Category Archives: Guest Issues
“2014 Hospitality Law Conference” Sponsored By HospitalityLawyer.com On February 10-12 Features Industry Legal, Safety And Security Solutions
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Filed under Conferences, Guest Issues, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Hotel Power Outage Checklist†Presented By Director Of Risk Management Todd Seiders Of Petra Risk Solutions (Video)
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/52513104 w=500&h=281]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders , offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Hotel Power Outage Checklist’.Â
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, Insurance, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Hospitality Hoaxes And Scams†By Petra Risk Solutions’ Director Of Risk Management Todd Seiders, CLSD
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/52048409]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Director Of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, CLSD , offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Update – ‘Hospitality Hoaxes And Scams’.
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.
Comments Off on P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Hospitality Hoaxes And Scams†By Petra Risk Solutions’ Director Of Risk Management Todd Seiders, CLSD
Filed under Guest Issues, Injuries, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Texas Hotel Faces “Wrongful Death & Gross Negligence Lawsuit” After Electrocution Of Young Boy; Pool Light System Did Not Have GFCI, Meet Electrical Codes
“…An investigation after the electrocution death found that the pool “did not meet applicable city, state and national electrical codes†
and did not have Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) on the pool light system which are normal installations in pool construction to prevent electrical surges…Brown Electric Inc., had been hired by Hilton to bring the pool into compliance but, according to a city of Houston inspector, had performed work without obtaining the proper permits. After the death Hilton and Brown were cited for “use of electrical system which constitutes a hazard to safety, health and public welfare. ”
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, a Missouri City family alleges “gross negligence of epic proportions†for the swimming pool electrocution death of a young man at a Hilton Hotel swimming pool. Raul Hernandez Martinez, 27, and his family spent the Labor Day weekend at the Hilton Houston Westchase hotel at 9999 Westheimer in West Houston.
They were at the swimming pool at dusk when the lights came on automatically. Eyewitness accounts, and now a civil lawsuit, detail how an electrical current immediately surged through the water. David Duran, 11, “suddenly cried out as his body convulsed and he began to float helplessly near the pool light in the deep end,†according to the lawsuit the family filed against Hilton Hotels and the Houston-area electrical contractor Brown Electric Inc., which had performed recent upgrades to the pool’s electrical system.
The boy’s mom Isabel Duran reached for her son and was shocked as well and knocked unconscious. She was revived via CPR and suffered several broken ribs when family members and bystanders dragged her from the pool. The boy’s brother, Raul Hernandez Martinez then fought through the electrical current to retrieve his little brother and push him to the edge of the pool where others helped pull him out.
For more:Â http://www.khou.com/news/local/Family-files-lawsuit-in-hotel-pool-electrocution-death-226219641.html
P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Hotel Power Outage Checklist†Presented By Director Of Risk Management Todd Seiders Of Petra Risk Solutions (Video)
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/52513104 w=500&h=281]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders , offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Hotel Power Outage Checklist’.Â
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.
Comments Off on P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Hotel Power Outage Checklist†Presented By Director Of Risk Management Todd Seiders Of Petra Risk Solutions (Video)
Filed under Guest Issues, Insurance, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Restaurants Must Make Food Safety A “Core Value”; Lack Of “Hand Washing, Food Holding Temperature Controls” Remain Biggest Risk To Customers
“…Hand washing and proper holding temperatures — the basics of food safety — have not changed in 30 years, said Moore of Eat’n 
Park. The key is keeping the message fresh so that employees pay attention…with a workforce largely under the age of 25, employers need to make sure their messages are quick and easy to grasp. Moore said he relies on lots of colorful visuals, and customized posters, comics, video clips featuring celebrities, games like Pandemic 2, and stuffed-animal germs and microbes are among his favorites…”
Food safety “needs to be part of your core values,†William Moore, director of safety and security for Eat’n Park Hospitality Inc., the Homestead, Pa.-based parent of the 75-unit Eat’n Park family-dining chain, said during his keynote speech. “If it’s not in your core values, your mission statement, then it’s not a priority.â€
The symposium occurred against the backdrop of a Cyclospora outbreak that had sickened 642 people in 25 states, leading to 45 hospitalizations but no deaths, throughout the summer. The cause of the outbreak was still under investigation at press time, although a salad mix from Taylor Farms de Mexico served at Darden Restaurants Inc. in two states had been implicated in about 240 of the illnesses.
Tugging at the heartstrings doesn’t hurt either, said several attendees. Al Baroudi, Ph.D., vice president, quality assurance and food safety for The Cheesecake Factory Inc., the Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based operator of 175 upscale casual-dining restaurants, shows his audiences an image of the hundreds of children and adults that have died during foodborne illness outbreaks to drive home the point that lives are stake.
For more:Â http://nrn.com/food-safety/7-steps-ensuring-restaurant-food-safety?page=2
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Filed under Food Illnesses, Guest Issues, Health, Labor Issues, Liability, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Legal Issues: Michigan Hotel Renovates Rooms To Accomodate Smokers (And Medical Marijuana Users); “Smoke-Free Air Laws” Do Not Apply To Outside Patios
“…Under the state’s Smoke-Free Air Law, which went into effect in May 2010, tobacco smoking is prohibited inside places where 
people work, including hotels, bars and restaurants. But the law doesn’t apply to smoking outside — hence the patios…The law also doesn’t mention cannabis smoke… Betty Aldworth, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said “marijuana-related tourism is the fastest-growing sector of the marijuana industry…states with both medical marijuana laws and a flourishing health care industry — such as Grand Rapids — destinations for ill people to legally use medical marijuana.
The Howard Johnson franchise on 28th Street in Grand Rapids has seen occupancy soar since owner Bob Sullivan made a seemingly unfashionable business decision: accommodate smokers. And not just the tobacco variety. Sullivan caters to marijuana smokers, as well.
Twenty rooms already have been renovated to accommodate smokers. And by the time Sullivan’s done, 60-80 of the hotel’s 155 rooms will allow smoking — accommodating medical marijuana patients as well as tobacco smokers.
Michigan legalized medical marijuana in 2008, and Grand Rapids decriminalized marijuana last year — making possession of a small amount a civil infraction, similar to a parking ticket.
Occupancy at the Howard Johnson has seen an increase every weekend, Sullivan said. “Every weekend, every one of those rooms is sold.”
Sullivan, who himself does not smoke cigarettes or marijuana, estimates occupancy is up 50 percent since he started renovating the rooms.
Renovations have included opening up each room with sliding doors and installing a patio with a tall fence around it to provide privacy — “a little smoking area for each room right at the door,” Sullivan said. “Otherwise, people have to go outside the lobby doors.
Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Florida Hotel Group To Place “Lifeguards And Fences” At Pools During “All Open Hours”; Move Follows Death Of 13-Year Old Boy In March
“…Lifeguards will be on duty at all times while the pools are open…But guests will no longer be permitted to swim in the feature pools after 
hours. Disney plans to install fences around any of those pools that are not already gated, a process that will begin in the coming months as hotels roll through their regular renovation cycles…(the move follows) the death of 13-year-old Anthony Johnson, who was pulled from a pool at Disney’s Pop Century Resort at about 9:30 p.m. on March 10…(he) died two days later at Florida Hospital Celebration…”
Walt Disney World says it will begin stationing lifeguards at its largest hotel pools during all operating hours and then locking them down overnight, six months after a young boy drowned while a pool was unguarded. Disney says its largest and most popular “feature” pools will begin opening at either 7 a.m. or 9 a.m. and closing at 11 p.m.
Only smaller and unguarded “quiet” pools at some hotels will remain accessible at all hours. Disney has about two dozen hotels and time-share resorts across its sprawling property.
“These changes make it easier for guests to understand when our pools are open and when a lifeguard is present,” Disney World spokeswoman Bernadette Davis.
Disney would not say whether a specific event triggered the move. Though that pool was open from 7 a.m. until 11 pm., lifeguards were only on duty from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Disney said it had posted signs warning that guests who chose to swim while the pool was unguarded did so at their own risk.
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Liability, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: New Jersey Hotel Employee Arrested For Stealing “Wedding Reception Cash”; Used Freight Elevator To Avoid Surveillance Cameras And Enter Rooms
“…(the former employee), who was hired in May, apparently slipped up through the freight elevator so that he wouldn’t be detected by hotel 
surveillance cameras and then used a swipe card to get into unoccupied newlywed suites…$770 was taken (in one incident) and for another on Saturday, when a couple said $500 was stolen…”
A since-fired bell hop at the Saddle Brook Marriott was arrested by local police last night and charged with slipping into the rooms of newlyweds at their receptions and snatching some of their wedding-gift cash.
Timothy Henriquez, 30, of Chester, NY, is charged with two counts of theft — for a July incident in which $770 was taken and for another on Saturday, when a couple said $500 was stolen. He was released on a summons pending a Municipal Court hearing, police said.
“Upon learning of his arrest, Marriott terminated his employment,†Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler said.
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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Theft
Hospitality Industry HazMat Risks: South Carolina Hotel Guests Evacuated, Hospitalized After Exposure To Pool Chemical Fumes; Employee Accidently Mixes Muriatic Acid And Chlorine
“…The area where the chemicals were mixed (was) isolated…one of the two chemicals was muriatic acid (and) the other chemical was 
chlorine (that) were mixed by an employee of the hotel by accident, creating the strong fumes that affected the employees and guests…One of the 12 transported by EMS was an employee of the hotel, but the other eleven were guests. An additional six people were treated at the hotel, but did not require further medical attention…”
The overnight nursing supervisor at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center confirmed all 14 patients who were being 
treated for respiratory issues following an accidental chemical mixture have been discharged from the hospital. Bob Derr, a Battalion Chief with the City of Myrtle Beach Fire Department confirmed the Hazmat situation was reported after two chemicals were mixed together in the pool maintenance area under the hotel the Landmark Resort at 1501 South Ocean Boulevard, affecting both guests and employees.
Twelve people have been taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center by EMS, and two more drove themselves. All 14 were presenting respiratory issues. Battalion Chief Derr suggested more guests could be transported if they started to show signs of respiratory distress.
Crews did not evacuate the hotel completely. The lower floors were cleared as a precaution.
For more:Â http://www.wistv.com/story/23509101/crews-respond-to
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management, Training
