cards. The James card feels like a thick business card and has a matte finish on the front with a glossy varnish protecting the magnetic strip on the back.