Team mentor/faculty advisor: Dr. Caitlin Saladino

Team motto: Putting a Scarlet Twist on Sustainability

Problem statement: Casinos, restaurants, and the average Las Vegas resident have few food waste diversion options besides costly private compost services, the pig farm, or underdeveloped donation programs. Many Las Vegans at the same time lack proper nutrition, despite this abundance of food. There should be a way to be more environmentally conscious without food waste AND help those with financial difficulties access food.

Proposed solution: Our solution is to create an application that allows businesses to divert food waste from Strip casinos/resorts and local restaurants to customers.

Impact/why it matters: With this application, we can improve access to higher quality food items, reduce food insecurity, AND reduce food waste bound for the landfill. Similar apps exist in other markets, but do not approach large commercial possibilities, like the Strip, that we think will have the most impact. Large distributors would be able to reduce loss associated with food that goes unconsumed while also providing for price-conscious consumers and more vulnerable consumers such as those who are food insecure.

Team member 1

• Name: Zachary Billot
• Current academic program: Political Science B.A.

Team member 2

• Name: Mary Blankenship
• Current academic program: Chemistry M.S.
• Undergraduate degree: Chemistry B.S. and Economics B.A.

Team member 3

• Name: Miguel Soriano Ralston
• Current academic program: Political Science B.A.

Team member 4

• Name: Jacob Vecchione
• Current academic program: Civil Engineering B.S.

Team member 5

• Name: Annie Vong
• Current academic program: Political Science B.A.

Team mentor/faculty advisor: Glenn Nowak

Team motto: Bringing health and wellness to a property near you

Problem statement: It is crucial to recognize the rapidly expanding wellness tourism industry, which is anticipated to create $7 trillion in revenue by 2025 and see a continuous rise in demand every year (Global Wellness Institute, 2021). Wellness tourism includes all of the activities and services offered by private facilities, wellness and tourism locations, or both, with the goal of maintaining an already-healthy state (Robinson, 2005). Compared to business and leisure visitors, wellness travelers spend 178% more (Global Wellness Institute, 2018). The wellness industry is worth $1.2 trillion in the United States alone, and Las Vegas is known as the "spa capital of the world." As a result, incorporating health into every aspect of the guest experience can greatly increase income for wellness and hospitality businesses.

Proposed solution:  WellSpaTech is a cutting-edge solution for autonomous wellness. WellSpaTech provides a one-of-a-kind and innovative wellness experience in a micro-spa setting, catering to all senses. Private, customized, self-servicing, sustainable, and self-sanitizing, the experience creates a futuristic wellness experience today.

Each WellSpaTech experience is customized to meet the needs of individual clients, such as hotels, spas, and wellness centers. WellSpaTech meets the growing demand for wellness experiences while also becoming a profitable revenue center for the location, thanks to low- to no-labor costs. Annual revenue can increase by $50K to $70K with just a 1% increase in room utilization.

WellSpaTech is dedicated to providing a one-of-a-kind wellness experience that meets the needs of both clients and customers. A collection of WellSpa models allows companies to choose from a team of experts to guide the transformation of existing hotel operations and guest room architecture into a technologically and ecologically advanced wellness retreat. With WellSpaTech, the future of wellness has arrived.

Impact/why it matters: The wellness industry faces numerous challenges. Firstly, there has been a significant decrease in the number of service providers entering and remaining in the industry, as evidenced by the 10-year decline in massage school attendance rates and closures of such schools. All of these resulted in a higher cost to hire and retain staff, with labor expenses ranging from 30% to 70% of total costs.

The built environment generates 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. Of those total emissions, building operations are responsible for 27% annually. Moreover, the hospitality industry, including wellness establishments, contributes to the world's carbon emissions, with hotels alone generating 1% of the total emissions. And among more consumptive resorts, spas may be seen as some of the least efficient spaces. For a 2,500-square-foot typical spa, the cost to open is roughly $500K. Thus, there is a growing need for wellness businesses to adopt sustainable practices to reduce their environmental impact and increase their profitability. WellSpaTech reduces the spa's carbon footprint and drastically reduces its physical footprint. By doing more with less, the micro-spa setting transforms underutilized space into high-demand and high-dollar experiences.

In conclusion, the wellness industry faces various challenges, from attracting and retaining staff to promoting sustainability. WellSpaTech addresses these challenges with wellness technology to meet guest demand, increase revenue, and create a sustainable future for the wellness industry.

Team member 1

• Name: Daphne Cuellar
• Current academic program: Interior Architecture and Design B.S.

Team member 2

• Name: Natalie Klainer
• Current academic program: Interior Architecture and Design B.S.

Team member 3

• Name: Sherrie Tennessee
• Current academic program: Hospitality Administration Ph.D.
• Master’s degree: Business Administration
• Undergraduate degree: Biology B.S.

Team mentor/faculty advisor: Dr. Ian McDonough

Team motto: Reducing food waste, one SCAN at a time

Problem statement: Food waste has doubled in American households in the past decade. Current solutions should focus on reducing food waste and increasing long-term environmental sustainability.

Proposed solution: Our proposal is an AI mobile app that allows users to scan the food in their fridge or other places. The app will then generate recipes based on what the user has and create meals that the user can make with curated guides.

Impact/why it matters: With YouChef, the impact of food waste and longevity of the problem can be alleviated by reducing food waste on an individual level. Users can be more weary about how much food they consume and how much of it they actually use. By reducing food waste on the micro level, per household, this can help bring down food waste on a macro level. Disposed food composes a large majority of landfill waste. By reducing food waste, it can help alleviate how much impact it has on the environment, along with water use and financial costs of maintaining it.

Team member 1

• Name: Allister Dias
• Current academic program: Economics BSBA

Team member 2

• Name: Ferris Ferris
• Current academic program: Pre-Computer Engineering

Team member 3

• Name: Vianey Lozoya
• Current academic program: Architecture B.S.

Team member 4

• Name: Richard Palenik
• Current academic program: Master of Business Administration
• Undergraduate degree: Entrepreneurship BSBA

Team member 5

• Name: Christen Smith
• Current academic program: Hospitality Management B.S.