Author Archives: Ida

by | September 23, 2014 · 8:56 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Starwood’s Digital Initiatives Connect with Guests”

“Mobile increasingly will be at the heart of consumer-branded interaction and offers a plethora of opportunities for customization, communication, promotion, and loyalty.”…digital initiativesThe new reality is that tablets, iPads, smartphones, and wearable tech empower guests to travel and do business the way they want to do business. And if hotels aren’t on these devices, there’s a good chance guests won’t be doing business with them.

If you’re looking to get your guests’ attention, smartphones can be a good place to start. More than ever, guests are turning to mobile devices like these to research travel, book rooms, and interact with brands. From receiving instant directions to the hotel when the plane lands to requesting a bike to tool around town, tech-savvy guests can now cover their needs and desires with a finger tap or even a voice command. To catch the attention of the modern guests, however, hotels need to develop the right backlit content to run on these mobile devices.

No hotel company understands better than Starwood Hotels and Resorts. “People check their mobile devices every six minutes,” says Starwood President and CEO Frits van Paasschen. “We can say ‘welcome’ when a guest gets off the plane in New York, Dubai, or Shanghai. ‘It will take you 45 minutes to get to the hotel. Can we have your favorite drink ready?’ That ongoing dialogue didn’t exist before mobile technology. Ultimately, being able to have direct conversations with their favorite brands is what people are expecting.”

For more: http://bit.ly/1rlLgKw

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Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology

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by | September 22, 2014 · 9:16 am

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Those ‘Secure’ Websites Aren’t Always Secure, Study Finds”

“InterContinental Hotels Group, for example, last year used Ghostery to discover the source of unauthorized digital vendors that were collecting data on some of the hotel company’s web pages,laptop which were slowing down the sites’ response times…’Every millisecond of page latency costs thousands of dollars in lost sales,’  said InterContinental Hotels Group Director of Web Delivery Chad Westfall.”

As brands invest in marketing technologies that make it easier to engage with consumers online, their concerns about digital security are growing.

Companies have encrypted web pages that are designed to prevent third parties from accessing customer data entered online. But many of these sites still have marketing technology that isn’t secure and that could expose a brand to potential data breaches, according to new research from privacy tech firm Ghostery.

Ghostery examined 50 encrypted websites in the airline, financial services, insurance, news and retail industries using data collected from its panel of 20 million consumers. According to Ghostery, 96% of the web pages studied that were supposed to be secure had a security blind spot due to the presence of non-secure code.

For more: http://on.wsj.com/1mCbsAJ

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Filed under Crime, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

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by | September 19, 2014 · 8:34 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Legionnaires’ Disease: Awareness and Prevention” (Video)

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/105983681 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Legionnaires’ Disease: Awareness and Prevention’. 

P3 (Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America ’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.

For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.

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Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management

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by | September 18, 2014 · 8:13 am

Hospitality Industry Update: “2014 Trends in Hospitality” (Infographic)

To view at full size, click on the image below!
 
top-5-trends-in-hospitality-for-2014-infographic

For more: http://bit.ly/1udIk11

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Filed under Hotel Bar, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Social Media, Technology

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by | September 17, 2014 · 9:24 am

Hospitality Industry Maintenance Update: “Focusing on Acoustics Can Improve Guests’ Comfort”

Even with thicker walls, pathways through which sound escapes can defeat construction. Unsealed recessed electrical outlets are a common example.guest accoustics “I know a hotel with walls constructed to STC-60, but they performed at only STC-42 because the outlets weren’t sealed,” Battaglia says. “Yet, the ‘fix’ was simple. Preformed acoustic seals were installed by the maintenance crew between guests. The results were nothing short of remarkable.”

Your guests’ ears never rest, not even when they’re sleeping. Throughout the night, guests are likely to hear off-and-on HVAC systems, TVs in adjacent rooms, and luggage carts in hallways.

“When humans were still sleeping in caves, we needed to hear twigs snap when predators approached,” explains Jeff Loether, founder of Electro-Media Design, which provides acoustical and audio visual guidance for various hotel flags in the United States and overseas. “When man moved from caves to hotel rooms, he brought his hearing acuity with him.” And while hungry predators are no longer a problem, sounds that go bump in the night are.

For more: http://bit.ly/ZpV7UT

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Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Maintenance, Management And Ownership

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by | September 16, 2014 · 9:06 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Update: “Liberty Mutual: Retail and Hospitality Institute II”

“Best practices for mitigating risk and reducing losses for guest and employee injuries and incidents in the retail, hospitality, restaurant, gaming and entertainment industries.”

Liberty

At the conclusion of this institute, you will be able to:

• Explain what drives best-in-class performance in safety and risk
management
• Implement best practices for achieving safety and
operational excellence
• Apply resources and take advantage of networking opportunities that
can lead to stronger risk mitigation practices and related expense control

For more information contact Liberty Mutual at LPED@libertymutual.com with questions.

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Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Risk Management, Training

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by | September 12, 2014 · 3:08 pm

Hospitality Industry Conference Update: “15th Annual California Tourism Safety & Security Conference”

Last years conference was a huge success and we could not be more excited to be back! Come see Petra’s own Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, along with other members of the Petra P3 team. We hope to see you there!

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For more information on our P3 team: http://bit.ly/WUWpWi

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by | · 9:27 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Legionnaires’ Disease: Awareness and Prevention” (Video)

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/105983681 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Legionnaires’ Disease: Awareness and Prevention’. 

P3 (Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America ’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.

For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.

 

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Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management

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by | September 11, 2014 · 10:16 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “The Apple Watch Will Help You Unlock Hotel Rooms Without a Key. But is That a Good Idea?”

“But moving systems to a smartphone or other mobile device that has built-in computing power that could be used to run algorithms to break that security could ‘open up a big can of worms,’ Apple Watchhe said. Although he assumes Hilton and other companies considering this move have taken ‘great care’ to reduce risk, he still worries that the additional attack surface and communication abilities of mobile devices might make them more difficult to secure.”

At least one app for the Apple Watch will allow the wearer to unlock a hotel room with the wave of a wrist. But using mobile devices to provide keyless entry to hotel rooms isn’t a novel concept — and could come with added security risks.

Hotels have been experimenting with mobile apps to unlock hotel rooms for some time. The Starwood Hotel group, which is reportedly working on an Apple Watch app, had been testing a similar feature for smartphone users at least since earlier this year. And in July, Hilton Hotels announced guests would be able to use digital check-in and room selection at more than 4,000 properties around the world by the end of this year.

For more: http://wapo.st/1lYgLda

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by | September 10, 2014 · 9:13 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Arizona Lawmakers Want Background Checks for Hotel Workers”

“…The attorneys say less than nine months later, in June 2012, the same night clerk raped another woman who was a guest at the hotel, again using the master key to gain access.Arizona They say there is an additional police report from Illinois that claims the man, again working as a night clerk, used the master key to enter her room and attempt to sexually assault her. Neither attorney knew of the man’s current location…”

Hobbs said the existing sex-offender laws — those that dictate where an offender can live and work — are in place to keep the public safe and aware.

“It is unthinkable that this registered offender has exploited loopholes in the law to gain access to sleeping hotel guests and to reoffend,” she said.

Friday’s press conference was the first time the prospect of legislative efforts on the issue had been brought to the attention of the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association, and officials were unaware of what a proposal would entail, said Kristen Jarnagin, senior vice president of the trade group.

For more: http://bit.ly/1nLAvMG

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Filed under Crime, Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

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