Category Archives: Health

by | October 12, 2011 · 6:54 am

Hospitality Industry Insurance Solutions: "Hotel Reputation" Insurance Policies Can Now Provide Hotel Owners With Protection For "Brand Damage" From Guest Injuries, Food Poisoning And Health Risks"

The Hotel Reputation Protection 2.0 policy will protect hotels against a range of common causes of brand damage such as death or permanent physical disability of a guest, food poisoning and outbreaks of Norovirus and Legionnaire’s disease.

 The Willis-Kiln product will provide cover for lost revenue based on RevPAR figures. RevPAR is a performance metric used in the hotel industry to measure revenue per available room. The policy will also cover the cost of hiring a crisis management consultant following a potentially reputation damaging incident. Laurie Fraser, global markets leisure practice leader for Willis, said: “In the extremely competitive hotel industry, reputation accounts for approximately 30-40% of a business’s overall worth.

 Read more: http://www.insuranceage.co.uk/insurance-age/news/2116523/willis-kiln-launch-protection-policy-hotels#ixzz1aZw3mowj Insurance Age – Serving the broker community. Claim your free subscriptions today.

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by | October 10, 2011 · 5:13 am

Hospitality Industry Health And Safety Risks: Utah Hotel Housekeeper Hospitalized After Cart Causes "Bear Spray" Can To Discharge; Hotel Guests Evacuated To Ventilate Building

“…The woman was unable to open her eyes after being exposed to the spray, so she was taken to a hospital, Baldwin said. All guests at the hotel were evacuated for about a half hour while crews ventilated the building…”

A housekeeper was hospitalized Sunday after a can of bear spray discharged in the Marriott Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. The woman was pushing her housekeeping cart on the 6th floor of the hotel, near 100 South and West Temple, when the cart bumped a can of bear spray that had been left on the floor of the hall.

The can sprayed when it was struck, shooting out a substance that “is like pepper spray, only 10 times stronger,” said Salt Lake City battallion fire chief Clair Baldwin. Investigators were trying to determine why the can was left in the hallway.

For more:  http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52698974-78/spray-hotel-baldwin-bear.html.csp

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by | October 9, 2011 · 7:36 am

Hospitality Industry Pool Safety Risks: Nevada Hotel Guests Hospitalized After Suffering "Chlorine Burns" In Jacuzzi Spa Caused By Possible Malfunction Of Chlorine System

“…The Clark County Fire Department says two hotel guest at the Hooters Casino Hotel were taken to the hospital for second degree burns…it called the Southern Nevada Health District, which shut down the pool pending an investigation…”

When Knox called an ambulance, paramedics told him his son’s friend had second-degree burns on 91 percent of his body and he was almost going into shock…”

Andrew Miller has burns on his legs and feet. He is also friends with the two victims that were sent to the hospital. “It seemed like we were fine but as we started walking back up to the room we all started noticing we were kind of itchy,” Miller said. Miller and his friends called Kevin Knox, a father of one of the group who made the room reservations. Knox tells FOX5 when he arrived things were pretty bad.

“Went up to see him and he was in his bed and he was shaking he was so cold, and he just from his neck down to his feet he was completely red and on his back it was actually bubbling,” Knox said.

“That’s when they said we got to take him to the emergency and we’re taking her too because she couldn’t even walk; her legs were just red,” Knox said.

But Knox heard a rumor of what happened. “They do have a chlorine system that goes every 15 minutes or so that puts out a little bit of chlorine, but at six o’clock in the morning when these kids were in it, it dumped all of it,” Knox told FOX5.

Clark County Fire believes the burns were caused by chlorine exposure, but it is still trying to confirm if the accident was caused by a malfunction or human error. Knox believes his son’s friends weren’t the only victims.

“The security explained to the fire department that (they) had several complaints of people getting burned so it’s not just these two or these four,” said Knox.

For more:  http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/15650310/two-hooters-casino-guests-hospitalized-after-hot-tub-chlorine-burns

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by | October 8, 2011 · 6:12 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Safety Risks: Complaints Filed With OSHA And EEOC Against Colorado Hotel For Firing Housekeeper After She "Complaied About Unsanitary Conditions"

“…A Denver woman says she was fired by Springhill Suites DIA because she complained about the unsanitary conditions at the hotel.“When I asked management to provide housekeepers on my cleaning crew with plastic gloves, I was told the gloves were too expensive,” said Dorothy Barrett-Wilson. “We were cleaning bathroom toilets and floors without gloves, something you don’t even do at home.”

The EEOC will investigate the charges of discrimination filed by Wilson, who says the hotel fired her when she made the complaint to OSHA.

Barrett-Wilson filed complaints with the Colorado Civil Rights Division and OSHA. The complaints also say the crew, which was mainly Hispanic and African, had no radio communication in case of emergencies on the floors.

Wilson also says the housekeepers were also being asked to clean 21 rooms a shift, when the norm is about 12 or 14. She also says workers had to handle dirty towels and linen, some of which had blood on them, with their bare hands.

For more:  http://www.kwgn.com/news/kdvr-feds-investigate-springhill-suites-dia-20111007,0,893504.story

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by | October 6, 2011 · 5:31 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Maryland Health Officials Find "Legionella Bacteria" In Hotel Water Samples After Guests Hospitalized With Legionnaire's Disease

“…Preliminary results from hotel water samples indicate the presence of the Legionella bacteria, but final results won’t be available until the end of next week, according to DHMH…”

People with a history of smoking, those over the age of 50 and those with lung disease or weakened immune systems are at greater risk of contracting the disease, also known as legionellosis.

Guests at an Ocean City hotel have been voluntarily relocated after three people who stayed there were hospitalized with Legionnaire’s disease, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The three people developed the form of pneumonia about a week after their stay at the Plim Plaza Hotel, although investigators are still working to determine whether they contracted it there, according to the health department.

The 181-room hotel closed three days before the end of the season in order to test the water system and address any issues, said Betsy FauntLeRoy, director of marketing for the Harrison Group, which owns the Plim Plaza and nine other hotels.

For more:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-legionella-20111005,0,5437026.story

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by | October 3, 2011 · 11:40 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Two Workers Die Of Hydrogen Sulfide Gas Poisoning While Working On A Pump Storage Tank At A Maine Hotel

“…Autopsies of two workers who collapsed and died while repairing a submersible pump in a pump storage tank at a Kennebunkport, Maine, hotel on Sept. 27 reveals they were exposed to high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas… It is suspected that the men did not test the atmosphere before they entered the tank..”

 “…Hydrogen sulfide is given off by bacteria present in sewage and exposure quickly can lead to unconsciousness and death…”

The storage tank where the men were working is 9 feet below ground and approximately 4 feet high by 6 feet long by 5 feet wide. Neither man was wearing a respirator when the bodies were found.

Studley and Kemp were working near an employee of Nest and Sons, who was pumping out the underground tank. He left with a load of sewage and when he returned, the men were gone, even though their truck still was in the parking lot. At that point, a hotel employee reporting them missing and when pumping was resumed in the tank, one of the bodies surfaced. The tank was searched and the second body was found.

For more:  http://ehstoday.com/safety/confined_space_workers_killed_1003/

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by | September 30, 2011 · 5:33 am

P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: "Food Poisoning Claims" Discussed By Todd Seiders, Director Of Risk Management For Petra Risk Solutions (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNI4lz7_scE]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Food Poisoning Claims’.

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 | September 28, 2011 · 5:20 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Rising Health Insurance Premiums Force Hotel Management To Consider Shifting Costs Or Raise Deductibles

“…Employers are often forced to shift some of the cost to their employees in an effort to offset the increasing outlay. Organizations increased the employee portion of the premium at a rate of 54.3 percent, whereas 42 percent have increased deductible levels….”

 The 2011 Compensation Data Hospitality survey results show companies reported an average premium increase of 9.3 percent. More than 45 percent of respondents indicated they pay more than $9,600 annually for an employee plus family plan.

“The rising cost of insurance premiums is something that continues to be an issue for employers,” says Amy Kaminski, director of marketing for Compdata Surveys, the nation’s leading pay and benefits survey data provider. “To counteract these rising costs, organizations have to look in different directions in order to continue providing quality coverage for their employees.”

Premium costs remain high for hospitality employers, as 47.9 percent pay more than $7,200 for an employee-plus-spouse plan. Of survey respondents, 42 percent report paying more than $7,200 in premium costs for an employee-plus-children plan. Employee-only plans cost employers between $2,400 and $7,200 per year.

For more:  http://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/medical-insurance-rises-hospitality-industry

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by | September 27, 2011 · 6:10 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Illinois Hotel Sued Six Months After Guests Discovered Bed Bugs In Room

A hotel employee again offered the couple a new room, the lawsuit said, but they declined. After they returned home, they said Gonzales noticed bite marks on Layman’s shoulder. She said a doctor confirmed she was bitten by bed bugs, and the couple’s suit said a Hollywood Casino manager acknowledged the pests were bed bugs.

“..they pulled down the covers and discovered red bugs running on the sheets. Layman said she videotaped the bugs with her cell phone…”

 

A Blue Island couple is suing the Hollywood Casino Joliet and its hotel, saying they found bed bugs in their room more than six months ago. Tamara Layman and Leo Gonzales filed the lawsuit in Will County this month. Layman said she first tried asking a manager there to simply reimburse her for doctor visits, lost property and a ruined weekend. But she said she’s had no success.

The lawsuit said Layman and Gonzales checked into the casino’s hotel March 5, left their luggage in their room and went to the casino. They returned a few hours later and went to sleep. But Layman said she woke up at 1:30 a.m. and noticed a bug on a pillow.

Gonzales killed the bug, and Layman carried it in a tissue to the hotel’s front desk, where an employee offered to give them another room.

Layman and Gonzales said they threw out most, if not all, of what they brought to the casino including luggage. They also said it took 17 days for the hotel to send an exterminator to their home for an inspection.

For more:  http://news.google.com/news/more?q=hotel&hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1366&bih=497&wrapid=tlif131713187418910&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=d6mgZ9jhZCUXCgMuGZI-DUW1QcQjM&ei=adaBTpPAMI7MsQLqmoiYDw&sa=X&oi=news_result&ct=more-results&resnum=10&ved=0CMsBEKoCMAk

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by | September 24, 2011 · 6:18 pm

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Hotel Pool Guests Face Outbreaks Of "Acute Gastrointestinal Illness" As "Cryptosporidium" Parasite Proves Chlorine Resistant

Outbreaks of illness related to recreational water exposure have increased substantially in recent years, largely because of the emergence of Cryptosporidium, according to a CDC report.

In the years 2007/2008, 74% of cases of acute gastrointestinal illness associated with recreational water exposure were caused by this parasite, and in all but two of the outbreaks the venue was a treated-water facility such as a chlorinated swimming pool.

The dominance of Cryptosporidium in treated recreational water facilities “is related to its chlorine tolerance, which allows it to survive in properly chlorinated recreational water for longer than ten days,” the agency stated in the Sept. 23 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

For more:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/PublicHealth/28692

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