Monthly Archives: May 2011

by | May 9, 2011 · 10:31 am

Hospitality Industry Pool Illness Risks: Budget Deficits Risk Shutdown Of State-Run "Public Pool And Spa Inspection Programs" Putting Guests At Risk And Raising Insurance Premiums

“…it’s important that pool operators and owners of public pools in this state know that there is someone looking over their shoulder, however benign that eye may be…”

The lone state inspector, Tim Wilson, also reviews construction plans and educating operators, builders and others in the industry on the federal law, intended to prevent injury and death from improperly installed drains.

“…South Carolina considered shutting down its program several years ago because of budget problems, but the hotel and motel industry pushed to keep it to avoid increased insurance costs…The state implemented fees to support the program..”

Resort owner Peter Spanos doesn’t support big government regulations but fears a proposal to eliminate New Hampshire’s public pool and spa inspection program will mean more pool-related illnesses in a state that receives 34 million visits annually. Spanos, owner of the Shalimar Resort on Lake Winnisquam in Tilton, said that wouldn’t be good for New Hampshire’s image or his business.

The House budget cut would save $139,000. Environmental Services Commissioner Thomas Burack said without the program, people would be at greater risk of gastric illnesses and lung, skin and eye infections. New Hampshire appears to be unique in using this budget-cutting measure, and some question whether it would tarnish the state’s reputation and hurt its $4 billion tourism industry.

New Hampshire inspects nearly 1,400 public pools and spas. In the last five years, the state reported 2,211 water quality violations; 313 bacterial and 725 safety, with 224 immediate closures. Manchester, Nashua, Bedford and Merrimack do their own inspections.

For more:  http://www2.wjtv.com/lifestyles/2011/may/08/cut-would-eliminate-nhs-pool-inspection-program-ar-1817932/

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by | May 8, 2011 · 6:51 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Privacy: Hotel Management Must Standardize Privacy Procedures For Entering, Cleaning And Inspecting Guest Rooms

“If someone has a couple of articles of clothes on the bed we will move them to make the bed…if they have expensive things on the bed – purses, electronics, cameras – we will not touch that bed.”

“…if there is something sensitive, like a closed wallet or laptop, a supervisor or manager will stand at the door for the employee’s safety…”

“…keep a log on what keys have been used on the room’s electronic doors…”

“…hotels’ insurance providers require police statements for incidents…have everyone write a written statement and sign and date it…”

While every chain hotel has a set corporate policy, each individual hotel may be less stringent and abiding for the guest’s benefit.

“According to Iowa law, we can enter a room anytime we want,” Jepsen said. Generally, hotel staff won’t enter a room if they don’t suspect something may be wrong in the room, Jepsen said. With extended-stay guests, who are staying 30-40 days, they are required to enter the room a minimum of twice a week. They mainly change the sheets and make sure garbage isn’t piling up, but also they make sure their equipment isn’t damaged. By the end of 30 days, a mattress could be ruined or the guest could be smoking in the room, Jepsen said.

There are other reasons for entering a guest’s room. “There have been instances where guests put their ‘do not disturb’ sign up but they may have a medical issue,” said King. “It could go unnoticed for long periods of time.”

“In the back of our mind, we always know what our rights are and what the rights of our guests are,” she said. “You can’t always have rules written in stone.”

Protection exists for both the hotel and the guests. Country Inn & Suites and AmericInn, like most hotels, have video surveillance systems. Both also keep a log on what keys have been used on the room’s electronic doors.

With any serious crime, such as theft, the police are immediately contacted, Jepsen said. “If a guest reports a theft, it’s investigated to its fullest extent,” she said. This is also done because the hotels’ insurance providers require police statements for incidents.

“What I always do is I have everyone write a written statement and sign and date it,” Jepsen said.

For more:  http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/538926/Hotel-rules-protect-both-operator-and-guest.html?nav=5010

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by | May 7, 2011 · 7:21 am

Hospitality Industry Computer Data Risks: New Orleans Hotels Investigation Finds "Pubic Business Center" Computers Retain "Sensitive Information" In Temporary And Recycle Bin Folders

“…the Louisiana Technology Council says …many hotels make little or no attempt to protect your private information on their public PCs…in business centers…”

“That information will live on that computer until such time that it’s deleted,” said Lewis. “You and I both know that it’s really never deleted. It can be recovered and if someone comes in with software, they may be able to get that data off the PC.”

Eyewitness News sent an intern into about a dozen New Orleans area hotels to search for documents and other information left on public computers after the user logged off. Among the things we found: invoices; insurance papers; tickets to a show at the Lakefront Arena; a certificate from the Texas Department of Insurance and even someone’s monthly pay statement.

Most of the documents contained people’s names, addresses and other sensitive information about the user. “I was amazed that you were able to print out some very confidential and private information from a business center location,” said Lewis.

“If somebody wants to open up a new credit card and in this day and age of identity theft, having that kind of information out there is real frightening,” said attorney Daren Sarphie.

He says in March, the client got a disturbing phone call from a guest at the International House Hotel in downtown New Orleans. The guest told him all of the his private information, including Social Security number, birth date, home address and phone number was contained on a document stored on the hotel computer for all to see.

“The person that accessed, that found this file had just gone to hotel to book plane reservations to go back home to Dallas and in the process, he’s just playing around on the computer and he accessed this directory and is able to pull up all kinds of stuff, said Sarphie.

“You’d think that the hotels at least would have a system in place that they would erase the hard drive on a weekly basis or a daily basis to make sure there are no temporary files saved on that computer,” said Sarphie.

The information we found was easy to access on the computers. Most of it was stored in the PC’s temporary Internet files, saved in the documents folder or waiting to be deleted in the computer’s recycle bin.

The owner of the International House Hotel says it is his hotel policy to purge the public computer’s desk top of any documents and public files every 24-hours. But, he says it is a public computer and people need to be mindful to log out of personal accounts and delete personal documents before leaving the computer.

For more:  http://www.wwltv.com/news/Keeping-It-Safe-On-Hotel-Computers-121350324.html

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by | May 6, 2011 · 6:15 am

Hospitality Industry Fire Risks: South Carolina Hotel Completes Major Renovations After "Dry-Storage Area" Fire Breaks Out In Restaurant

“…The Surfside Beach Resort has been undergoing major renovations to the 160-room building since October, when a fire broke out in a dry-storage area in the resort’s restaurant…”

“…The fire caused smoke and structural damage, prompting hotel management to move forward with not only restoration of the smoke-damaged areas, but an entire facelift of the building…structural repair and insurance issues were worked out before proceeding with the makeover…”

Renovations are kicking into full gear at one Surfside Beach hotel, in hopes of re-opening its doors to guests by mid-May. Joel Coker, general manager for the Surfside Beach Resort, said Thursday the bulk of renovations to the hotel only began 24 days ago. He says structural repair and insurance issues were worked out before proceeding with the makeover.

Rooms damaged by the October fire have been completely renovated, while undamaged rooms received upgrades. Improvements to the rooms include new beds and bedding, bathrooms, furniture and carpet.

Coker says he believes guests already have rooms booked starting May 17. “Bike Week is extremely busy now,” Coker mentioned. “Of course, it’s affected us with the decisions in Myrtle Beach a few years back. We could lose $100,000 easy that week – or more.”

The Surfside Beach Resort estimates it lost $1 million in guest revenue as a result of renovation efforts. The resort must undergo a handful of inspections – including building, fire and health – before it is allowed to re-open.

For more:  http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/14583174/hotel-damaged-by-october-eyes-may-re-opening

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by | May 4, 2011 · 6:58 pm

Hospitality Industry Guest Payment Risks: Hotel Management Must Confirm Credit Card Payments At Check-In

“…A man is accused of staying at a Midtown hotel for a week and not paying his bill….and has been charged with theft of service…”

“…The owner of La Maison told investigators that Aragon gave her a credit card that was declined…”

 According to court documents, Aragon stayed at the La Maison in Midtown bed and breakfast from March 14 through March 21 and did not pay for his hotel room. The owner of La Maison told investigators that Aragon gave her a credit card that was declined. When the owner questioned Aragon, he told her that he was having a house built and that the builder would be taking care of the bill. The owner alleges Aragon left the hotel without paying the $1,675 bill.

Investigators say Aragon told them the builder was supposed to pay the bill and that there was some misunderstanding about the bill. Aragon said he had placed a money order in the mail and that the owner should have received it in the mail. The owner told investigators that she never received payment.

For more:  http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8111479

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by | May 2, 2011 · 4:05 pm

Hospitality Industry Workers' Comp Issues: State Of Illinois Seriously Reviews Employee Awards, Employer Liability And Injury Review Standards

“…In just one example of how Illinois’ system is abused, a hotel maid recently was awarded a $42,500 claim for carpal tunnel after working less than 30 days and 180 hours at a Springfield hotel…”

  • The workplace should be the primary cause of the injury or aggravation of the previously existing condition
  • Employers should not be on the hook financially for injuries that occurred outside of the workplace or in the course of previous employment
  • Health care providers should use nationally recognized American Medical Association and utilization review standards when determining a person’s impairment and treatment following an injury
  • These AMA standards are used in more than three dozen states across the United States and provide a measure of objectivity
  • Workers who are injured while under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol should not be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits
  • The only exception would be if they can provide that the workplace caused the injury
  • Illinois should limit “wage differential” awards that are currently paid for life
  • These monetary awards are designed to make up the difference between an employee’s pay before and after an injury and were never intended to be paid past retirement age

Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/05/01/1690712/guest-view-its-time-to-get-workers.html#ixzz1LJ1LGtpZ

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by | May 1, 2011 · 8:38 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Maryland Hotel Guests Evacuated After Dangerous Levels Of Carbon Monoxide Are Generated By An "Improperly Functioning Pool Heater"

“…An improperly functioning pool heater was found to be generating the gas, and it was shut down…”

“…Monitoring equipment detected high levels of poisonous carbon monoxide gas in the air, prompting authorities to evacuate 30 motel occupants and take 11 of them to hospitals in Laurel and Columbia. All were released after evaluation…”

A Howard County motel was temporarily evacuated Saturday night after rescue personnel discovered high levels of potentially lethal carbon monoxide there, a county fire and rescue spokesman said.

Responders were called to the Sleep Inn on Second Street in North Laurel about 8:32 p.m. to check a report of a possible chemical leak, and found five children complaining of headaches and nausea, according to Battalion Chief Eric D. Proctor.

All the motel’s occupants were allowed to return to their rooms after the building was ventilated.

For more:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/bs-md-ho-motel-carbon-0501,0,3364397.story

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