Monthly Archives: November 2013

by | November 8, 2013 · 7:01 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: California Hotel To Manage Electricity Costs With Innovative Battery Storage System; 30 Percent Savings On Peak Demand Usage Seen

Intercontinental Hotels has run a trial with a 15-kilowatt Stem storage system for the past year, and though Hobbs would not discuss dollar Hotel Utility Costssavings he says he’s seen between a 17 percent and 30 percent improvement in his ability to manage demand. The hotel has 17 Stem systems on order and plans to install two 54-kilowatt battery packs at the Mark Hopkins in San Francisco, which would supply 20 percent of the hotel’s demand.

If a hotel’s energy consumption spikes—say on a hot day when guests all turn on their room air conditioners at once—the utility ratchets up the electricity rate they pay. To avoid these so-called demand charges—which can account for half of a monthly power bill—businesses can participate in programs that cut their bills if they allow their local utility take control of their air conditioners or lighting to reduce electricity use when the grid is overloaded.

Letting hotel guests who pay $300 a night sweat, however, is not an option. So Hobbs has pulled the plug on his utility by storing electricity in lithium-ion battery packs when rates are low for use when demand and prices rise. The battery and sophisticated software was built by a Silicon Valley startup called Stem and is another example of how technological innovation is upending utilities’ century-old stranglehold on power.

Patel says a 54-kilowatt system costs about $100,000, though California state incentives cover about 60 percent of that price. But thanks to a $5 million fund financed by Clean Feet Investors, Stem will offer customers no-money-down installation of battery storage in exchange for monthly fee paid out of the savings on utility bills. Such lease deals unleashed an explosion in residential solar systems and Patel expects to see a similar result in battery storage. Stem has orders for 6 megawatts’ worth of systems and Patel expects that to jump to 15 megawatts over the next year.

For more: http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/11/the-100-000-battery-that-could-help-hotels-save-bundles-of-money/281194/

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by | November 7, 2013 · 7:23 am

Hospitality Industry Employment Risks: Georgia Restaurant Sued By EEOC For “Sexual Harassment”; Female Workers Forced To Resign After Not Tolerating The Abuse By Manager

“…According to the EEOC’s suit, the employer allowed six women to be subjected to repeated acts of sexual harassment by a manager.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commissionsexual harassment occurred throughout the servers’ employment, occurring daily for some…When some of the servers rejected the sexual advances, they were assigned to less profitable sections of the restaurant or had their work schedules negatively changed, which resulted in lower earning opportunities. Although the employees complained to other management officials about the harassment, nothing was done to stop it from recurring…” 

A popular Atlanta-area restaurant/nightclub violated federal law by subjecting female servers to a pattern of sexual harassment by a manager, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed recently against Sirdah Enterprises, Inc., which owns and operates Taboo 2 Bar and Bistro in Roswell, Ga. The agency also alleged that the working conditions were so intolerable that five of the women were forced to resign when they could no longer tolerate the abuse.

It included groping their breasts and buttocks, indecent exposures, explicit sex related comments, requests for sexual favors, and promises of better working assignments and other benefits if they engaged in sexual acts.

Sexual harassment violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The EEOC filed the suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (EEOC v. Sirdah Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Taboo 2 Bar & Bistro, No. 1:13-cv-03657) after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.  The federal agency seeks back pay, compensatory and punitive damages for the servers, as well as injunctive relief designed to prevent such misconduct in the future.

“This case involves charges of gross sexual harassment where a manager, an individual normally entrusted with ensuring that the rights of employees are protected, took advantage of these women by abusing his position of power,” said Bernice Kimbrough, district director for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office.

Robert Dawkins, regional attorney for the Atlanta District Office, said, “Taboo 2 was aware of the sexually hostile work environment to which these young women were being subjected, but failed to take remedial measures as required under the law.  In addition to vindicating the rights of these seven women, this lawsuit is for the purpose of protecting the rights of current and future female employees.”

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency’s web site at www.eeoc.gov.

For more: http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/11-6-13a.cfm

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by | November 6, 2013 · 11:44 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Florida Hotel Faces Serious “OSHA Safety Violations” After Death Of Worker Crushed By Elevator; Lacked “Written Lockout/Tagout Procedures”

“…(the Hotel management company) had faced $23,000 in proposed fines for three serious and two other-than-serious alleged violations, Hospitality Industry OSHA Violationsaccording to the citations…RIA-Tradewinds allegedly lacked a written lockout/tagout procedure for the hotel’s elevators, the employee authorized to lockout/tagout the elevator involved in the death didn’t do so, and there was no coordination of lockout/tagout procedures with Progressive Environmental. The two other-than-serious violations involved the lack of documentation for lockout/tagout procedures and training…”

Two companies face $84,000 in proposed fines over the death of a worker in Florida who was crushed by an elevator car while cleaning the bottom of an elevator shaft, according to citations released Nov. 4 by the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The citations, dated Oct. 15, allege the two companies failed to coordinate their lockout/tagout procedures and that employees lacked required lockout/tagout training.

The worker, Mark Allen Johnson, 45, of Tampa, was employed by Progressive Environmental Services, doing business as SWS Environmental Services of Panama City Beach, according to OSHA and police reports. He died April 24 while cleaning oily water from the bottom an elevator shaft at a St. Petersburg Beach hotel. The hotel, Tradewinds Island Grand Beach Resort, is managed by RIA-Tradewinds Inc., according to the citations.

OSHA cited Progressive Environmental for one repeat and four serious alleged violations carrying proposed fines of $61,000.

For more:  http://about.bloomberglaw.com/law-reports/death-of-florida-worker-in-elevator-shaft-results-in-84000-in-fines-10-violations/

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by | November 5, 2013 · 6:53 am

Hospitality Industry Insurance Solutions: “Hospitality Workers’ Compensation Fundamentals” By Brad Durbin Of Petra Risk Solutions

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Petra Risk Solutions Education Partners

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by | November 4, 2013 · 6:53 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas And New Mexico Hotels Pay $78,000 To Settle Department Of Labor “Wage Violation Lawsuit”; Staff Paid Flat Rate Without Regard To Hours Worked

Investigators found that the MCM Elegante and MCM Grande Hotels paid housekeeping staff a flat rate per room cleaned, without regard to the Hospitality Industry Wage Violation Lawsuitsnumber of hours worked. When these employees worked more than 40 hours in a week, the employers continued to pay only this flat rate, failing to pay overtime at one and one-half times the employees’ regular rates of pay, as required by the FLSA. A housekeeper paid $3 per room, cleaning three rooms per hour, would earn $450 for a 50-hour week at the piece rate, without overtime. The employee would legally be due $495, a shortage of $45.

MCM Elegante and MCM Grande Hotels in New Mexico and Texas have paid $78,876 in overtime back wages to 200 dishwashers, bartenders, wait staff, bellmen, housekeeping, and maintenance workers following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD).

The investigation allegedly found overtime, minimum wage, and recordkeeping violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Employees in Albuquerque, New Mexico and several cities in Texas, were not properly paid wages they were due. The hotels are owned by HTL Operating LLC, based in Odessa, Texas.

As a result of the investigation, the employer has agreed to comply with the FLSA at all of its locations. It will pay the back wages found due in full.

For more:  http://compensation.blr.com/Compensation-news/Compensation/FLSA-Fair-Labor-Standards-Act/Hotel-employees-owed-79000-in-back-wages/#

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by | November 1, 2013 · 10:36 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Solutions: “Hotel Power Outage Risks” Discussed By Todd Seiders, Director Of Risk Management At Petra Risk Solutions

Hotel Business Newspaper

October 21, 2013 Issue

“Getting Through A Power Outage Is All In The Planning And Prep”

By Nicole Carlino, Associate Editor

For the average household, a prolonged power outage can be a nuisance, but for a hotel, it’s logistically difficult and a potential insurance nightmare.

Todd Seiders Petra Risk SolutionsTodd Seiders, director of risk management, Petra Risk Solutions, a hotel-specific insurance broker, noted that there are three main pitfalls for hotels when it comes to a loss of power: loss of business; guest and employee safety; and food spoilage.

“Policies are cleverly written, and they often don’t cover the first 48 hours of a power outage,” Seiders said, noting that many outages last less than that, which is still long enough for guests to decide to cancel reservations. And, should a guest be hurt, the hotel is the entity they’re going to sue regardless of who is at fault for the outage. As for food spoilage, Seiders said a hotel could lose thousands of dollars if it isn’t properly prepared for power loss.

Preparedness, he said, is the key. Seiders noted that one of the best things a hotel can do is to make sure it has plenty of flashlights on hand for guests and employees.

“If you don’t have some of these basics ready to go, you may never have them during the entire outage,” Seiders said, noting that others often run out to buy the items during the loss.

In addition to making sure necessary items are in-house, hotels need to review their emergency response plan; know what areas of the hotel an emergency generator will power; know the procedure for rescuing guests trapped in elevators; understand how the fire alarm system works in an emergency situation; have a plan for perishable food; and maintain an employee cell phone list. Also, a hotel should know how the key card machine works in an outage.

“You want to be able to get new guests into the rooms,” he said, noting that in many cases, emergency keys have to be prepared prior to a power outage.

“It’s training,” Seiders continued. “Employees have to be trained in things they’re not accustomed to.” He noted this is down to even simple measures, like knowing where the flash- lights are stored. One of the most important things to do, Seiders concluded, is to make sure to power down the building.

“When power comes back on, it surges,” he said. “That can cause all kinds of damage.”

To view this article online: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/icd/hotelbusiness_20131021/#/14

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