Category Archives: Maintenance

by | October 18, 2011 · 9:04 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Wisconsin Hotels Respond To Complaints Of "Bed Bugs" With Swift Action

“Although the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) estimates there has been an increase in bed bugs in America over the last several years, the increase has had a minimal impact on the vast majority of hotels. Bed bugs are brought into hotels by guests; it is not a hotel sanitation issue. Education, awareness, and vigilance are critical. A trained and knowledgeable housekeeping staff is one of the best lines of defense, along with having regular pest control inspections as we have in place at the Rodeway Inn and Suites.”

The Health Department said it has gotten bed bug complains about the Rodeway Inn on Hastings Way and the Days Inn on Craig Road. These reports show how both hotels took quick action to control their bed bug problems.

But the Health Department said it’s important to remember that just because a hotel has the bugs, it doesn’t mean they’re dirty. “They can get into small cracks and crevasses and crawl out in the place they stop at and quite frequently that is a hotel,” said Courtenay Johnson, the Director of Environmental Health.

A complaint about the Rodeway Inn, filed with the Health Department by a guest claims they found six bed bugs on their bed. Another complaint about the Days Inn on Craig Road showed bed big sniffing dogs looking for the blood sucking pests. Both documents show the hotels took swift action.

“I haven’t seen a hotel or heard of one anywhere else that’s allowed a bed bug infestation to persist,” Johnson said.

For more;  http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/131902858.html?ref=858

2 Comments

Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , ,

by | October 15, 2011 · 5:22 am

Hospitality Industry Liability Risks: Arizona Hotel Found Guilty Of "Negiligence" On Appeal In Death Of Guest As Judges Find "Intended Use Of Stairway Required Center Handrail"; Carpet "Camouflaged" Dangerous Condition

“…An expert for the family testified that construction plans for the hotel, as well as its floor plan, depicted a center handrail where Volner fell… The expert also said that based on the intended use and width of the stairway, as well as applicable city building codes, a center handrail was required…”

“…the pattern on the carpet “camouflaged’’ the stairs, exacerbating the dangerous condition created by the lack of a handrail…”

The state Court of Appeals has upheld a $2.4 million verdict against a Tucson hotel where a woman tripped, fell down the stairs and died.

In a unanimous ruling, the judges rejected arguments by the owners of the Viscount Hotel that evidence of subsequent injuries is irrelevant to whether the business was negligent in this specific incident. They also brushed aside claims by the attorneys for the hotel that such evidence was prejudicial and would unfairly sway jurors against the business.

 Court records show that 78-year-old Harriet Volner was at the hotel in 2007 to have breakfast with friends when she fell at the stairs leading into the hotel’s atrium. She hit her head, went into a coma and died five days later after being taken off life support.

Her four children sued. A jury issued a $3 million judgment. But jurors concluded that Volner was 20 percent liable for her own injuries, reducing the verdict to $2.4 million.

A former hotel employee said there had been a center handrail but it had been removed and the carpeting changed. And an expert witness hired by the hotel agreed that the building code required a center handrail and it was a violation to have removed it.

For more:  http://www.ahwatukee.com/news/valley_and_state/article_a9ac7f01-7345-5d2f-8ebd-89ae0aa1271e.html

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Liability Risks: Arizona Hotel Found Guilty Of "Negiligence" On Appeal In Death Of Guest As Judges Find "Intended Use Of Stairway Required Center Handrail"; Carpet "Camouflaged" Dangerous Condition

Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , , ,

by | October 14, 2011 · 6:15 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Information Risks: Hotels Are Collecting More Personal Information On Guests And Protecting "Personally Identifiable Information" Is Top Priority

“…ensuring the security of this data is so important that it’s consuming hotel IT departments’ attention right now, said Josh Weiss, Hilton Worldwide’s VP of brand and guest technology…”

 “…The stakes involved in protecting “personally identifiable information” (data that can be used to uniquely identify, contact or locate a single person) are far higher with this personal information than with credit-card information…”

As hotels collect more personal information about guests and the Epsilon and Sony data breaches earlier this year shook people’s confidence in corporate data protection, hotel guests are increasingly asking hotels how well they’re securing their personal information, Mark McBeth, Starwood Hotels’ VP of information technology, said during a recent conference.

IT execs from Starwood and also Hilton and owner/operator White Lodging said they’re responding by making guest-data security their No. 1 priority. “PII is considered high-risk because if there were to be a breach, you’re exposing the guest’s identity,” he said. “It paints some pretty scary pictures.”

A “PII” breach could potentially lead to child abduction or a murder if information falls into the wrong hands, he said.

For more:  http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/10/starwood-hilton-work-to-protect-personally-identifiable-information/553616/1

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Guest Information Risks: Hotels Are Collecting More Personal Information On Guests And Protecting "Personally Identifiable Information" Is Top Priority

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Insurance, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

Tagged as , , ,

by | October 11, 2011 · 10:22 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Application Risks: Video News Report Of South Carolina Hotel That Fired Employee After Police Inquired About "Identification Records"

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hGgQUS45LQ]

South Carolina Hotel fired an employee after 15 months when she could not produce required identification.

 

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employee Application Risks: Video News Report Of South Carolina Hotel That Fired Employee After Police Inquired About "Identification Records"

Filed under Labor Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , , ,

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

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

Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , , ,

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

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

Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management, Training

Tagged as , , , ,

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

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

Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management

Tagged as , , ,

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/

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

Filed under Health, Injuries, Labor Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as , , , ,

by | September 29, 2011 · 6:09 am

Hospitality Industry Information Security: Major Hotels Move Closer To "Secure Payments Framework" That Will Protect Guest Credit Card Data Through "Tokenization"

 “Every major hotel company is working to get as many of their systems as possible out of the scope of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS)…Most of these companies have focused on solutions based on tokenization, and many have implemented them or are in the process of doing so.”

Tokenization is a process whereby sensitive card data is stored in a single secure location, which may be operated by a hotel brand, a payment gateway or another third party, and replaced in hotel systems by substitute “tokens.”  The tokens can be used to complete the transaction, but are useless if intercepted electronically by a thief. 

Top hotel security executives met several times to discuss this problem as the HTNG Secure Payments Framework effort took shape during August and early September.  Early discussions indicated a broad agreement that a single industry framework is needed, and that the framework needs to work with existing security approaches in place at major hotel companies and in commonly used systems.  There was also agreement on the key elements needed for the industry framework.  The group intends to document this framework conceptually in a white paper that will form the basis for subsequent standards development.

  This new effort will leverage hotel companies’ prior investment in tokenization efforts, adding a layer of security that will enable those solutions to be extended to unrelated parties that may be involved in transactions, such as online travel agencies, global distribution systems, switches, channel management systems, central reservation systems, management companies, independent hotels, payment gateways, swipe devices, and other parties.  “The approach is intended to enable the tokenization of card data by the first system that touches the reservation,” said Rice.  “The sensitive data will remain stored in a secure vault, and all of the other systems will simply pass along the token in place of the credit card.  The hotel itself can then submit the token to its token provider or gateway to complete the card transaction.  The card data itself need never touch a hotel system.”

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article58324.html

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Information Security: Major Hotels Move Closer To "Secure Payments Framework" That Will Protect Guest Credit Card Data Through "Tokenization"

Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Technology

Tagged as , , , ,

by | September 26, 2011 · 7:39 am

Hospitality Industry Fire Risks: Older California Hotel Suffers "Severe Fire Damage" Due To Lack Of "Fire Stops" In Walls

“…Damage to the 15,000 square-foot hotel and 4,000 square-foot bar was so severe that no one was allowed in the buildings due to the possibility of a collapse. An engineer was called to come out and assess the building’s structural integrity….”

Fire ripped through the Traveler’s Hotel and The Knockout Bar at the 200 Block of C Street early Saturday morning.

According to CAL FIRE spokesperson Bob Eicholtz, one reason that aided in the fire spreading was that the buildings were old and there were no fire stops in the walls.

CAL FIRE dispatched five engines, three ladder trucks and approximately 35 firefighters to battle the fire.

2 Comments

Filed under Fire, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as , , ,