Category Archives: Guest Issues

by Ida | May 12, 2015 · 8:13 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Airbnb Grows to a Million Rooms, and Hotel Rivals Are Quiet, for Now”

In Austin, Tex., each 10 percent increase in Airbnb listings resulted in a 0.35 percent decrease in monthly hotel room revenue, according to a studyÂ by Boston University. Less expensive hotels and those focused on leisure travelers were most affected when Airbnb developed in their area, the study found.

By any measure, Airbnbâ€™s growth has been stunning since the company was founded in 2008. It now has more than a million rooms available in homes, apartments and even former barns â€” more places to sleep than hotel giants like Marriott and Hilton.

Despite this growth, though, the big hotel chains, at least outwardly, have yet to take substantial action to counter the potential threat from the upstart lodging service.

One reason is the strength of the travel market over all. Spending on hotels this year is projected to be even higher than last yearâ€™s robust outlays, according to Douglas Quinby, an analyst for Phocuswright. Other reasons include the ingrained habits of travelers, particularly older ones and business travelers on expense accounts, who see no reason to change their ways.

For more:Â http://nyti.ms/1zWgiir

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Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Social Media

Tagged as AirBNB, Boston University, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Employees, Guest Safety, Hilton, Hilton Hotel, Hospitality, Hospitality Brand, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, hotel chains, Hotel Deals, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, hotel room revenue, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Insurance, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, leisure travelers, Liability, Managing Risk, Marriott, Mobile Technology, Motels, New York Times, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk Management, Security, Technology, The Times, TripAdvisor

by Ida | April 28, 2015 · 9:00 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Settlement Deal Reached in Hotel Pool Electrocution”

The investigation showed that the Hilton Westchase did not meet city, state, and national electrical codes and that the pool did not have ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) on the pool lighting system – which are standard safety features in pool construction, or kitchen and bathroom design, where electrical systems might come in contact with water.

A final civil settlement was reached Monday in a hotel swimming pool electrocution death that a devastated family claimed was “gross negligence of epic proportions.”

Raul Hernandez Martinez, 27, died 6 days after the 2013 Labor Day weekend incident.

He and his family had gathered at the Hilton Houston Westchase hotel and several family members were in the hotel swimming pool when the pool lights came on.

Martinez’ little brother David Duran, 11, began to convulse in the deep end of the pool. Their mom, Maria Isabel Duran, tried to reach the boy but was shocked unconscious by the electrical current.

Family members pulled her from the pool where she was revived via CPR. Martinez, meanwhile, reached his little brother and pushed him to the edge where others pulled the boy out.

But Martinez became motionless as the current continued to surge through the pool.

Rescued and revived, he never recovered and was removed from life support 6 days later.

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1PSDdPN

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Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management

Tagged as Civil Settlement, Crime, Death, Electrical Surge, electrical systems, Electrocution, Employees, Guest Safety, Health Hazards, Hilton Westchase, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Death, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Pool, Hotel Pool Electrocution, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Houston, Injuries, Insurance, Investigation, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Managing Risk, Motels, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Pool and Spa Safety, Property Damage, Risk Management, Settlement, Swimming Pool, Swimming Pools, Texas

by Ida | April 15, 2015 · 8:59 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Attract Millennials With Millennials”

â€œI see folks around me in the hotel industry, and theyâ€™re bouncing between jobs.â€¦ When we are bringing on this staff, itâ€™s important to show them there is this upward mobility and there is a reason you should be here for more than two years,â€ he said. â€œI think thatâ€™s important and maybe this whole jumping around between jobs is getting a bad rap about loyalty.â€

Front-desk associate or freestyle rapper? The two need not be mutually exclusiveâ€”particularly as operators seek â€œrock starsâ€ to provide a more authentic level of service to guests who increasingly want that real experience.

Who better to know about what millennial guests, in particular, want than hoteliers who belong to that generation?

â€œI always harp on with my corporate staff, I want people at the front desk who have a rock-star personality,â€ said Ravi Patel, the 29-year-old president of Hawkeye Hotels.

He has just that in Del, a front-desk associate at one of Hawkeyeâ€™s hotels who dabbles in freestyle rap on his off days. Working alongside Del is another double-duty performer who spends part of his time as a bartender.

â€œThese guys know exactly what it is to be really engaged with your audience,â€ Patel said. â€œSo now whenever I see the surveys come in from that hotel, it literally names off, â€˜Oh yeah, I talked to Del, and he told me what he does in Des Moines.â€™ Itâ€™s really capturing a different kind of associate as well and getting them to work for you.â€

For more: http://bit.ly/1b3hlSV

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Filed under Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Social Media

Tagged as Branding, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Employees, Generation Y, Guest Safety, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Branding, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Marketing, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Legal Issues, Managing Risk, Marketing, Millenials, Millennials Generation, Mobile Technology, Motels, Online Branding, Online Marketing, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Restaurants, Risk Management, Risk Management Update, Security, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Technology, X Generation

by Ida | April 10, 2015 · 8:40 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Issues Loom For Keyless Entry in Hotels”

“At the moment, the complications might be magnified for multi-brand, multi-property operators piloting more than one keyless system from more than one brand/vendor, but sources said that this somewhat disjointed approach may actually be preferable to a universal solution; at least until keyless tech is a little further along in its development cycle.”

As hotel companies across the industry begin to embrace keyless entry technology, they will also need to work out the challenges that go hand in hand with such integration.

Major conglomerates such as Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide are continuing to conduct pilot testing across multiple properties and brands. Starwood is backing up the technology with a $15-million investment. After launching its SPG Keyless solution at select properties (Aloft Beijing; Aloft Cancun; Aloft Cupertino; Aloft Harlem; W Doha; W Hollywood; W Hong Kong; W New York-Downtown; W Singapore; and Element Times Square), the company is now installing SPG Keyless in 30,000 doors at all of its 150 global W, Aloft and Element hotels.

In the meantime, Hilton is pilot testing its own mobile-enabled room key technology at 10 U.S. properties. By yearâ€™s end, the company expects to offer the digital amenity at all U.S. properties of four brands: Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Canopy by Hilton. Looking ahead to 2016, Hilton will then deploy the technology at scale across 11 brands globally. Similar to the SPG Keyless solution, Hiltonâ€™s keyless entry platform is driven by the companyâ€™s branded mobile app. Hilton hopes the keyless system will drive usage of the app, which hoteliers can then use to drive incremental revenue through mobile devices. Itâ€™s a potentially major revenue source to sway hoteliers who might still be on the fence.

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1Fusi7x

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Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology

Tagged as Android, Arrest, Branding, Credit Cards, Crime, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Digital Branding, Digital Marketing, Digital Media, Employees, Guest Safety, Hilton Hotels, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hospitality Technology, Hotel Brand, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Marketing, Hotel News Now, Hotel Reviews, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, Hotel Technology, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Insurance, iPhone, Keyless Entry, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Managing Risk, Marketing, Mobile Technology, Motels, Online Branding, Online Marketing, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Property Damage, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk, Risk Management, Risk Management Update, Security, Technology, Theft

by Ida | April 9, 2015 · 9:37 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Security Flaw In Hotel Wi-Fi Routers Could Put Devices At Risk”

“This is the second time in recent months that security researchers have warned of hotel Wi-Fi networks being a potential vector of attack for cybercriminals, providing a not-so-subtle reminder that individuals must be ever-vigilant regarding the security of their devices and access points.”

Cylance, a security vendor, says that its security researchers at the Sophisticated Penetration Exploitation and ResearchÂ team (SPEAR) have uncovered a flaw in the InnGate Wi-Fi router commonly used by many hotels that could be placing the devices of guests at risk. According to Wired, the Cylance team reports, the vulnerability could threaten not just guests, but could also spread to the hotels themselves if hackers are able to compromise the router to allow them to access other parts of the hotel network. Cylance says this could potentially impact reservations and billing.

The vulnerability, dubbed CVE-2015-0932 gives an attacker full read and write access to the file system of an ANTLabsâ€™ InnGate device, Cylance reports. Â Cyber thieves gain remote access through an unauthenticated rsync daemon running on TCP 873, which then allows them to read and write unrestricted to the file system of the Linux based operating system.

For more: http://bit.ly/1yYJZK7

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

Tagged as Android, Arrest, Computer Security, Credit Cards, Crime, Cyber Law, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Employees, Free Wifi, Guest Safety, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, Hotel WiFi, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Information Security, Insurance, Internet Security, iPhone, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Managing Risk, Mobile Technology, Motels, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Property Damage, Restaurants, Risk Management Update, Security, Surveillance, Technology, Theft, WiFi, Wifi Router

by Ida | April 2, 2015 · 9:08 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Update: “L.A. Hotel Fire Kills 1, Injures 15; Some Jump From Windows to Escape”

“Of the 29 people who were staying at the hotel, 15, including a child, were hurt and suffered minor to serious injuries, fire officials said.Â Most of the injured suffered broken bones from jumping, fire officials said.Â Alejandro Lopez, 40, said he was trapped inside his room and the intense flames left him with only one option: Jump out of the window.”

A man was killed and 15 were injured when flames overtook a hotel early Thursday in Wilmington, forcing some peopleÂ to jump out of windows.

People were trapped by flames inside the two-story Wilmington Hotel at 111 E. C St. shortly after 3 a.m. as firefighters arrived, said Erik Scott, spokesman forÂ the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Other hotel residents jumped out of windows to escape the flames.

For more:Â http://lat.ms/1G7cf4F

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Filed under Fire, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Injuries, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as American Red Cross, Blog, California, Death, Employees, Fire, Fire Damage, fire officials, Guest Safety, Health Hazards, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Employees, Hotel Fire, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Risk, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Injuries, Insurance, Insurance Coverage, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Liability, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles Times, Managing Risk, Motels, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Property Damage, Risk Management, Risk Management Update, Security, serious injuries, Wilmington, Wilmington Hotel

by Ida | March 30, 2015 · 10:47 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “The Good, The Bad, and Especially â€“ The Ugly. Why Responding to EVERY Review is Essential to Your Reputation”

“Address the comment, validate their frustration, apologize for their poor experience, and find a way toÂ make it better. This will, of course, depend on what the grievance is exactly, but itâ€™s probably an easy fix, and your response to the issue will be there forever for all future guests to see.”

Feedback, constructive criticism, or maybe just plain old criticism. Are you shuddering at the thought? If you are, stop, because though it may be hard to take sometimes, itâ€™s essential to the success and well-being of your hotel. Thatâ€™s right, criticism whether good, bad, or even ugly, is a necessary tool for you and your management team to have and to use. Without feedback, youâ€™ll never know what youâ€™re doing well, and what you could do better. Listening to all comments and responding appropriately and in a timely manner is one of the best tactics for hotel reputation management.

Regardless of whether your hotel has received a positive or negative review, you must give equal attention to both. Donâ€™t be arrogant. Mistakes are made everywhere in life, misunderstanding and miscommunication happens no matter what. Therefore, never turn up your nose at a grievance, large or small. Many potential guests will judge a hotelâ€™s customer service based on how the hotel responded to previous guests comments and reviews. Therein lies the true value of responding to all comments â€“ to show future guests you have responsive management, that you care about your guests and any issues that may arise.

From our very own experience, hereâ€™s a quick list of best practices when it comes to responding to reviews

For more:Â http://bit.ly/19qiItu

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Filed under Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Hotel Restaurant, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Social Media, Technology

Tagged as Cybersecurity, Employees, Guest Safety, HMG Hospitality, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Branding, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Managers Group, Hotel Marketing, Hotel Reviews, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Managing Risk, Mobile Technology, Motels, Online Branding, Online Marketing, Online Ratings, Online Reputation, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk Management, Social Media, Surveillance, Technology, Trip Advisor, Yelp, Yelp Reviews

by Ida | March 27, 2015 · 10:13 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Warrantless Searches of Hotel Guest Registers”

In analyzing the searches and seizures from hotel rooms, the court recognized that whileÂ a guest is legally registered in a room, the hotel room is a temporary residence and thus, just like their primary residence, the guest is entitled to the same protections under the Fourth Amendment to their guest rooms in a hotel as they would for their primary residence.

Many municipalities have enacted ordinances that authorize local police agencies to enter a hotel during regular business hours and request an inspection of the guest register to obtain information as to who is in the hotel, when they checked in and their anticipated check out time, how long the guest has stayed in the hotel, manner of payment and private information given by the guest to the desk clerk regarding their home address, car license plate and drivers license information. The municipalities argue that such ordinances and warrantless searches are necessary to help stop prostitution and drugs or to ensure compliance with the length of time requirements for motel guests. Many hotel operators have allowed the police agencies to inspect the guest registers without objection as they did not want to be subject to arrest or citation for not complying with the police requests.

However, some managers have objected and have been convicted of failure to comply with the inspection request. They argue that the police need a warrant to search the hotel registers and further, that the ordinances are not specifically limited to time, scope and duration of the inspection allowed or an opportunity to seek judicial review of the ordinance before being subjected to arrest and conviction for refusing to comply with the police agency’s request.

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1F1pS2t

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as Arrest, Converge, Credit Cards, Crime, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Employees, Guest Safety, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Law, Hospitality Law Cases, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality News, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel News, hotel registers, Hotel Rooms, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Injuries, Insurance, Lawsuits, Lawsuits Against Hotels, Legal Advice, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Legal Update, Liability, Managing Risk, Mobile Technology, Motels, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Police, Police Agencies, primary residence, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk Management, Risk Management Update, Security, Surveillance, Technology, Theft, Warrantless Searches

by Ida | March 26, 2015 · 8:21 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Class Action Lawsuit Goes After Hotels That Fail to Disclose Resort Fees”

“Brian Kabateck, an attorney for Brin, said he has heard from many hotel guests who have groused about being surprised by resort fees on their hotel receipts. â€œThis is really an insidious practice,â€ he said…Although the U.S. Department of Transportation regularly imposes fines against airlines that fail to disclose the full airfare, there may be too many hotels in the U.S. for the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the disclosure law on hotels, Kabateck said.”

If you have ever glanced at your hotel receipt only to be stunned to see an unexpected $28 resort fee, help may be on the way.

A Studio City man has filed a class-action suit against a Las Vegas casino, claiming that the resort is guilty of false and misleading advertising for failing to clearly disclose a mandatory resort fee at the time that he booked the room.

The practice is not unique to Las Vegas.

Undisclosed resort fees are such a prevalent problem that the Federal Trade Commission sent out a letter to 22 hotel companies in 2012, warning that their online reservation sites â€œmay violate the law by providing a deceptively low estimate of what consumers can expect to pay for their hotel rooms.â€

For more:Â http://lat.ms/1HN6ia9

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as Advertising, Airlines, Class-Action Lawsuit, Credit Cards, Crime, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Employees, Federal Trade Commission, Fines, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Insurance, Las Vegas, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Los Angeles Times, Managing Risk, Misleading Advertising, Motels, Online Reservation, P3, Palazzo, Petra Risk Solutions, Resort Fees, Resorts, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk Management, Security, Theft, U.S. Department of Transportation, Venetian

by Ida | March 24, 2015 · 10:31 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Hotels Are Getting Ready for Apple Watch”

The Accorhotel Apple Watch app will work in connection with a smartphone to manage reservations, access hotel information and property maps, and notify guests when a room is ready for online check-in. IHGâ€™s Apple Watch app is a port of its popular smartphone language translator. It will convert the words a user speaks into the watch into 13 different languages and even offer phonetic pronunciation help as well as a range of common phrases.

At an event in San Francisco earlier this week, Apple released more details on its new watch and showed off a few apps. Along with displaying the weather, making calls (as long as your phone is nearby), and tracking your fitness, the watch will also support Apple Pay, a mobile payment system that processes credit card transactions without the need to swipe an actual card. Ahead of the event, Marriott announced it would be the first hotel company to use Apple Pay, and would roll it out this summer at select Ritz-Carlton, Courtyard, Residence Inn, and Edition properties in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, San Francisco, Miami, and Chicago.

Apple Pay uses the near field communication (NFC) chip in an iPhone 6 or Apple Watch to communicate with specially equipped card readers, providing more security than old-school magnetic card swipers. While this could be a huge money maker for Apple, with analysts predicting that mobile payment systems will process $700 billion in transactions by 2017, it also offers hotels a new tool to measure guestsâ€™ habits and preferences.

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1OwUcqT

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Management And Ownership, Technology

Tagged as Apple, Apple Pay, Apple Watch, Big Data, Credit Card Security, Crime, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Employees, Guest Safety, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Branding, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Marketing, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, Hotel Technology, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Insurance, iPhone, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Lodging Magazine, Managing Risk, Marketing, Mobile Technology, Motels, Online Branding, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Risk Management, San Francisco, Security, Technology, Wearable Tech

Category Archives: Guest Issues

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Settlement Deal Reached in Hotel Pool Electrocution”

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Issues Loom For Keyless Entry in Hotels”

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Security Flaw In Hotel Wi-Fi Routers Could Put Devices At Risk”

Hospitality Industry Risk Update: “L.A. Hotel Fire Kills 1, Injures 15; Some Jump From Windows to Escape”

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Warrantless Searches of Hotel Guest Registers”

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Class Action Lawsuit Goes After Hotels That Fail to Disclose Resort Fees”

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Hotels Are Getting Ready for Apple Watch”

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