Category Archives: Guest Issues

by | January 16, 2013 · 7:39 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: New York Restaurant Sued By Guest Who Choked On Fish Bone; Throat Surgery To Repair Perforated Trachea

“…She was brought to Lenox Hill Hospital, where she required surgery and a four day stay. Doctors found a Hospitality Industry Lawsuitmicro perforation of her trachea and she was unable to speak for two weeks after being discharged…”

An Upper East Side restaurant that specializes in serving fish is now choking on a lawsuit because of a tiny little bone that lodged in the throat of one of its customers. Claire Amiano, a Michael Kors specialist at Saks, is suing Fulton NYC, a fish restaurant on East 75th Street, saying that she needed emergency throat surgery in August 2012 because a filet of fish she ordered for dinner was not entirely deboned as promised.

Papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court say when Amiano started to choke, employees called 911 and offered her olive oil and bread to dislodge the bone.

Fulton is owned by Joseph Gurrera who founded the small local chain of Citarella stores which offer high end groceries. He also created Tutto Italiano, an Italian specialty shop.

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by | January 15, 2013 · 7:48 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: California Hotel Faces “Negligence Lawsuit” Over Carbon Monoxide Leak From Hotel Pool Boiler

“…(the plaintiff) was a guest at the time of the evacuation, which was believed to be caused by a boiler leak…claims the hotel was not equipped with carbon monoxide detectors resulted in exposing paying guests to hotel Carbon Monoxide Poisoninghazardous levels of the gas… he’s claiming negligence and requesting the hotel cover costs of general damages, medical bills, potential loss of revenue and legal fees…”

A carbon monoxide leak that prompted the evacuation of the Embassy Suites San Francisco Airport hotel in Burlingame in November prompted a lawsuit from a guest who was staying at the hotel. On Friday, a lawsuit was filed against the hotel on behalf of Robert and Diane McNamara by San Francisco-based attorney Richard Schoenberger.

Firefighters were called to the hotel at 150 Anza Blvd. to test its air quality and evacuate guests around 1 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 8, according to news reports at the time.

The carbon monoxide was traced to a boiler that feeds the hotel pool and a spa, Central County Fire Chief Don Dornell said at the time. The unit was immediately shut down, and carbon monoxide levels dissipated, he said. At the time, it was reported that there were no injuries nor was treatment required of anyone. Guests were able to return to their rooms shortly after 5 a.m. Crews remained at the hotel monitoring the air throughout the morning.

For more:  http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=1761499&title=Carbon%20monoxide%20leak%20at%20hotel%20sparks%20lawsuit

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by | January 13, 2013 · 8:00 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Massachusetts Motel Fire Starts In “Old Sauna Room” Used For Storage; “Extensive Smoke Damage” Estimated At $50,000 To Concrete Building

“…The fire started in an old sauna room on the first floor next to the main office…the room was being used by Motel Firethe owner for storage…several second-floor motel rooms received extensive smoke damage…”

The Travelodge on Rte. 9 in Natick was evacuated Saturday morning after a two-alarm blaze struck, forcing occupants outside and damaging several rooms. Fire Chief James Sheridan said the department responded to the 1350 Worcester St. motel after receiving multiple 911 calls for a fire beginning at 11:11 a.m.

Sheridan said the building was evacuated, as the first firefighters on the scene saw heavy smoke and fire. They aggressively suppressed the fire and knocked it down quickly.

Sheridan said the department struck a second alarm upon getting to the motel, with firefighters from Framingham and Wellesley covering the central station.

He estimated roughly $50,000 in damages to the concrete building. As of 1:30 p.m., the department was still cleaning up at the scene, he said.

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by | January 11, 2013 · 10:34 am

P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “ADA Pool Lift Update” Presented By Loss Control Specialist Marco Johnson Of Petra Risk Solutions (Video)

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/57192729 w=500&h=281]

The January 31, 2013 ADA pool lift compliance deadline is fast approaching. Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Specialist,  Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Update – ‘ADA Pool Lift Update’ – to help clear up some of the confusion about the requirements of this new ADA law.

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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by | January 10, 2013 · 9:29 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Pennsylvania Hotel “Fire Alarm System” Fails During Basement Fire; Over 70 Guests Evacuated After Electrical Panel Circuit Found “Dead”

“…the hotel had a small fire in its basement over the weekend, and the fire alarms did not go off…(it was) found that the hotel’s electrical panel that controls the fire alarms was dead and the alarms didn’t work…the fire alarms for hotelshotel’s general manager said they had to evacuate more than 70 guests Tuesday, and they’ve been working since then to replace the fire alarm system..”

A hotel in a Scranton shut down Tuesday night because of a problem with its fire alarm system. It turns out, that hotel may have been without fire protection for weeks, maybe even months.

Scranton firefighters received a tip call from a former employee of the Clarion Hotel in Scranton. That call unraveled what could have been a big problem for the hotel and city officials.

The city’s director of inspections and permits, Mark Seitzinger went with firefighters to check out the tip calls claim.

“It’s dangerous, as of the other day they had 75 occupants or patrons of the building, that’s 75 people not including employees that are at risk because there’s no fire system,” said Seitzinger.

On the city’s advice, hotel managers made the call to evacuate all of those 75 guests and sent them to nearby hotels. Among the displaced were realtors who were supposed to have a certification class at the Clarion, but they had to change their plans and move to another venue in Clarks Summit.

For more:  http://wnep.com/2013/01/09/hotel-replaces-faulty-fire-alarms-following-small-fire/

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by | January 8, 2013 · 8:42 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Illinois Hotel And Restaurant Sued For “Negligence” After Guest Attacked By Man With Knife In Restroom; “Allowed Unauthorized Access To Property”

“…The lawsuit claims the hotel and restaurant at 909 N. Michigan Avenue were negligent when they allowed Restaurant Crime“unauthorized persons to gain access to their hotel, restaurant and restroom facilities” and didn’t perform proper security checks…”

An Oak Brook doctor who was stabbed in the neck and face during an attempted holdup at a Gold Coast restaurant in November is suing his alleged attacker along with the restaurant and hotel that houses it. Mir Shah says he was violently attacked and stabbed several times by Jimmy Harris in the bathroom of the Westin’s The Grill on the Alley on Nov. 17, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court. The restaurant’s bartender was also injured when he chased Harris, who cut him with a knife, police said.

Harris, who also goes by the name Jimmie Harris, had been freed from prison eight days prior to the attack. He has at least 60 arrests and nine felony convictions dating to the late 1970s, according to Chicago police, state and court records.

Shah, an oncologist, was out to dinner with his family that night after attending the Lights Festival along the Magnificent Mile. While in the bathroom, Harris approached Shah and announced a robbery before stabbing the doctor in the right side of his neck and face, prosecutors said. Shah is now disfigured and disabled, according to the suit.

For more:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-doctor-stabbed-after-mag-mile-lights-festival-sues-suspect-20130107,0,4498714.story

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by | January 7, 2013 · 7:46 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotel “Mobile Applications” Must “Post Privacy Policy” Allowing Guests To “Access And/Or Request Changes To Personal Information”

“…In the case of an online service, “conspicuously posting” a privacy policy requires that the policy be “reasonably accessible…for consumers of the online service…the consumer (must be able) to access or request mobile technologychanges to personal information, (and) the operator of the site will notify consumers of changes, and the effective date of the policy..”

Hotel companies are actively entering the mobile application space as a means of gaining market share and solidifying guest relations. In addition to online travel agents like HotelsbyMe.com, a number of brands including Omni, Choice and Starwood have developed mobile applications. However, as mobile applications gain popularity, hotel companies should consider how privacy and security laws will impact how they can use those applications.

For companies with operations in California, that issue was highlighted on December 6, 2012, when the California Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Delta Airlines for failing to include a privacy policy with a smartphone application. The lawsuit, the first of its kind, alleges that Delta violated California law requiring online services to “conspicuously post its privacy policy” by failing to include such a policy with its “Fly Delta” mobile application.

The California online privacy law

In 2004, California enacted the California Online Privacy Protection Act (“CalOPPA”). This law requires operators of websites and online services to “conspicuously post” privacy policies about the personal information that is collected, how the consumer can access or request changes to personal information, how the operator of the site will notify consumers of changes, and the effective date of the policy.

In the case of an online service, “conspicuously posting” a privacy policy requires that the policy be “reasonably accessible…for consumers of the online service.”

CalOPPA does not define an “online service” or mention “mobile” or “smartphone” applications, likely due to the fact that in 2004, smartphones and mobile applications were just being developed. However, the California Attorney General considers any service available over the internet or that connects to the internet, including mobile apps, to be an “online service.”
For more:  http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article68597Hotel_Lawyer_on_How_New_Privacy_Law_Enforcement_May_Affect_Your_Mobile_Apps_Used_in_Marketing_.html

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by | January 6, 2013 · 7:06 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Louisiana Hotel Laundry Room Fire Causes “Heavy Water Damage” And Forces Evacuation Of Entire Building

“…The fire was found to have originated in a laundry room on the fourth floor of the hotel. The third and fourth floors sustained heavy water damage, as the sprinkler system helped to squelch the blaze…(additional Hotel fire and smoke damagefirefighters were needed) to assist with getting materials that were burned and water-damaged out of the building…”

A Saturday night fire at the CBD’s Hotel Intercontinental (444 St. Charles Ave.) damaged the middle floors of the 14-story structure, and moved guests to a nearby ballroom, according to the New Orleans Fire Department.

Firefighters went door-to-door at the 410 rooms to ensure that all guests evacuated the building. Initially, the fire was at two alarms, but the third and fourth alarms were struck to provide more manpower. A total of 31 trucks and 98 NOFD personnel were at the scene.

The fire was largely contained to the area where the fire originated, but smoke damage was reported on the floors above the fourth.

The fire was under control by 7:30 p.m. The only reports of injury in the blaze were from a guest who told authorities they were having trouble breathing. The guest refused medical assistance. The displaced guests were relocated to the second-floor ballroom in the Hilton New Orleans, which is located across St. Charles Ave.

For more:  http://noladefender.com/content/four-ala76rm-fire-dam98ages-st-charles-ave-hotel

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by | January 5, 2013 · 7:45 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Washington Hotel Room Used By “Major Identity Theft And Forgery Ring”; Police Seize Laptops, Lamination Machine And Bags Of Stolen Mail

“These labs tend to be mobile…they go from hotel to hotel…the room contained a computer, two laptops, laminating paper, card stock, check stock and a hot laminator machine along with identification, checks and identity theftbags of mail that had been stolen. Also seized were more than 100 licenses and other IDs, roughly 20 hard drives and numerous other media storage devices, such as thumb drives and memory chips.

Police and U.S. Secret Service agents believe they have taken down a major identity theft and forgery ring involving at least a dozen suspects and more than 100 victims. The number of victims could grow as experts analyze computer hard drives and video surveillance footage from businesses where the suspects tried to get money. As of Friday evening, authorities estimated more than $45,000 had been stolen, but said that amount is likely to grow.

Evidence is being examined at the Secret Service’s Electronic Crimes Task Force lab in Seattle. Many of the victims — both individuals and businesses — are from Everett, but the center for the operation was traced to a hotel room in Shoreline.

That’s where police and the Secret Service found what amounted to a ID-theft factory Thursday.

For more:  http://heraldnet.com/article/20130105/NEWS01/701059947

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by | January 4, 2013 · 8:02 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: Chicago Restaurant Guests Warned About Thieves Targeting Cell Phones

“…The thieves put a flyer on top of the customers’ cell phones. The men pick up the flyer and the cell phone as Cell Phone Theft (2)they leave. They know they can turn these cell phones over to a pawn shop and get a couple hundred bucks.”

Chicago police are warning people about a cell phone theft ring that is hitting downtown restaurants. Customers at restaurants on Michigan, Fairbanks, Wabash and Ontario have been robbed in the last four days.

Police say a group of young men approach diners to say that they are raising money for a basketball team. “I was eating by myself tonight and scrolling on the phone and didn’t even think that someone might come and swipe it,” diner Todd Ganz said.

The team of thieves is operating in three different areas, police say: in the 400-block of East Ontario, the 600-block of North Fairbanks, and in the Loop along Michigan Avenue and the 100-block of North Wabash.

For more:  http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8941275

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