Category Archives: Hotel Employees

by | April 15, 2015 · 8:59 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Attract Millennials With Millennials”

“I see folks around me in the hotel industry, and they’re bouncing between jobs.… When we are bringing on this staff, it’s important to show them there is this upward mobilityInforgraphic Attract millennials and there is a reason you should be here for more than two years,” he said. “I think that’s important and maybe this whole jumping around between jobs is getting a bad rap about loyalty.”

Front-desk associate or freestyle rapper? The two need not be mutually exclusive—particularly as operators seek “rock stars” 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?

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

He has just that in Del, a front-desk associate at one of Hawkeye’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.

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

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

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by | April 7, 2015 · 1:26 pm

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “4 Ways to Differentiate Your Hotel”

“If you can’t find anything fun that is truly local, then expand the circle of your list to include the county, the state or even the region in which your hotel is located.due diligence Then figure out how to inexpensively incorporate at least three of those items into your property.”

If you spend any time paying attention to trends in our industry, the buzz words you’ll likely come across include “unique,” “authentic,” “artisanal,” “sense of place,” “local,” “craft,” “experiential,” “discovery,” the latest iterations of “boutique” and “lifestyle,” and the single most overly and incorrectly used word in the English language, “curated.”

Today’s trend words all have one definitional element in common: They all are somewhat synonymous with “different” in one way or another. Guests are looking for different experiences in the different cities they visit, particularly road warriors. “Different” in that context doesn’t necessarily mean “better,” just not “the same.”

If this is not your year for a major renovation, and you won’t be turning your lobby into an experiential gathering place or your restaurant into an eclectic journey of discovery, there are still things you can do to be different and successful.

For more: http://bit.ly/1Ph7h84

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by | March 30, 2015 · 10:47 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “The Good, The Bad, and Especially – 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 to make it better.feedback This will, of course, depend on what the grievance is exactly, but it’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, it’s essential to the success and well-being of your hotel. That’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, you’ll never know what you’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. Don’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 hotel’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 – 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, here’s a quick list of best practices when it comes to responding to reviews

For more: http://bit.ly/19qiItu

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by | 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 while a guest is legally registered in a room,warentless searches 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: http://bit.ly/1F1pS2t

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by | March 19, 2015 · 10:20 am

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “New Security Mindset: Focus On The Interior”

“We continue to be more focused on perimeter protection than on internal controls and monitoring. It’s clear that attackers are already inside or could be anytime they want and there’s nothing you can do about it on the perimeterJason-Straight-LG…You would think external attacks cause all the damage. But study after study, two-thirds of attacks are mundane insider errors, lost equipment, technology failures, or lack of oversight over vendors.”

Chief privacy officer Jason Straight shares his insights on why organizations are struggling to stop the breach wave — and manage the aftermath.

Hackers keep on hacking, breaches keep on happening. The cycle continues, as major corporations now routinely get successfully compromised. A key element of the equation now is properly and efficiently responding to an attack as well as managing its aftermath.

The same old security missteps–falling for phishing attacks, not locking down sensitive data internally, giving users too much access, for instance–keep recurring. That’s because many organizations aren’t putting their security energy in the right places, according to Jason Straight, senior vice president and chief privacy officer at UnitedLex, which provides outsourcing services and support for the legal industry.

For more: http://ubm.io/1BTm7L2

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by | March 6, 2015 · 10:40 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Reducing the Spread of Contagious Illnesses” (Video)

A supplement to frequent hand washing is to use hand sanitizer.handwashing To encourage use of hand sanitizers by employees and guests, place labeled hand-sanitizer dispensers at the front desk, restaurant areas, back offices, public restrooms, and elevators. Check and refill the dispensers daily.

Winter months bring an increase of cold, influenza, and other communicable illnesses to the workplace. To reduce the spread of germs and cross contamination, housekeeping departments should focus on common contact points.

Sanitize Hard Services. Most hard surfaces, such as doors, drawers, telephone receivers, TV remote controls, light switches, toilet handles, and in-room directories, can be disinfected with a commercial disinfectant cleaner on a daily basis. Returned guestroom keycards should be placed in a separate bin for disinfecting. All guestroom glassware must be thoroughly washed with hot water and detergent—in a dishwasher or three-compartment metal sink—before being placed back into service. Improperly sanitized glassware and utensils can transmit mononucleosis, herpes, E. coli, salmonella, hepatitis A, influenza, and even staph infections. Hotel glassware should never be washed in a guestroom sink.

For more: http://bit.ly/1E0wrBS

And for more on industry best practices, check out the video below from Petra’s own P3 Risk Management Team.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/98741016 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Matt Karp, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Preventing Norovirus at Your Property’. 

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 | March 5, 2015 · 9:32 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Veteran Says Hotel Dispute Over Service Dog Led to Arrest”

White suffered a traumatic brain injury and spinal wounds while serving with the U.S. Army in Afghanistanservice animal in 2012 when a 200-pound improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. The Wyoming, Mich., resident said he has been on anxiety medication and has been helped greatly by Camo.

A bill making its way through the Legislature may prevent situations like the one Monday night in which a young veteran was arrested at a Bonita Springs hotel after he, his family and his service dog were denied lodging.

Jason White, 34, was arrested at the Best Western following a dispute with the hotel manager and staff over his service dog, Camo. He was charged with battery and destruction of property, the Lee County sheriff’s report said, after he kicked and cracked a television and shoved the hotel manager, Vinit “Vinnie” Patel.

For more: http://newspr.es/1Ej6AHZ

And for more on the do’s and don’ts of service animals, check out the video below from Petra’s own P3 Risk Management Team.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/102936915 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘ADA Service Animals: Do’s and Don’ts’. 

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 | March 4, 2015 · 10:27 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Cyber Security”

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/121258482 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘How to Help Protect Your Hotel’s Computer Network and Information Systems’. 

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 | February 25, 2015 · 10:18 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Employee Theft – Protecting More Than Property”

While hoteliers can take strong steps to reduce employee theft, eliminating it entirely is likely an impossibility.employeetheft The best loss prevention involves good procedures for hiring, training and supervision of employees. And by following a few best practices, employers can limit the potential liability for claims related to employee theft situations and diminish the potential for the insult of an expensive lawsuit on top of the injury of employee theft.

The problem of employee theft in hotels is an age-old problem. Businesses lose billion of dollars each year in employee theft. And hotels, by nature, present numerous opportunities for employee theft from guests and the house. Theft in a hotel can take many forms – from identity theft to credit card fraud to theft of merchandise and guest property. No employer hires an employee thinking that the employee is someday going to steal. Hotels need to take steps to prevent theft and be cautious in taking action against an employee after a suspected theft. Both have practice and legal implications.

Prevention in All Forms

Take a thorough look at your hotel’s security measures and processes. Ensure that your guest room locking systems and room safes meet general industry standards. Review, implement or update employee policies related to 1) package passes to control removal of property from the hotel, 2) lost and found procedures, which should be strictly enforced and 3) guest room access by employees. Consider an audit by a security expert to review your security procedures and protocols – in action.

For more: http://bit.ly/17ySjZz

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by | February 23, 2015 · 10:13 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Bill Requiring Sex-Offender Checks on Hotel Workers Advances”

One of those is the fact that the measure as approved by the panel Monday has no enforcement mechanism and no penaltiesarizonabackgroundchecks for those hotels that ignore the law. Hobbs said she is counting on key changes when the measure goes to the full Senate. And Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, said he wants something in the legislation to ensure there are regular checks made of employees, not just at the time they are hired.

Told of the rapes of two guests in separate incidents in Mesa, members of a Senate panel voted Monday to require hotels to see if those who have access to room keys are sex offenders.

SB 1432 spells out that owners or managers have to use one of two available Internet websites before hiring anyone who can get into a guest’s room. If the employee shows up on either one, the hotel is barred from providing keys, keycards or any other method of getting into a room.

The vote followed testimony of attorneys who represent two women who were attacked in two separate incidents at two separate hotels — both reportedly by the same man.

For more: http://bit.ly/1EIOPyn

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