Category Archives: Maintenance

by | May 10, 2012 · 7:00 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Risks: Hotel Internet Connections Pose New Risks For "Malicious Software" Infecting Guest's Computers

The FBI said typically travelers attempting to set up a hotel room Internet connection were presented with a pop-up window notifying the user to update a widely used software product. If the user clicked to accept and install the update, malicious software was installed on the laptop. The pop-up window appeared to be offering a routine update to a legitimate software product for which updates are frequently available.

The FBI today warned travelers there has been an uptick in malicious software infecting laptops and other devices linked to hotel Internet connections.

The FBI wasn’t specific about any particular hotel chain, nor the software involved but stated: “Recent analysis from the FBI and other government agencies demonstrates that malicious actors are targeting travelers abroad through pop-up windows while they are establishing an Internet connection in their hotel rooms.

The FBI also recommends that travelers perform software updates on laptops immediately before traveling, and that they download software updates directly from the software vendor’s website if updates are necessary while abroad.”

For more:  http://www.itworld.com/security/276162/fbi-issues-warning-hotel-internet-connections

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by | May 8, 2012 · 7:04 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: "Americans With Disabilities Act" (ADA) "Website Accessibility" Lawsuits Will Force Hotels To Update Websites To Service Disabled Guests

“…Charles Schwab… announced last week that they settled a year-long claim by a blind customer that its website was inaccessible to blind, low vision and cognitively challenged customers….”

 Not only does your website need to comply with the substantive requirements for listing hotel accessible features, for example, but the website itself needs to be accessible to disabled customers.

You need to ask yourself some questions. For example:

  • What standards of accessibility is your website hosting?
  • How do you measure website compliance?
  • How often do you audit your website for ADA compliance?

Charles Schwab joins a list of 15 prominent companies which have settled website accessibility complaints. Charles Schwab agreed that it will make its website more accessible and inclusive for all customers, and agreed to implement the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.0 Level AA which will make its website navigable by disabled customers.

An informal complaint backed by the threat of litigation and administrative investigations was lodged with Charles Schwab by the lawyer for a blind day trader. The claimant was a long-time Schwab customer and herself a computer programmer. One morning, she found that she could no longer navigate the Schwab website using JAWS software and was prevented from making trades on-line. The

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has not approved and adopted any formal standards for website accessibility and recently withdrew its Notice of Proposed Rule Making for web access standards. The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has been working for years and has promulgated the WCAG which is widely recognized as the “gold standard” for web access. However, given the almost daily changes in technology and the complexities of cyberspace, there are no official website standards.

Most recent DOJ investigations and settlements have focused on website accessibility. Target Corp. recently paid over $6 million to settle a website ADA class action.

For more:  http://hotellaw.jmbm.com/2012/05/ada_compliance_-_charles_schwab_settlement.html

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by | May 7, 2012 · 6:49 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: California Extended Stay Hotel Fire Forces Guests To "Flee For Their Lives"; Source Determined To Be Hot Plate Left On In Vacant Room

“…investigators have deemed the fire “accidental” in nature. The room where the fire began was vacant. The previous tenant left a hot plate on…”

Fire ripped through an extended stay hotel in La Habra Sunday afternoon forcing guests to flee for their lives. And the frightening fire was caught on cell phone video.

Edward Lawrence, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, said three people had to be rescued from the third floor by Los Angeles County Firefighters. The three people were reportedly overcome by smoke and had to be treated for smoke inhalation.

A total of 50 people have been displaced. After putting out the stubbon blaze, firefighters spent hours looking for potential hotspots.

Window rescues were necessary because the hotel guests made the mistake of opening their front doors. “You can see they left their doors open. And the rooms have a moderate amount of smoke damage. Smoke was rolling over their heads and they were waving white flags and white pieces of clothing.”

For more:  http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/05/06/caught-on-tape-extended-stay-hotel-fire-has-guests-fleeing-for-their-lives/

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by | May 6, 2012 · 7:23 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Minnesota Restaurant Fire And Water Damage Results In $1 Million Reconstruction; "Discarded Cigarette" On Wood Deck Determined As Cause

“…a cigarette discarded in a flower pot on the deck sparked the fire that, coupled with the water used to extinguish it, caused more than $1 million in damage and closed the restaurant for more than six months…”

Even though the fire was mostly confined to the deck and part of the bar, the damage turned out to be much more severe than originally thought. It was February before the contractor could start reconstruction by gutting the remaining structure.

But Casper’s Cherokee of Eagan, the familiar barn-shaped restaurant and bar on Nicols Road, is on its way back. The restaurant opens Monday, completely refurnished and with some tweaks to the menu. Among them: A Blazin’ Barn Burger — proof that owner Rick Casper has a sense of humor — and Eagan’s Firehouse No. 5 Burger — named in honor of the department that responded to the blaze Oct. 9.

As the staff prepared for reopening last week, there were still lots of details to pin down. Chairs had not yet been delivered. A cement patio soon will be added where the deck once stood.

There was a flurry of staff training, initiating 50 new crew members and refreshing the roughly 20 people who waited for Casper’s to reopen, even though there wasn’t money to pay them past December.

For more:  http://www.startribune.com/local/south/149897095.html

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by | May 5, 2012 · 7:43 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Dept. Of Justice Considering Delaying ADA "Pool Lift" Compliance Deadline From May 15 To September 2012

The DOJ could charge $55,000 for the first violation and $110,000 for any subsequent violation. The Justice Department has said it will investigate any complaints of non-compliance but will give pools with financial hardship and a savings plan more time to comply.

ADA regulations instruct hotels to buy one fixed lift for each large pool, hot tub and sauna. The 235,000 to 310,000 hotels needing to upgrade may face total costs of $1 billion, according to the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals.

As a result of widespread misunderstanding about the rule and complaints from hotel owners, the Department of Justice has extended the original March 15 deadline for compliance to May 15, and is considering delaying it until September.

The department is reviewing comments submitted in March and April. A spokesman said the department is considering only extending the deadline — not stripping the requirement altogether.

“If a fixed lift is affordable and easy for that hotel, they need to provide a fixed lift,” DOJ spokesman Mitchell Rivard wrote in an email. “If only a portable lift is affordable and easy for that hotel, they can use a portable lift. If they already have a portable lift, they should explore whether it is affordable and easy to attach the lift. If no lift is achievable, they should make a plan to achieve access when it becomes readily achievable for them.”

For more:  http://www.chillicothegazette.com/article/20120505/NEWS01/205050303

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by | May 3, 2012 · 8:02 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Tennessee Motel Surveillance Video Identifies Suspects In Front Desk Register Theft

“…The clerk noticed the money missing, called police and a quick check of the surveillance video showed the two suspects running back to their room in the very same hotel…”

Cookeville Police said two men were arrested after burglarizing the motel where they were staying. Surveillance video led police to the men who robbed the motel on Interstate Drive on Wednesday night.

The desk clerk left the front office to begin preparing breakfast for guests. That’s when one suspect kept an eye on him, while the other cleaned out the register of more than $200.

Both men, whose identities were not released, were booked Thursday morning on theft charges.

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by | May 2, 2012 · 6:53 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Georgia Restaurant Fire Destroys Building; Cause Determined To Be "Careless Smoking"

 “The fire marshal’s office determined the cause of the fire was careless smoking, an improperly discarded cigarette,”

Fire destroyed the Long John Silver’s restaurant at 1281 Thompson Bridge Road Saturday afternoon. “The building is a total loss,” Gainesville Fire Chief Jon Canada said.

When firefighters arrived, Canada said smoke was showing from the entrance side of the restaurant as well as the eaves and roof. Flames broke through the roof, which began collapsing inward, he said.

Firefighters set up a defensive attack with two ladder trucks, Canada said. He said crews were able to knock down the fire just before 4 p.m.

For more:  http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/66809/

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by | April 30, 2012 · 6:51 am

Hospitality Industry Flood Risks: Tennessee Hotel Owners Sue Federal Government For "Negligence" In Managing Spillway Resulting In "100-Year Flood" Levels Two Years Ago

Gaylord wants $250 million for damages to its Gaylord Opryland Hotel and the Grand Ole Opry House

 “…the Corps opened the spillway at Old Hickory Dam…the discharges were so high they caused the Cumberland River to rise above the 100-year flood plain and cause all this damage…”

Gaylord Entertainment plans to file a lawsuit today against the federal government, alleging U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and National Weather Service negligence led to major damage to its luxury hotel during the Cumberland River flood two years ago.

The suit will contend that the Corps was negligent in opening the spillway at the Old Hickory Dam on May 2, 2010, and the Weather Service failed to notify the public that water levels would reach the 100-year flood levels that devastated homes and businesses.

Gaylord and A.O. Smith filed initial claims with the Corps and the Weather Service for compensation in October, a requirement under the 1946 Federal Tort Claims Act, which governs how legal action can be filed against the federal government.

Once the two agencies rejected the Gaylord and A.O. Smith claims, the companies were free to file a lawsuit but had to endure a six-month waiting period.

For more:  http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120430/BUSINESS01/304300044/Gaylord-to-sue-Corps-over-2010-flooding

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by | April 23, 2012 · 10:50 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued By Man For "Negligence" After Breaking Ankle In Hotel Lobby

“…(Plaintiff) fell on a slippery marble floor near the lobby area of the hotel…(he) is seeking damages and court costs…”

A native of the Netherlands is suing after he broke his ankle at a Memorial-area hotel.  Harry Kanters filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, April 17 in the Harris County District Court against American Liberty Hospitality and Hilton Garden Inn/Houston Galleria in Memorial, citing negligence.

Kanters says on April 18, 2010, he broke his ankle while staying as a guest at the Hilton Garden Inn Galleria, located at 3201 Sage Road in Memorial.

He is being represented in the case by Southlake attorney Gregory Jones.

For more: http://www.ultimatememorial.com/stories/354485-courts-memorial-hotel-blamed-for-broken-ankle

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by | · 10:50 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued By Man For "Negligence" After Breaking Ankle In Hotel Lobby

“…(Plaintiff) fell on a slippery marble floor near the lobby area of the hotel…(he) is seeking damages and court costs…”

A native of the Netherlands is suing after he broke his ankle at a Memorial-area hotel.  Harry Kanters filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, April 17 in the Harris County District Court against American Liberty Hospitality and Hilton Garden Inn/Houston Galleria in Memorial, citing negligence.

Kanters says on April 18, 2010, he broke his ankle while staying as a guest at the Hilton Garden Inn Galleria, located at 3201 Sage Road in Memorial.

He is being represented in the case by Southlake attorney Gregory Jones.

For more: http://www.ultimatememorial.com/stories/354485-courts-memorial-hotel-blamed-for-broken-ankle

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