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Monthly Archives: December 2011
Hospitality Industry Pool Risks: Hotel Pools And Spas Are Not Considered Safe If "Drain Covers Are Broken, Missing Or Cracked" (Video)
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Training
Hospitality Industry Fire Risks: Louisiana Hotel's Rooftop "Electrical Room Fire" Extinguished By Sprinkler System; Building Suffers "Significant Water Damage" As Water Seeps "All The Way To Lobby"
“…the sprinkler system (stopped)Â the spread of the fire. But the building suffered significant damage from water that seeped from the roof all the way into the lobby…”
Officials are investigating the cause of a two-alarm fire on the roof of the Brent House Hotel at Ochsner Medical Center’s Old Jefferson campus that prompted the evacuation of a few hundred employees and hotel guests Thursday afternoon. There were reports of two people who suffered minor smoke inhalation, according to Joe Greco, director of the East Bank Consolidated Fire Department.
Firefighters went to the roof and discovered the source of the smoke was a 20-by-30-foot mechanical room that houses the building’s electrical panels and the elevator motors. Greco said the crew encountered heavy smoke and some flames in the room, but were able to extinguish the fire by 1:32 p.m.
The cause of the fire was still not known Thursday evening. Although there was speculation earlier in the day that the blaze may have started in the motor of one of the elevators, Greco said there was no evidence of that.
For more: http://www.nola.com/traffic/index.ssf/2011/12/nvestigators_look_for_cause_of.html
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Filed under Fire, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Swimming Pool Risks: Hawaii Hotel Owner Must Face Trial Over "Near Drowning And Incapacitation" Of Woman
“Under Hawai’i law, a landowner has a duty to use reasonable care for the safety of all persons reasonably anticipated to be on the premises….Further, Hawai’i courts recognize that a hotel has a ‘special relationship’ with its guests […] to protect the latter against unreasonable risk of physical harm.”
  
   “…Court precedent found in 2010 with Robbins v. Marriott Hotel Services establishes that hotels may have to take extra steps to warn guests about “an open and obvious danger.”
 Royal Lahaina did not have an on-duty lifeguard, only a sign that said, “Warning: No Lifeguard on Duty,” according to the complaint.
A California travel agency must face a trial to determine whether it is liable for the near drowning of a woman who used a hotel pool despite a sign that alerted guests there was no lifeguard on duty, a federal judge ruled.
Song Meyong Hee is now “incapacitated” and “a vegetable,” after sinking in a Royal Lahaina Resort swimming pool and suffering severe hypoxia, according to the complaint filed by Song’s husband and children.
For more:Â http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/06/42001.htm
Filed under Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: "Americans With Disabilities Act" Amendment Has Broadened Definition Of "Disability"; "Employment-Practices Liability" Claims Expected To Rise Dramatically
“…As a result of the EEOC rulings, which broaden the definition of disability to include protections for employees with, for example, cancer, diabetes or epilepsy… the definition of disability under the law was “significantly expanded†by the ADAAA, and she also expects claims numbers to grow as a result.”
“…A person with diabetes…you must provide reasonable accommodations—a place to test blood sugar, a break to take medications and time to rest…â€
“…It’s cheaper to purchase (the proper Employment-Practices Liability coverage] than to defend yourself against one of these claims…”
Steps taken by federal officials to broaden the definition of “disability†is putting pressure on employers—and insurers are forecasting an increase in employment-practices liability (EPLI) claims.
The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2009, directed the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to revise its regulations “to restore the intent and protections†of the original act, and to address what lawmakers felt was a too-narrow view taken by courts of the original ADA provisions.
For more:Â http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2011/12/01/ada-amendments-broader-definition-likely-to-cause
Hospitality Industry Guest Privacy Risks: New "Invasion Of Privacy" Lawsuit Filed Against Tennessee Hotel By ESPN Reporter Who Seeks $6 Million For "Negligence And Infliction Of Emotional Distress"
“…The lawsuit charges that Barrett called the Marriott and was told which room Andrews would be staying in and then rented the room next to her…”
The lawsuit accuses Marriott of negligence, infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy and seeks at least $2 million in damages for each of the claims. Barrett was accused of the same claims in addition to disclosure of private facts, and the lawsuit seeks $1 million for each claim against him.
ESPN reporter Erin Andrews filed a new lawsuit in Davidson County Circuit Court last week accusing the Nashville hotel where she was unknowingly videotaped in the nude in 2008 of invasion of privacy, negligence and infliction of emotional stress.
In addition to the West End Marriott Hotel, Andrews also named convicted perpetrator Michael Barrett in the lawsuit. Barrett, an Illinois resident, was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison in 2010 for stalking Andrews as she traveled around the country to cover sporting events for ESPN and filming her in her hotel rooms.
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Filed under Claims, Crime, Guest Issues, Insurance, Labor Issues, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Arizona Hotel's Elevator "Free-Falls" Several Floors Injuring Female Guest
“…Right after the second-floor button lit up, she heard a loud noise and the elevator went into a free-fall 
mode…The elevator hit the ground. The woman broke her right ankle, and possibly her left ankle, too…” Â
A woman suffered broken bones after the elevator she was riding in fell several floors at a Phoenix hotel Saturday night, fire officials said. The woman, who was not identified, was riding up to the third floor at the Embassy Suites at I-17 and Greenway, according to Capt. Scott McDonald of the Phoenix Fire Department.
It was not immediately known what caused the elevator to fall.
For more:Â http://www.kpho.com/story/16185739/woman-hurt-in-falling-elevator
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Filed under Guest Issues, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership
Hospitality Industry Pool Risks: Florida Hotel Employees Hospitalized After Exposure To "Hazardous Chemicals"
Two Orlando hotel employees have been taken to the hospital after being exposed to pool cleaning chemicals that were incorrectly mixed.
Orange County Fire Rescue officials said two employees at the Vistana Villages Resort moved the chemical container to a safe area away from hotel guests on Saturday. But officials said the employees were injured in the process
Firefighters wore special hazardous material protective gear as they spent more than two hours cleaning up the chemicals.
No hotel guests were injured. Fire rescue resources were also sent to help the hospital to make sure the patients were properly decontaminated so they didn’t expose other patients.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/04/2531128/fla-hotel-workers-exposed-to-pool.html#ixzz1fatfwCeQ
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Labor Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: "Employment Practices Liability Insurance" Policies Can Protect Hotel Owners From Costly Litigation When Using Social Media In Hiring Process
For a price comparatively nominal to the cost of litigation, employers can purchase an employment-practices liability insurance policy (EPLI). An EPLI policy provides protection for the employer from the economic and noneconomic losses resulting from employment-related claims, including but not limited to claims of wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment or retaliation.
 In addition to an employer’s risk-management portfolio for social media, an employer’s overall risk management should include an EPLI policy to protect them from the costly litigation associated with labor and employment.
Employers need to have a solid social-media policy in place. This policy should:
- Outline what constitutes inappropriate use of social media, from personal use during work hours to the type of content posted, including defamatory language about the company.
- Address the penalties for disclosure of trade secrets on public pages, in a language and context that can be understood clearly.
- Address disciplinary action and termination procedures for violation of social-media use in its various forms.
Many hiring professionals and employers’ first stop during the hiring process is social-media outlets to screen applicants. They turn to LinkedIn or Facebook to learn more about an applicant’s education, their friends or even their social behavior.
Sometimes, a candidate is rejected based on content found on the applicant’s social-media pages, which could include inappropriate photos or comments, references to alcohol and substance abuse, discriminatory comments, slanderous statements and/or the sharing of confidential information regarding their previous employer, proof of poor communication skills and exaggeration of their qualifications.
While the above reasons are legitimate cause for concern, and employers advantageously have social media at their disposal to prevent negligent hiring, a business can be at risk for discrimination if accessing social-media sites that contain protected class information not privileged in the normal course of the hiring process.
To mitigate this risk, employers should use outside third parties in their hiring process, including background-verification companies and/or recruiters who document content acquired on social-media sites in the candidate-selection process.
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Filed under Claims, Employment Practices Liability, Insurance, Labor Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Privacy Risks: Mobile Phone Carriers Confirm That Mobile Devices "Integrate Tracking Software" That Reveals User's Location
“…AT&T, Sprint, HTC, and Samsung today confirmed that their mobile phones integrate a controversial piece of tracking software from a company called Carrier IQ..”
“…the software can be tweaked to gather more intrusive data about a user’s location, the software and applications on the device, which keys are being pressed and what applications are in use…”
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Both wireless carriers AT&T and Sprint insisted that the software is being used solely to improve wireless network performance while phone makers HTC and Samsung said they were integrating the software into their handsets only because their carrier customers were asking for it.
Meanwhile, several large carriers and handset makers, including Verizon, Research In Motion, and Nokia, distanced themselves from the software and insisted that reports about their devices integrating the tool are false.
The controversy began last week when independent security researcher Trevor Eckhart published a report disclosing how Carrier IQ’s software could be used by carriers and device makers to conduct surreptitious and highly intrusive tracking of Android and other smartphone users.
Eckhart described the software as a hard-to-detect and equally hard-to-remove rootkit that could be used by carriers and phone makers to collect almost any kind of data from a mobile phone without the user’s knowledge. Eckhart said his research showed that Carrier IQ’s software was often enabled to run by default on several mobile devices including those from Samsung, HTC, RIM, and others.
A lot of the information collected by Carrier IQ is designed to enable mobile operators and device vendors to quickly identify and address quality and service-related issues.
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Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Technology
Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Washington DC Hotel Sued By Muslim Employee For Discrimination When He Was "Prohibited From Serving Israeli Delegation" (Video)
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The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in DC barred a Muslim employee from serving an Israeli delegation, CNN’s Barbara Starr reports.
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Filed under Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
