Author Archives: Ida

by | June 5, 2014 · 8:17 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Grass Valley Hotel Bust Results in 15 Arrests”

“…Through that investigation 15 people were arrested on variety of charges,grass valley including suspicion possession of controlled substances and firearms. Police believe the suspects were using the rooms to take drugs…Police confiscated methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, firearms and ammunition. A hidden trap door under the carpet in one room led to a storage room…”

Grass Valley police arrested 15 people on various drug and gun charges at a hotel.

The arrests occurred on May 30 after police learned that people were staying at the Holiday Lodge on East Main Street who were not registered. Police suspected they were involved in narcotics.

For more: http://bit.ly/1kNa4mA

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

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by | June 3, 2014 · 8:42 am

Hospitality Industry Scam Alert: “CH&LA Email Scam Alert”

CH&LA Alert

 

Hello Petra Friends

A new e-mail “scam” has developed across California, with some of our hotels in Kansas and Michigan also receiving the email.

California Hotels may NOT refuse to rent minors rooms based on their age only.  Refusing to rent to minors may be legal and appropriate in other States than California, so check with your local hotel Hotel & Lodging Association for more details.

Please click the image above to read the full alert as well as download a printable copy. 

Any questions? Call Petra Risk Solutions at (800) 466-8961

 

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by | · 7:54 am

P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Front Desk Best Practices” Presented by Loss Control Manager Marco Johnson of Petra Risk Solutions (VIDEO)

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/96622404 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Front Desk Best Practices’. 

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 Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

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by | June 2, 2014 · 8:00 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Update: “Methamphetamine Labs Pose Growing Problem, Expense for Hotel Owners”

“…The ingredients for meth and their byproducts, including ammonia, hydrochloric acid gas, lithium, sulfuric acid and pseudoephedrine,Meth Labs carry a plethora of possible side effects depending on the length of exposure….The size of most hotel rooms and the self-contained air-handling systems in them work in favor for decontamination crews. Since each room has its own heating and air-conditioning unit, the chances of the vapors getting into the rest of the building are slim…”

Gone are the days when making meth on the go was confined to low-end hotel rooms. The drug’s cooks are now finding their ways into hotels that any family might choose for road trips or weekends at various lake communities in the area.

“It’s not just happening in low-level hotels or strip hotels. It’s starting to happen in middle-class hotels,” said Joe Clark, operations manager for water and special projects at Protechs, a Fort Wayne company that does meth lab decontamination.

For more: http://bit.ly/1pzPNsk

 

 

 

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Filed under Business Interruption Insurance, Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Restaurant, Liability, Management And Ownership

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by | May 30, 2014 · 8:57 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “An Introduction to Data-Driven Decisions for Managers Who Don’t Like Math”

“…Companies are vacuuming up data to make better decisions about everything from product development and advertising to hiring.Image In their 2012 feature on big data, Andrew McAfee and Erik Brynjolfsson describe the opportunity and report that “companies in the top third of their industry in the use of data-driven decision making were, on average, 5% more productive and 6% more profitable than their competitors” even after accounting for several confounding factors…”

Not a week goes by without us publishing something here at HBR about the value of data in business. Big data, small data, internal, external, experimental, observational — everywhere we look, information is being captured, quantified, and used to make business decisions.

Not everyone needs to become a quant. But it is worth brushing up on the basics of quantitative analysis, so as to understand and improve the use of data in your business. We’ve created a reading list of the best HBR articles on the subject to get you started.

For more: http://bit.ly/1kcQXa5

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

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by | May 29, 2014 · 9:25 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Hotels Dazzle Guests With High-Tech Amenities”

“…Hotels should exercise caution before taking random leaps into the world of modern gadgetry.Image The first consideration must be the customer. Some people may find apps that know what movie they’re watching, where they’re going or whether they’re sleeping to be creepy. Other guests might not like the sight of a lobby full of high-tech devices…”

At Hotel 1000 in downtown Seattle, guests who want to sleep late don’t have to hang a “Do Not Disturb” sign on their doorknobs. Each of the hotel’s rooms contains an infrared sensor that detects body heat and displays the results to the housekeeping staff on a door panel (unless the guest doesn’t want it to). If the sensor shows someone is in the room, the cleaners skip it and move on.

For more: http://onforb.es/ShWu45

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by | May 28, 2014 · 8:26 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Update: “‘Mother Whose Son, 11, Died in Killer Hotel Room Starts Foundation to Raise Carbon Monoxide Awareness”

“…The mother and son, in town to pick up Jeffrey’s sister from a science camp, did not know that only two months earlier an elderly couple died in the same room after being overcome by carbon monoxide gasImage…Mrs Williams also hopes that in sharing her tragic story, she would raise awareness of the silent, odorless and colorless killer that has robbed her of her son…”

The North Carolina mother whose 11-year-old son was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning has started a foundation to raise awareness of the lethal, odorless, colorless gas.

Jeannie Williams nearly died from a carbon monoxide leak in a hotel that claimed the life of her son Jeffrey Williams, and now she’s made it her life’s mission to make people aware of the killer.

For more: http://dailym.ai/1pxZMf3

 

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

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by | May 27, 2014 · 9:47 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “How to Protect Your Online Presence”

“…Hoteliers can take a proactive approach to dealing with spammers by regularly checking their information is correct on major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and BingImage…Once hackers identify an easy target, they can install their own codes on the back-end of the hotel website. For instance, they may switch the booking widget so that it brings customers to a copy of the hotel’s website and then the booking is subsequently made through a third party…”

In January, spammers hijacked official website links for thousands of hotels listed within Google+ Local, rerouting visitors to third-party booking services. Since these listings feed results into Google Search, Maps, and Hotel Finder, Google worked quickly and quietly behind the scenes to correct the links. And despite the irritation of this hack, there are key takeaways for hoteliers that can help them protect their online presence.

For more: http://bit.ly/1jXwANU

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by | May 23, 2014 · 8:24 am

Hospitality Industry Bed Bug Update: “Suit: Calumet Park Hotel Infested With Bed Bugs”

“…The one-count lawsuit claims the hotel negligently and carelessly failed to provide guests with safe and sanitary rooms; Imagefailed to take steps, including inspections and extermination, to keep its premises clean and free of infestations; and, among other things, failed to train staff appropriately to recognize signs of bed bugs…”

A woman suffered from bed bug bites after she stayed at a hotel in Calumet Park, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.

Bridget Flowers rented a hotel room Feb. 14 at the Magnuson Hotel, 12800 S. Ashland Ave., and slept on the bed and used the sheets that the hotel provided, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court.

For more: http://bit.ly/1gWJaOj

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Filed under Bed Bugs, Claims, Guest Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

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by | May 22, 2014 · 8:12 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Lincoln City Hotel Sues for Defamation After Anonymous Person Posts Scathing TripAdvisor Review”

“…In March, the Oregon Court of Appeals for the first time took up the issue of whether Oregon business owners can sue people who post scathing reviews on Yelp, Angie’s List, Facebook or elsewhere.Image In its March ruling, the appeals court said the owners of an outdoor wedding venue could sue a wedding guest who posted a Google Review that included the statement that attending the event was ‘The worst experience of my life!’..”

Less than a month after an anonymous TripAdvisor.com user posted a very unflattering review of a Lincoln City hotel, the hotel has filed a $74,500 defamation lawsuit in an attempt to stop the reviewer from posting again and driving away business.

For more: http://bit.ly/Ty1L8Z

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