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Author Archives: Ida
Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risk: “The Bed Bugs Rise Again”
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Maintenance, Management And Ownership
Hospitality Industry Security Risk: “With Better Security Technology, Hotels Shore Up Blind Spots”
“…In New Orleans, Mike E. Cahn III, president of the Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association security network, says he sends surveillance tapes showing criminal activity to other area hotels, and to the police,
who sometimes put them on YouTube. Recently a man stole a laptop from a conference room, Mr. Cahn said, and within 24 hours, he was recognized from the distributed video footage and apprehended…”
At a poker tournament in Barcelona last September, Jens Kyllönen, a professional player, said that his room at Hotel Arts was broken into and malware was installed on his computer to transmit anything he saw on his screen as he played. Despite video camera systems and electronic key card entry logs, no one was caught.
Although he said he discovered the malware in time, he says he is much more careful now about where he stores his belongings and secures his computer. Hotel Arts declined to comment, saying it was a private event.
His case is just one in what has become a technological cat-and-mouse game between hotels and criminals.
For more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/business/with-better-security-technology-hotels-shore-up-blind-spots.html?_r=0
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Filed under Crime, Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Privacy, Technology, Theft, Training
Hospitality Industry Legal Risk: “Woman Forced to Cut Dreadlocks After Bedbugs Found in Suburban Chicago Hotel Room: Lawsuit”
“…Harder to explain is the trauma affecting travel for me now. I travel a lot for work, and every time I stay at a hotel I just get filled with anxiety…”
“…Brumfield claims that on the second day of her stay at the hotel in Oct. 2012 a manager said an inspection of her room was needed after the bloodsucking Cimex Lectularius insects were found next door…”
A tennis coach was forced to cut off her waist-length dreadlocks after finding bedbugs in her suburban Chicago hotel room, a lawsuit claims.
Donna Brumfield alleges she had to hack off the cherished mane she’d been growing for 13 years after the creepy critters set up home on her head.
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership
Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Smartphones to Open Doors at Some Hotels”
“…Guests at these properties will receive a message on a Starwood app containing a virtual key, which will unlock the door with a tap or twist of their phone through the use of Bluetooth technology.
The company says the iPhone 4s or newer models and the Android phones running 4.3 or newer will be compatible…”
“…Nevertheless, many hotel operators have been searching for ways to eliminate the bottlenecks that can form at a hotel’s front desk. The delays are the bane of many a road warrior’s travel experience…”
Guests arriving at the Aloft Hotel in Manhattan or one in Silicon Valley will soon be able to do something hotels have dreamed about offering for years: walk past the check-in desk and enter their rooms by using a smart phone as a room key.
The boutique hotel brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to offer this feature at two hotels, in the Harlem neighborhood and in Cupertino, Calif., before the end of the quarter.
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Filed under Guest Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Technology
Hospitality Industry Property Risks: “Slaying the Silent Killer, Carbon Monoxide”
“…Fireplaces, boilers, water heaters, pool-heating equipment, gas-powered tools, barbecues and cooking equipment are the most common types of fossil-fuel-burning equipment found in hotels,†said Todd Seiders, director of risk management at Petra Risk Solutions….” 
“…Carbon monoxide is a gas, so it’s going to penetrate solids and seep into any open spaces just like cigarette smoke does,†said Stephen Barth, professor of hotel law at the University of Houston and the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com. “The problem is it’s deadly because you can’t see it, taste it or smell it. They call it the silent killer….â€
REPORT FROM THE U.S.—Three deaths linked to a faulty pipe that allegedly exposed guests to a lethal dose of carbon monoxide at a Best Western in Boone, North Carolina, have hoteliers stressing the importance of carbon-monoxide safety.
With rare exceptions, hotels all have sources of carbon monoxide, sources said, and without proper installation, maintenance and inspection, hotel owners and managers could be putting their guests at risk.
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Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Maintenance, Pool And Spa, Training
Hospitality Industry Employee Update: “Police Arrest Two of Weld County’s Most Wanted After Hotel Employee Recognized Duo From Photos Aired on News”
“…When the couple tried to check into the Best Western Brighton Inn, 15151 Brighton Road near U.S. 85, an employee recognized them from the photos and immediately called the Brighton Police Department…”
“…Montiel and Ureste — who also go by Destiny Lucero and Danny Montiel, respectively — were wanted in Weld County for multiple cases of identity theft, criminal mischief and failure to appear for court dates…”
Police on Wednesday arrested two of Weld County’s most wanted after a vigilant hotel employee recognized the pair from a news broadcast earlier in the evening.
Bianca Montiel, 24, and Christopher Ureste, 25, were arrested on suspicion of entering unlocked vehicles that were parked at day care facilities, stealing credit cards and racking up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges, said Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur.
The pair would wait in the parking lot of the centers early in the morning while parents dropped their children off. When parents took the kids inside, the suspects would enter the unlocked vehicles, steal purses and then use credit cards at local retailers.
For more:Â http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/9875062-113/police-satur-weld-arrest
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Filed under Crime, Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Management And Ownership, Theft
Hospitality Industry Legal Risk: “Parents File Lawsuit on Behalf of Teenage Girl Critically Injured in Panama City Parasailing Accident”
“…This lack of oversight means no one is keeping tabs on parasailing operators to make sure ropes that are damaged by sun and saltwater are replaced,” said Chalik who has spent years pushing for reform.
 “Parasailing should be a fun and safe activity, but parasailing companies that cut corners or disregard the safety of their customers can turn the popular beachside pastime into a dangerous and even deadly trip…”
PANAMA CITY, FL and ROANOKE, IN–(Marketwired – January 23, 2014) -Â The family of an Indiana teenage girl critically injured in a horrific parasailing accident last summer in Panama City, Fla. has filed a negligence lawsuit against the parasailing company, its owner and the hotel that operated the excursions.
On July 1, 2013, 17-year-old Alexis Fairchild of Huntington, Ind., and her friend Sidney Good of Roanoke, Ind., went up in tandem when strong winds snapped their parasail free from its boat below. Witnesses watched in horror as the girls were flung across the shoreline, smashed into a nearby condo rooftop and were dragged into a power line, before plunging into cars parked below.
“Aquatic Adventures Management Group, which operated Why Knot Parasail, not only ignored the fact that weather conditions had deteriorated, but failed to operate the boat a safe distance from shore,” said attorney Deborah Chalik, partner at The Law Offices of Chalik and Chalik, who filed the suit on in Bay County, Fla. on behalf of Alexis’ parents Michael and Angelia Fairchild. Chalik and Chalik has successfully represented a number of cases regarding parasailing accidents.
For the original article:Â http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/florida-parasailing-victim-sidney-good-breaks-silence-article-1.1587594
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January 23, 2014 · 8:41 amHospitality Industry Business Practices: “Bitcoin To Be Accepted For Food and Lodging In Two Las Vegas Hotelsâ€
“…Using bitcoins for the casinos itself won’t be happening anytime soon. State regulators, particularly the Nevada Gaming Control Board, are being more cautious about acknowledging and accepting the new type of currency.
The gaming industry isn’t particularly keen on pushing for it either. This is almost in contrast to the government of Singapore who just recently recognized Bitcoin as a valid, and therefore taxable, currency…”
Bitcoin has been making waves across the world, and now the cryptocurrency craze has reached the good city of Las Vegas. Starting Wednesday, two hotels in Las Vegas, including the The Golden Gate, the city’s oldest casino, will start accepting Bitcoin payments but only for hotel expenses.
Four years have already passed since Bitcoin came into being, but this new kind of currency only truly exploded last year, sometimes to rather insane heights. While it still mainly remains an oddity and curiosity for many, it has started to be become quite literally a serious business for others, including some governments.
For more: http://www.slashgear.com/bitcoin-to-be-accepted-for-food-and-lodging-in-two-las-vegas-hotels-21314010/
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Filed under Hotel Bar, Hotel Restaurant, Management And Ownership, Technology
Hospitality Industry Maintenance Update: “Hotel & Building Maintenance Tips”
To see full size infographic: http://visual.ly/hotel-building-maintenance-tips
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Filed under Guest Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
