Category Archives: Guest Issues
Hospitality Industry Employment Solutions: “Gratuity Guide” Released By American Hotel & Lodging Association
November 27, 2013 · 9:36 am
Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Louisiana Restaurant Sued By Disabled Customer Injured By Heavy Door; “No Assisted Open Device, Proper Signage”
“..(the plaintiff)Â went to open the heavy door leading to the restroom (and) when it swung back, (it) scraped her left leg, knocked her walker out 
from under her and caused her to fall to the ground. The plaintiff asserts she was injured in the fall…The defendant is accused of not providing an assisted open device on the door, failing to provide signage notifying her the door was heavy and failing to act as a reasonable person…”
A disabled customer who alleges she was injured in a fall while trying to open a door at a local restaurant is suing. Rosalie Miller filed suit against Johnny Trauth’s Seafood Bistro LLC in the 24th Judicial District Court on Nov. 4.
Miller claims she was a customer at Johnny Trauth’s Seafood Bistro located at 2121 25th St. in Kenner. An unspecified amount in damages is sought for severe injuries, pain and suffering and permanent disability.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Louisiana Restaurant Sued By Disabled Customer Injured By Heavy Door; “No Assisted Open Device, Proper Signage”
Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Hotels Increase Collection Of Guest Information With Social Media & Surveys To “Upgrade The Experience”
“…Like other luxury hotels, the Peninsula collects a cache of information about its customers, which is stored in a guest-preference database. 
But it’s done with only one purpose: to upgrade the experience. It contains information about your favorite food, your preferred room and what side of the bed you sleep on…Experts will tell you it’s unfair to compare a hotel with a few hundred guests with a chain with tens of thousands. Maybe, maybe not. La Quinta Inn & Suites recently used a feedback-management platform to harvest information through social media and surveys to determine what guests thought of its breakfasts, which are included in the price of their stay…”
Airlines, car rental companies and hotels ought to spy on their customers more often. Collecting information about you to improve customer service — and only for that purpose — could return the American travel business to greatness.
That’s no coincidence, says Offer Nissenbaum, managing director of the Peninsula Beverly Hills. “If you collect all the little details,” says Nissenbaum, “you can meet and exceed a guest’s expectations.”
Actually, figuring out which side of the bed you sleep on seems to be one of the hottest data points in the hotel business. The Ritz-Carlton, which also delivers above-and-beyond service, notes your preferred side, says spokeswoman Allison Sitch. Why? Because that’s where the staff will place a water bottle and other amenities, which means a lot when you roll out of bed in the morning.
The volume of data being collected by luxury hotel chains such as Ritz-Carlton or Peninsula might make an NSA agent blush. But the hotels gather it unapologetically, “as long as the data is being used to make the customer happy,” says Sitch.
The insights were sent directly to front-line employees and managers for their feedback. La Quinta responded by adding signs and more prominently displaying the healthy foods they already offered, and customer approval rose.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Hotels Increase Collection Of Guest Information With Social Media & Surveys To “Upgrade The Experience”
Filed under Guest Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology
Hospitality Industry Social Media Solutions: National Hotel And Restaurant Chains Using Twitter To “Attract A More Stable Following”
“…The idea stemmed from a conversation in which the company suggested one of their properties, and turned a Twitter user into a paying 
customer. In an age when so few people have allegiances to certain companies, Loews are also hoping to attract a more stable following…The chain will launch “social reservations†at 16 of its 19 properties from November 19th, which opens another interesting channel for online users to book their next hotel stay with only a few clicks…”
Following in the wake of a recent tweet-a-coffee initiative from Starbucks, Loews Hotels and Resorts have made the decision to allow social media users to book a room through Twitter.
With 34% of hotel room revenue comes from online and mobile app bookings, the chain is hoping to give people in their 20s and 30s another way to book their stay without having to pick up the phone.
Here’s how the process works: Send a tweet to @Loews_Hotels with the hashtag #BookLoews to show you’re interested, after which a Loews travel planner will join in the conversation. Once all the details are taken care of, the planner will tweet a link to a secure chat conversation where you can process your payment information.
For more:Â http://www.psfk.com/2013/11/twitter-hotel-bookings.html
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Social Media Solutions: National Hotel And Restaurant Chains Using Twitter To “Attract A More Stable Following”
Filed under Guest Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology
Hospitality Industry Wireless Technology: Hotels Offered Free Wi-Fi At 64% Of Properties In 2013 With Guests Expecting Speeds Up To 5 Mbps
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Wireless Technology: Hotels Offered Free Wi-Fi At 64% Of Properties In 2013 With Guests Expecting Speeds Up To 5 Mbps
November 16, 2013 · 11:34 amHospitality Industry Legal Risks: New York Restaurant Settles Federal “ADA Disabilities Compliance” Lawsuit For $10,000 Civil Penalty, Fix Structural Issues Including Takeout Counter, Pathways And Accessible Toilets
“…the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the filing and settlement of the lawsuit, which was part of the 
Manhattan Restaurants ADA Compliance Initiative. The Initiative uses the 2011 Zagat Guide’s “most popular†list to probe busy hubs for ADA compliance…The Upper West Side restaurant’s shortcomings include doors that are too tough to open, narrow pathways between tables, and too high a takeout counter. The Theatre District got slammed for its high coat check counter and lack of a raised-character sign near the restroom door. Neither restaurant had a fully accessible toilet…”
The entrances (of Carmine’s Italian Restaurant) top a long list of tweaks that will be made by the chain’s two Manhattan locations as the result of a settlement in a lawsuit filed today by the U.S. Attorney’s office. The suit cited several violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which also comes with a $10,000 civil penalty.
According to the suit filed by Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, each Carmine’s has to shape up to comply with ADA regulations. Most small changes must be made within 90 days. Larger structural issues – like the Upper West Side location’s tight bathroom hallway – aren’t due until November 1, 2014.
Read more at http://observer.com/2013/11/prego-carmines-settles-suit-over-accessibility-issues/#ixzz2kXxcgZK1
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: New York Restaurant Settles Federal “ADA Disabilities Compliance” Lawsuit For $10,000 Civil Penalty, Fix Structural Issues Including Takeout Counter, Pathways And Accessible Toilets
Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Liability Solutions: Hotel “Room Safe Online Tracking” Can Mitigate Guest Personal Property Loss
“…Tracking (room safe contents) is important because it can be a potential liability issue for hotels…“A guest might say, ‘But I left $1,000 in 
there, and you only found $20!’  Hotels can mitigate this issue by asking guests if they have left anything in the room safe before they leave the hotel…At the same time, it can be possible for safes to offer online tracking more easily by plugging into an online tracking system a hotel already has, such as for an emergency management system…”
Online tracking can ease the checkout process by making it less likely that a guest will leave a personal item in the room safe, said Bill Oliver, president for North America, VingCard Elsafe. Front-desk staff can prevent items from being left in the safe by merely querying departing guests at check-out.
Online tracking for hotel safes may not be a fit for smaller properties due to the cost involved in setting up the system, said John Foley, VP of sales at Safemark.
Larger properties can make better use of online tracking because of the sheer number of guests using safes each day, Foley said.
“At a property the size of MGM Grand in Las Vegas, you might have 60 guest openings or 100 service calls a day, so big box properties just have different ways of tracking different products inside the guestroom,†he said.
For more:Â http://www.hotelmanagement.net/technology/tracking-safes-online-25340
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Liability Solutions: Hotel “Room Safe Online Tracking” Can Mitigate Guest Personal Property Loss
Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Theft
Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Michigan Restaurant Waitress Convicted Of “Credit Card Forgery” After Padding Tips On Transactions; Prior Record For Theft And Larceny
“…(the defendant)Â was hired as a waitress at Buffalo Wild Wings…on June 19, 2013, she stole from customers by padding the tip amount on 
electronic receipts…For example, when someone used a credit card to pay for their bill, (she) would change the tip amount when she entered the transaction into the computer…The restaurant received a complaint from a customer, which led to an internal investigation by the business. That initial complaint led to others…”
Kortney Donesia Lewis, a 25-year-old Fruitport Township woman, garnered three prison terms this week for padding her waitress tips at a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant — crimes committed while she was a fugitive from sentencing for a theft at a Red Roof Inn job.
Lewis also has a previous conviction record of stealing credit cards and larceny in a building in 2009.
Muskegon County 14th Circuit Judge Timothy G. Hicks on Monday, Nov. 4, sentenced Lewis to prison for three terms of between 15 months and 15 years for credit-card forgery as a fourth-time habitual offender. She pleaded guilty as charged Sept. 24.
For more: http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2013/11/ex-waitress_gets_prison_for_st.html
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Michigan Restaurant Waitress Convicted Of “Credit Card Forgery” After Padding Tips On Transactions; Prior Record For Theft And Larceny
Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Risk Management, Theft
Hospitality Industry Safety Solutions: “Hotel Power Outage Risks” Discussed By Todd Seiders, Director Of Risk Management At Petra Risk Solutions
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, 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.â€
To view this article online: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/icd/hotelbusiness_20131021/#/14
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Safety Solutions: “Hotel Power Outage Risks” Discussed By Todd Seiders, Director Of Risk Management At Petra Risk Solutions
Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: New Jersey Hotel Settles “Price Gouging” Lawsuit For $75,000; Raised Prices 70 Percent During Hurricane Sandy
New Jersey’s price gouging law prohibits excessive price increases during a declared state of emergency or for 30 days after the termination of 
the state of emergency. Excessive price increases are defined as more than 10 percent higher than the price at which merchandise was sold during the normal course of business prior to the state of emergency. If a merchant incurs additional costs during the state of emergency, prices may not exceed 10 percent above the normal markup from cost.
A Hazlet Hotel has agreed to pay penalties for allegedly price gouging in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Acting Attorney General John Hoffman said Wednesday in a press release. The Riya Hazlet Hotel, a Holiday Inn at 2870 Rt. 35, Hazlet, will pay $75,000 to settle the suit, which includes $2,951 in consumer restitution. The state will receive $52,121 in civil penalties and $19,926 in attorneys’ fees and investigative costs, Hoffman said.
In December 2012, a N.J. state lawsuit alleged that the Hazlet Holiday Inn raised its prices more than 70 percent, from under $135 to almost $230 a night, between Oct. 27 and Nov. 5 during a declared state of emergency.
The Office of the Attorney General and its Divisions of Consumer Affairs and Law have reached settlements with another eight companies alleged to have price gouged customers following Superstorm Sandy, Hoffman said. Under terms of these settlements, the State will obtain more than $437,000 in penalties, fees and consumer restitution.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: New Jersey Hotel Settles “Price Gouging” Lawsuit For $75,000; Raised Prices 70 Percent During Hurricane Sandy
Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
