Category Archives: Guest Issues

by | December 19, 2013 · 7:06 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Hotels Partner With Google To Present Guests With “360-Degree Panoramic Virtual Tours” On Websites

“…Google Business Photos are 360-degree tours powered by Google Street technology. Many businesses have used the technology since Google introduced it in 2010, but a growing number of hotel companies are now adopting it… “Since the 360-degree panoramic virtual tours are taken by Google Trusted Photographers, guests know that these tours are created by a trusted, third party.”

Hospitality Industry Technology SolutionsChekitan Dev, marketing professor at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and author of Hospitality Branding, says other hotel companies will have to think more about visuals to compete with their counterparts.

USA Today

By Nancy Trejos

Hotels are partnering with Google to change the way travelers can view hotels even before they walk through the front entrance. Best Western International on Thursday will announce the launch of Google Business Photos for all 2,200 of its North American hotels. All hotels will have the virtual tours online by the end of 2014.

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, parent company of Radisson, Radisson Blu, and Country Inns & Suites, this month started a pilot program of the service with an initial rollout at its hotels in Chicago, Miami and metro Washington, D.C.

“It will allow you to virtually experience the hotel in the same way you would if you were there,” says Dorothy Dowling, senior vice president of marketing and sales for Best Western. “We personally believe that this is going to be a game-changer in the industry in redefining how photos will be consumed by the consumer.”

The photos are taken by photographers trained and certified by Google. Their still photographs are stitched into 360-degree views using panoramic camera technology. Travelers can see the photos when they search for the hotel on Google Search, Google Maps, Google+, and Google Hotel Finder. They’ll be able to take the interactive tours on their computers, smartphones or tablets. The hotels also can link to the images from their websites.

For more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/hotels/2013/12/18/best-western-carlson-google-business-photos/4115185/

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by | December 18, 2013 · 7:03 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Restaurants Must Institute Rigorous Policies To Comply With 2014 FDA “Gluten-Free” Preparation Mandates

“…Done correctly, a (restaurant) cook leaves the line, washes his hands, enters a walk-in and dons a clean apron and gloves. He then assembles the Gluten Free Restaurantspizza on a manufactured crust using tongs and a ladle set aside for that item. Once baked, the pizza is cut with a specific knife on a clean cutting board…He recently had his third-party toppings maker rework its recipes to ensure they were gluten-free…”

Many restaurant chains are instituting rigorous policies for preparing and serving gluten-free offerings as awareness of gluten allergies and intolerance rises.

And while several operators said only about 1 percent to 3 percent of customers request gluten-free items, all insisted that taking extra effort to make such foods safely is good for business — and will keep them in compliance with upcoming mandates from the Food and Drug Administration.

At 60-unit Costa Vida, gluten-free corn tortillas are cooked first thing in morning so the comal can be sanitized and readied for flour tortillas. Corn tortillas are then stored in a closed container and opened only when necessary.

For more: http://nrn.com/health-amp-nutrition/restaurants-tighten-gluten-free-operations

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by | December 17, 2013 · 9:45 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Wisconsin Hotel Fire Likely An Electrical Short Tied To Bathtub Overflow; “Fire Stops” Limit Damage

“…(the fire likely started in the area where) a bathtub on the second floor overflowed for an extended period of time…the fire was likely electrical Hotel Fire and Smoke Damagein nature…Most of the damage was limited to the back one-third of the hotel, thanks to the building’s design, which includes “fire stops” — concrete barriers between sections of larger buildings that help keep potential fires from spreading…”

Investigators say a fire that tore through the Days Inn in Wausau Saturday evening started in the same area where a bathtub overflowed earlier in the day. Investigators from the Wausau Police Department, Wausau Fire Department, and the State Fire Marshal’s Office were at the hotel at 116 S. 17th Ave. Sunday to look into the cause of the blaze that displaced at least 20 long-term residents.

Wausau Police Capt. Greg Hagenbucher said investigators were notified of an incident earlier on Saturday where an amount of water damage was caused when a bathtub on the second floor overflowed for an extended period of time. The damage occurred in the same area where the fire was discovered. Hagenbucher said the fire was likely electrical in nature and does not appear suspicious.

For more: http://www.wisconsinrapidstribune.com/article/20131215/WRT01/312150299/Updated-Days-Inn-fire-likely-electrical-tied-water-damage-from-overflowing-bathtub

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by | December 12, 2013 · 10:55 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Hotels Work With States To Reduce “Sex Trafficking” At Super Bowl Sites; Tens Of Thousands Of Women And Minors Victimized During Annual Event

“…The New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking has taken several steps to raise awareness about the issue, training hotel managers on Child Sex Traffickinghow to detect and address trafficking in their establishments, and holding an informational rally replete with “elected officials, community activists, students, [and] artists.” Efforts like those in New Jersey and Arizona are aimed at duplicating past success at Super Bowl host sites…”

Before Super Bowl XLVI, held in Indianapolis in 2012, efforts from nonprofits and other activist groups helped generate a law making it easier to convict and punish pimps for victimizing people under 16 years of age. Those efforts don’t just fight sex trafficking around the Super Bowl — they also leave in place laws that are effective in limiting the practice long after the game is gone.

The enormity of the Super Bowl provides an ideal setting for traffickers to maximize profits. In Florida, for instance, “tens of thousands of women and minors” were victimized around Miami in 2009. Due to the influx of sports enthusiasts, there are more opportunities for sex solicitation – which pimps capitalize on. Additionally, the number of escort ads multiply closer to game day.

Led by Cindy McCain, the wife of Arizona Sen. John McCain (R), the task force issued 28 recommendations for reducing sex trafficking in the state. The task force, for instance, recommends increased protections for sex trafficking victims who are minors and the recognition of girls as victims in need of help instead of prostitutes. It suggests changing current state law to treat 15-, 16-, and 17-year-old victims of sex trafficking the same way it treats girls who younger than 15. It also suggests increasing penalties for johns and devoting resources to public awareness campaigns to combat the prevalence of sex trafficking.

Anti-trafficking outreach before the annual event is not unique to the Copper State, and advocacy campaigns have produced tangible results around past editions of the Super Bowl. Activists in New York and New Jersey are bracing for Super Bowl XLVIII – which they’ll host in February at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

For more: http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2013/12/12/3050121/combating-human-trafficking-arizona/

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by | December 9, 2013 · 6:53 am

Hospitality Industry Security Solutions: Hotels Increasingly Providing Dedicated “Women’s Floors”; Increased Security And Amenities For Female Travelers

“…The Crowne Plaza Bloomington in Minneapolis also has a Women’s Floor with additional security features and amenities…The hotel saw a Hotel Safety Concerns For Female Travelersneed, given that females now make up 47% of the guest population at Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, says Gina LaBarre, vice president of brand management for Crowne Plaza…”

“…Hotels are responding by setting aside floors with special key access and amenities that women typically prefer…The Naumi Hotel in Singapore has dedicated the third floor, which has nine rooms, to female travelers. Guests have to use a special access card to get in. Amenities include hair straighteners, sanitary products and yoga mats…”

Book a room on the 11th floor of the Hamilton Crowne Plaza here,  and you’ll get special bath salts and body products, a magnifying mirror, nail polish, nail files and a curling iron. They’re not exactly the types of amenities that men would go for, but that’s the point.

The Hamilton Crowne Plaza is one of a small, but growing number of hotels offering floors dedicated to female travelers. These hotels are particularly trying to appeal to female business travelers, who are moving up the career ladder and hitting the road more often.

For more:  http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/hotels/2013/12/08/hotels-women-only-floors/3910931/

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by | December 6, 2013 · 1:23 pm

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Restaurants Will Soon Benefit From New “Location-Based Mobile Payment” Technology & Apps; Customers “Automatically Check-In”, Complete Purchases With Smartphones

“…Telegraphe Cafe in New York will start testing Beacon soon. Anne Abikhzir, one of the owners of the coffee shop, expects the new gadget will Restaurant Mobile Payment Solutionsincrease check-ins and make the experience of buying coffee and pastries more personal for her customers…shoppers (can) complete their purchases using their phones and that data is collected and analyzed by retailers..”

EBay has spent many hours and lots of money pinpointing the locations of thousands of retail stores so the e-commerce company can capture sales from smartphone wielding shoppers. Now the company’s PayPal division is using a new technology know as Bluetooth Low Energy to get even more accurate location information inside stores through a gadget called Beacon.

The first PayPal employee tests of Beacon are happening at Spice Hut, a restaurant and food truck business in Silicon Valley, Telegraphe Cafe in New York and Get York Coffee in Sydney, Australia. Accurate location information is becoming more important as the rise of smartphones boosts mobile commerce brings the benefits of online shopping to physical stores.

That’s the retail holy grail that eBay and other technology and retail companies are fighting for. Apple released iBeacon location-based technology earlier this year, start-up Shopkick has installed location-based systems in major stores already and a group of the largest retailers, led by Wal-Mart, launched a mobile payments group last year called MCX.

For more: http://www.wltx.com/news/tech/article/257658/378/EBay-PayPal-Pinpoint-Stores-for-Mobile-Shopping

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by | December 3, 2013 · 9:07 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Issues: Hotels And Restaurants Face “Privacy Issues” When Guests Wear “Google Glass”; Videotaping Without Permission

“…there are definitely privacy implications for those who wear and use Google Glass in public…People want to go (to restaurants and hotels) and not be known … and Hospitality Industry Google Glass Privacydefinitely don’t want to be secretly filmed or videotaped and immediately put on the Internet…as a society, know how to appropriately use our mobile phones, (and) most Google Glass wearers (should) know how to appropriately use them as well…”

In an effort to protect patrons in his restaurant from being photographed or videotaped without permission, Seattle restaurant owner Dave Meinhart  banned Google Glass from one of his restaurants. But last week, Nick Starr, a local early adopter of Google Glass, was kicked out of Dave’s other restaurant, Lost Lake Cafe & Lounge, starting a PR storm by demanding an apology and the firing of the waitress who kicked him out.

In just a few weeks, thousands of people will become the next wave of not-so-early adopters to receive Google Glass. Initially launched in early 2013, Google Glass quickly became a hot topic for tech pundits who questioned its ability to protect privacy, its usefulness, and whether or not it would be as cool as the bluetooth was.

For more:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyclay/2013/12/03/how-to-not-look-like-a-jerk-with-google-glass/

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by | December 2, 2013 · 12:02 pm

Hospitality Law Insider: Managing The Risks Of “Bedbugs” By Stephen Barth Of HospitalityLawyer.com (Video)

HospitalityLawyer.com Education Partner II

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Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: “Top 5 Trends In Hotel Technology” Feature Importance Of “Electronic Device Support” And “Real-Time Online Pricing & Reservations”

Top 5 Trends

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by | December 1, 2013 · 9:35 am
by | November 30, 2013 · 11:53 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: North Carolina Hotel Suffers “Extensive Water Damage” From Fire Sprinklers Activated By Small Heating Unit Fire

“…Most of the damage was from the sprinkler system…once a fire activates the system, the sprinklers will continue to pour water (up to 40 Hotel Water Damagegallons per minute) until someone shuts them off…workers from a disaster recovery service, hauled fans and dehumidifiers to the damaged rooms. Workers had torn up soaked carpets from several of the rooms and at least half of one of the hallways…”

A small fire in a failed heating unit in an unoccupied room at the Holiday Inn on Glenwood Avenue on Thursday night caused extensive damage, but not because of the flames. Fire sprinklers doused the entire 10th floor of the building, soaking carpets, furniture and wallpaper. Damage extended to an estimated 25 percent of the building, according to a Raleigh Fire Department report.

About 70 firefighters arrived at the hotel just before 9 p.m. Thursday, but the sprinklers had already quenched the flames. No one was injured.

“They are designed to put a fire out, and the only way they can do that is to flow a lot of water,” Hicks said.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/11/29/3417282/fire-extinguishers-at-holiday.html#storylink=cpy

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