Category Archives: Guest Issues

Hospitality Industry Employee Crime: New York Hotel Security Director Arrested For Arson After Setting A Series Of Small Fires In Hallways And Stairwells; “Working Vacation” While Hotel Was Shut Down For Repairs

“…(the suspect) was the director of security — and according to his  wife the fire safety director —- for the Yotel hotel near Times Square (and) Hospitality Industry Employee Crimeset a series of blazes that shut down the building for days, freeing him to get  liquored up on the job in guest rooms, FDNY sources said…(he) would light newspapers to set the rubbish fires late  at night or early in the morning while he was on duty…No one was injured in the  blazes, but the source said the small fires would also temporarily close the bars and  nightclubs inside…the hotel would then be  shut down for repairs, giving him a working vacation…”

City fire marshals arrested Barbosa, of West New York, N.J., on Friday,  charging him with setting five small rubbish blazes in the hallways, stairwells  and emergency exits at the Yotel on 10th Ave. over the past two years.

Before that, he allegedly set three fires at the Soho Grand Hotel on West  Broadway — where he worked as a security guard between 2009 and 2010 — including  one just before 3 a.m. on New Year’s Day that brought revelers’ celebrations to  an early close.

Wearing a dark navy suit and a white dress shirt, Barbosa was ordered held on  $50,000 bail. Manhattan prosecutors asked for $20,000, but the arraignment judge  upped the request.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/times-square-hotel-security-chief-arrested-setting-arson-fires-sources-article-1.1463370#ixzz2fdA5nlYl

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employee Crime: New York Hotel Security Director Arrested For Arson After Setting A Series Of Small Fires In Hallways And Stairwells; “Working Vacation” While Hotel Was Shut Down For Repairs

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Missouri Motel Evacuated After “Meth Lab” Discovered In Room; Suspect Was “Cutting Up Batteries” Outside Door

“…on the second-floor of the motel, the officer saw a man sitting outside his hotel room cutting up batteries…the officer asked him what he was Hotel Meth Lab Risksdoing and, at the same time, noticed the door ajar and some fumes or vapors coming out of the door…(he) pushed the door open and a larger cloud of vapors came out…the man cutting the batteries had been cooking methamphetamine in his room, police say…”

A motel guest cutting up batteries outside his room stirred the suspicions of a Sunset Hills police officer, who uncovered a meth lab at the EconoLodge early today.

The officer, overcome by fumes, was taken to a hospital after complaining of being lightheaded. And all of the remaining motel guests in the entire east wing of the motel were evacuated by police and firefighters for about three hours early Thursday until the mobile meth lab was removed.

A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of drug manufacturing. “He was apparently trying to do this with the shake-and-bake method,” LeGrand said, referring to the mobile method of making the drug. “But he forgot some ingredient and, because of that, he decided to heat some of this mixture in the microwave.”

The guests who were evacauted from the hotel after midnight were allowed to return to their rooms at about 3 a.m. after the county’s drug unit removed the materials.

For more:  http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/meth-fumes-force-evacuation-of-sunset-hills-motel-police-officer/article_050e5fce-4812-5a5a-b6cd-3bbe86afe68b.html

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Missouri Motel Evacuated After “Meth Lab” Discovered In Room; Suspect Was “Cutting Up Batteries” Outside Door

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

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Pennsylvania Restaurant Owner Faces “Wrongful Death Lawsuit”; Man Suffered Cuts, Cardiac Arrest After Falling Thru “Plate Glass Door”

“…The complaint claims that (the restaurant owner) knew the glass doors were unsafe, and, “despite owning and operating the restaurant and premises for decades … never even attempted to make the plate glass entrance door even marginally safer, such as Hospitality Industry Wrongful Death Lawsuitsthrough the application of widely available safety films that are applied to glass and cost only a few dollars per square foot of coverage…(the victim) allegedly suffered several cardiac arrests and was pronounced dead at 2:03 p.m. due to “penetrating injuries to the neck leading to acute hemorrhagic shock.””

A widow blames hazardous plate glass for the death of her retired college professor husband who badly cut his throat on the shattered door of a sandwich shop.

Plate glass, also known as annealed glass, “constitutes a well-known safety hazard when broken because such glass can break into large, sharp and unreasonably dangerous jagged shards if impacted,” according to the complaint in Butler County, Pa.

Laminated or tempered glass is safer because it “fractures into small relatively harmless cubes that are less likely to cause significant injury,” the complaint adds.  Cynthia Brunken sued Bob’s Sub and Sandwich Shop, located in Slippery Rock Commons, and its owner Cindy Marlowe for wrongful death.

A national standard was officially recognized in 1966 and an act was created in Pennsylvania “Requiring the Use of Safety Glazing Materials.”

“Despite the known and obvious risks involved with the use of plate glass or annealed glass entrance doors, the glass entrance door used at the Bob’s Sub and Sandwich Shop restaurant on June 3, 2013 contained dangerous plate glass or annealed glass, and did not incorporate adequate or safer glazing material, rendering the glass door unreasonably dangerous to customers, business invitees and specifically, Glen W. Brunken,” according to the complaint.

For more:  http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/09/18/61234.htm

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Pennsylvania Restaurant Owner Faces “Wrongful Death Lawsuit”; Man Suffered Cuts, Cardiac Arrest After Falling Thru “Plate Glass Door”

Filed under Guest Issues, Injuries, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Illinois Restaurant Sued For “Negligence” By Woman Who Slipped In Puddle Of Water; Seeking $50,000 For “Leg Injuries, Pain And Suffering”

“…(the plaintiff) blames the restaurant for causing her injuries, saying its employees negligently allowed a puddle of water to remain on its Hospitality Industry Injury Lawsuitspremises, failed to remove the puddle, failed to reasonably inspect the premises and failed to properly manage the restaurant…In addition to her injuries, (she) became sick, lame, disordered and disabled; experienced pain and suffering; incurred medical costs; and suffered disability and disfigurement, the suit states. She also lost earnings and wages, the complaint says…”

A woman claims suffered left knee and leg injuries after she fell on a puddle of water at a Mexican restaurant. Andrea B. Mercer filed a lawsuit Aug. 29 in Madison County Circuit Court against Chivas doing business as Carisilos Mexican Restaurant. In her complaint, Mercer alleges she was eating at Carisilos, which is located at 1978 Vandalia St. in Collinsville, on Sept. 3, 2011, when she fell on a puddle of water in the restaurant.

In her complaint, Mercer seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus costs and other relief the court deems just.

For more:  http://madisonrecord.com/issues/366-personal-injury/259131-collinsville-mexican-restaurant-sued-by-customer-over-slip-and-fall

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Illinois Restaurant Sued For “Negligence” By Woman Who Slipped In Puddle Of Water; Seeking $50,000 For “Leg Injuries, Pain And Suffering”

Filed under Guest Issues, Injuries, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Hotel “Housekeeper” App For Smartphones And Tablets Improves Staff Efficiency; “Room Status And Problems” Reported Directly To Property Management System

“…the new ‘Housekeeper’ application is proven to deliver an average 50% reduction in the time required to carry out housekeeping and hotel Hotel Technology Solutionssupport tasks, enhanced staff communication, as well as powerful reporting capabilities…with quicker response and improved communication with the housekeeping staff we are able to better serve our guests and get a real-time picture of the room status…”

Building on its growing range of mobile applications and cloud-based services, Housekeeper provides an alternative to Quadriga’s established, fixed TV-based housekeeping solution, integrated into its Sensiq guest communications and entertainment platform. The Hibox Housekeeper application is a web-based service which can be hosted in the cloud and provides hotel staff with easy and immediate reporting capabilities via most web-enabled mobile devices. Services include the reporting of room status to the hotel PMS, minibar usage and rooms fault reporting and management, as well as a staff messaging tool.

Housekeeper is already deployed in hotels across the Nordic region and is now available worldwide. Juha Peltonen, Hotel Manager at Hotel Haikko Manor, Porvoo, Finland, says, “The Housekeeper application gives us an easy-to-use tool to manage the housekeeping tasks. Also we are able to reduce the housekeeping costs with improved monitoring and reporting.”

For more:  http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4062156.html

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Technology Solutions: Hotel “Housekeeper” App For Smartphones And Tablets Improves Staff Efficiency; “Room Status And Problems” Reported Directly To Property Management System

Filed under Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Training

Hospitality Industry Health Hazards: Hotel Owners Must Be Aware Of Risks From “Naegleria Fowleriis”, Known As “Brain-Eating Amoeba” In Warm Fresh Water On Or Around Their Premises

HospitalityLawyer.com“…Hotel owners and operators must be aware of potential N.fowleri hazards in bodies of water on or around their premises. If you offer guests access to recreational bodies of warm fresh water, we recommend making N.fowleri informational brochures available at your front desk; you may even consider providing complimentary nose plugs. Of course, it is absolutely essential that you keep all swimming pools and hot tubs properly chlorinated. Don’t assume that the water in hot tubs and/or hot springs is sufficiently hot to kill N.fowleri; the amoeba can survive temperatures well in excess of 115°F (46°C) for short periods of time…”

Naegleria Fowleri Amoebic Meningitis RiskNaegleria fowleriis an amoeba common to warm bodies of fresh water, including lakes and unchlorinated or poorly chlorinated swimming pools. This amoeba can infect the human nervous system and induce a lethal form of encephalitis when a victim insufflates contaminated water deep into the nasal cavities; while infection is relatively rare, only one percent of all victims survive. This parasite has made the news in recent years with the moniker “brain-eating amoeba” because it feeds on the proteins that help form neurons in our brains.

HospitalityLawyer Converge Solutions

http://hlconverge.com/

Both travelers and hotel owners/operators need to understand the conditions that encourage N.fowleri infection, as this amoeba presents a significant health hazard and a potential liability. N.fowleri thrives in warm fresh water; it cannot survive in very cold, salty, or properly chlorinated water. Infections typically occur in stagnant bodies of water, often after swimmers have stirred up sediment (which contains N.fowleri spores), and usually involve an activity like jumping, diving, or wakeboarding. In 2012, two people in Louisiana died from N.fowleri infection after using contaminated tap water with their neti pots. Death almost always occurs one to twelve days after infection.

This past summer, a four year-old boy in Bernard Parish, Louisiana, died of PAM (primary amebic meningoencephalitis, the extremely lethal result of N.fowleri infection) after playing on a Slip ‘n Slide. A twelve year-old boy in LaBelle, Florida, died of PAM after kneeboarding in a water-filled ditch near his home. One very lucky twelve year-old girl from Arkansas managed to survive an N.fowleri infection, making her the third survivor in the recorded history of the disease.

For more:  http://hlconverge.com/

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Health Hazards: Hotel Owners Must Be Aware Of Risks From “Naegleria Fowleriis”, Known As “Brain-Eating Amoeba” In Warm Fresh Water On Or Around Their Premises

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

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Arizona Restaurant Conducts “Full Re-Sanitizing” And “Enhanced Cleaning Protocols” With Consultant After E. Coli Outbreak Hospitalized 23 Customers

“…(the restaurant) said it disposed of all food and conducted “a full re-sanitizing of the restaurant” before reopening it. The company also noted Restaurant Food Safetythat it had worked with best-selling author and consultant Linda Cobb, known as the “Queen of Clean,” to “enhance its cleaning protocols”…of those who became ill in the exposure between July 18 and July 30, at least 23 were hospitalized, including two children who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a complication of E. coli infection that can cause kidney failure. The children required hospitalization, blood transfusions and dialysis..”

A Federico’s Mexican Food Restaurant in Litchfield Park, Ariz. that was linked to 79 cases of E. coli infection in July has reopened with new cleaning protocols in place and plans for a promotion to allay customers’ concerns about food safety.

On Aug. 1, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health informed Federico’s that it suspected some people had fallen ill from E. coli after eating at its Litchfield Park location. The company closed the restaurant for three days and reopened Aug. 5.

Owners of Federico’s, which has 20 units in the Phoenix, Ariz., area, said that the Maricopa County Department of Public Health has yet to determine the source of the E. coli O157:H7 infection.

For more:  http://nrn.com/food-safety/federico-s-restaurant-reopens-after-e-coli-outbreak

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Arizona Restaurant Conducts “Full Re-Sanitizing” And “Enhanced Cleaning Protocols” With Consultant After E. Coli Outbreak Hospitalized 23 Customers

Filed under Claims, Food Illnesses, Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitality Industry Safety Issues: Top Restaurant Review Website Posts “City Health Inspection Scores” Online; Consumers Can Now More Easily View Inspection Background And History

“…Yelp’s data come from city health inspectors, and the site displays the same information a consumer could find on a government site. But Online Restaurant Health Inspectionsthose sites can be unwieldy and, as Yelp Director of Public Policy Luther Lowe puts it…“Nobody goes to the .gov websites before they go to Yelp. The goal is to put highly relevant information that’s created by taxpayers in a context that makes a lot of sense.”…In a city committed to open data, inspection scores were already available online, via mobile app and in the restaurants themselves. But the new Yelp feature “goes a little bit further” by allowing consumers to read about inspection background and history…”

Yelp.com is starting to make it easier for diners to find a place to eat without getting sick.In August, Louisville became the second city to incorporate health-inspection information into its restaurant pages on the user-review site. San Francisco — Yelp’s home turf — was the first to do so back in January. Now, listed among a restaurant’s business attributes (hours, parking, Wi-Fi access, etc.) is its health score out of 100 possible points and a link to a description of  violations and previous inspections.

The new feature is “empowering the public with information,” says Kathy Harrison, communications director for the Louisville Metro Department for Public Health and Wellness.

The response to the addition of health scores has been “overwhelmingly positive,” Lowe says, and Yelp is currently working with a half-dozen other cities to bring health scores to their restaurant pages over the next several months.

For more:  http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/09/yelp-is-posting-health-inspection-scores/#.UjB2k0nn-M8

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Safety Issues: Top Restaurant Review Website Posts “City Health Inspection Scores” Online; Consumers Can Now More Easily View Inspection Background And History

Filed under Food Illnesses, Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Missouri Restaurant Operator Ordered To Pay $20.5 Million To Man Permanently Disabled After Beating In Parking Lot; “Failure To Prevent Fight”, Violated “Disruptive Customer Policies”

 “…(the plaintiff) claimed the fast food giant failed to prevent the fight, poorly trained its employees and violated its own policies for dealing Hospitality Industry Injury Lawsuitswith disruptive customers…(the jury) actually returned a $25 million verdict against Jack in the Box after an eight-day civil trial. That was reduced to $20.5 million after the jury found Aziz to be 18 percent at fault for the attack…”

A City Court jury ordered Jack in the Box restaurants to pay $20.5 million to a man who is permanently disabled from a beating in a parking lot 3 years ago.  Ali Aziz, now 35, was beaten unconscious and spent more than a year in a coma after the June 20, 2012 assault. He has permanent brain damage and cannot walk or feed himself, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Aziz, through his mother Annette Brown, sued Jack in the Box in City Court in 2011.  Four people – three men and a woman – pleaded guilty and have gone to prison for it.
Earnest Carter, 22, was sentenced to 12 years in prison; Jasmine Jeffries, 22, to 15 years; Johnnie Lane, 33, to 5 years; and Rwoeshan Booker, 20, to 13 years, the Post-Dispatch reported.

A Jack in the Box spokesman said the company is considering an appeal.

For more:  http://www.courthousenews.com/2013/09/09/60939.htm

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Missouri Restaurant Operator Ordered To Pay $20.5 Million To Man Permanently Disabled After Beating In Parking Lot; “Failure To Prevent Fight”, Violated “Disruptive Customer Policies”

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Injuries, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Connecticut Hotel Manager Settles Multimillion Dollar “Wrongful Death Lawsuit”; Woman Murdered In Lobby By Intoxicated Man At Room Party

“…The former managers of a Stamford hotel agreed Friday to settle a multimillion dollar lawsuit brought against the hotel by the family of a 21-Hospitality Industry Wrongful Death Lawsuitsyear-old Greenwich woman stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend there nearly six years ago…the trial addressed a real important public safety issue — and that was hotel safety…”

Details of the settlement were sealed in a confidentiality agreement, but lawyers for the family of Layla Renee Banks appeared very happy as they left the Main Street courthouse. On Thursday they had asked a jury to return a verdict of $20 million for their clients.

In the late evening of Oct. 13, 2007, a group of teens and young adults from Greenwich, wanting to extend what began as a sweet 16 party at one of their homes, rented a room on the third floor of the five-story hotel. Alcohol use was rampant among the partygoers who swelled to about 100, court documents and police reports show.

By his own admission later to police, he had had about six drinks at the party when he confronted Banks. He wanted to know why she hadn’t returned his emails or phone calls. After they began arguing, Banks screamed for help, eventually fleeing from Botello and the party to the hotel’s lobby, court documents and police reports state.

In a darkened hallway off the lobby, Botello caught up with the young woman, reports state. He clamped his hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming and in the ensuing struggle he threw her purse down the hall.

Banks began sobbing and crying for help as a hotel worker began vacuuming the end of the hallway, the reports state. Panicked, Botello later told police he pulled out a knife and began stabbing Banks over and over — some 90 times, the medical report states.

For more:  http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Hotel-murder-lawsuit-settled-4792732.php

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Connecticut Hotel Manager Settles Multimillion Dollar “Wrongful Death Lawsuit”; Woman Murdered In Lobby By Intoxicated Man At Room Party

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Injuries, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management