Category Archives: Management And Ownership

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “The Hotel Booking App That Will Change Everything!”

“Also, unlike most apps, Roomlia has no ties to a user’s credit card information. It passes the credit card data on to the hotel securely,Roomlia which means that the user can handle booking changes directly with his or her hotel of choice, making it much easier on the traveler and the hotel.”

I am an avid hotel-booking-app user. I regularly toggle between Hotel Tonight, Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz to hunt for rooms and deals when I travel. Sometimes I use them even when I don’t have travel plans as a way to decide where I want to go. I’m cheap!

I like to search Gogobot to browse by destination. I think Hipmunk offers a stellar user experience. I am not altogether unhappy with the app landscape right now, so I’m not necessarily in the market for a new hotel booking app, but I am always willing to try something new.

For more: http://yhoo.it/1qKUGuJ

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Filed under Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology

Hospitality Industry Risk Update: “Dunmore Hotel Evacuated”

“Twenty-four people were taken to Geisinger Community Medical Center. By 5 p.m. all but one had been released, according to hospital spokeswoman Westyn Hinchey.dunmore-pennsylvania-hotel-hotels-atrium The last patient was transferred to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for treatment of carbon monoxide exposure, Hinchey said. She said she could not release that person’s name and did not know his/her condition.”

At least one person remained hospitalized Sunday night and a Dunmore hotel is closed today after over 200 guests were evacuated Sunday morning. More than two dozen were taken to area hospitals to be evaluated for possible carbon monoxide inhalation.

Those staying at the Best Western Plus Hotel on Tigue Street with symptoms were removed in buses and ambulances after a carbon monoxide leak “stemming from a furnace” was discovered just before 9 a.m., Dunmore Fire Chief Christopher DeNaples said.

For more: http://bit.ly/XPDbme

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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Savioke’s First Robot Begins its Career as a Hotel Bellhop”

“It rolls down the hallway from the lobby, communicates with the elevator wirelessly to know when it can board and then travels the final leg to the guest’s room.robot Botlr calls guests via their room phone to let them know it has arrived. The touchscreen guides the guest through retrieving their item and then asks for a rating out of five stars. If the feedback is good, it does a little dance.”

If you call down to the front desk at the Aloft hotel in Cupertino, Calif., to replace that toothbrush you forgot to bring, a human will not come to your aid. Beginning tonight, a robot named Botlr will take the elevator up to your room and deliver it instead.

Botlr is the first product out of Savioke, a robotics company that received $2 million in seed funding in April to bring helpful robots to the service sector. Just 10 weeks after announcing the funding, Savioke closed a deal with Starwood Hotels to begin testing a robotic bellhop at the Cupertino Aloft. Other hotel locations could follow.

For more: http://bit.ly/1p926fM

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Filed under Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology

Hospitality Industry Insurance Update: “Business Interruption Coverage More Important Than Ever to Cyber Policies” (Video)

Video

Click image to play video

London-based MGA, CFC Underwriting, has brought a new cyber product to market for large companies that goes beyond the traditional cyber product, says Graeme Newman, director of marketing for the company. In this video with MyNewMarkets.com, Newman discusses how the increased knowledge of cyber risks has led large companies to demand a more complete product that includes business interruption coverage and how CFC’s coverage addresses these exposures.

For more: http://bit.ly/1whB8GL

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Filed under Business Interruption Insurance, Hotel Industry, Insurance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Water Line Bursts, Floods W Hotel”

“…San Diego Fire crews tried to help fix the flooding, but the damage done is more than the firefighters were prepared to handle.Water leak W Hotel Instead, an outside company that specializes in flooding cleanup was called in to deal with it…Guests rooms were not damaged in the flooding, hotel management told NBC 7. There was extensive damage to other areas of the hotel including some flooding into the lobby, they said…”

Guests are avoiding some major flooding after a big water line burst inside the W Hotel Monday night.

Water started leaking from the third floor, through the roof and down onto floors below around 8:15 p.m. inside the hotel at 421 W. B Street.

Joyce Baghtassarian was staying at the W Hotel on her trip to San Diego from Los Angeles. She was heading out the door to go to dinner when she noticed water flowing from the elevators.

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

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Filed under Hotel Industry, Insurance, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Structural Damage

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Don’t be Alarmed by That Robot Delivering a Toothbrush to Your Hotel Room”

“We think this is such a huge opportunity to deliver better service to our customer.Botlr-in-Hallway-lr  The mundane task of running a razor behind the scenes goes away, you’ll see our associates more because they’ll be more front and center than they’ve ever been,” McGuinness said. “This is by no means replacing the human element of hospitality.”

The situation usually plays out like this. You’re unpacking in a hotel room and realize you forgot something. Rather than trek to whatever store might be near, you call the front desk and ask for a razor, toothpaste or whatever you need. The hotel then sends someone up with the delivery.

Except for the Aloft Hotel in Cupertino, Calif, which will begin using an R2D2-esque robot for such trips. Fittingly, Aloft’s parent company, Starwood Hotels, tests the latest technology at the Silicon Valley hotel. Guests can enter their rooms with a smartphone app and bypass the traditional check-in process at the front desk.

For more: http://wapo.st/1o63HNa

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Filed under Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Someone’s Been Shot at Your Hotel. What Should Management Do Next?”

“…A full evacuation of a hotel property typically isn’t necessary unless there is a roaming shooter,NOLA Shooter he said. Even then, Cahn’s advice to anybody staying at a hotel when a violent outburst occurs is to remain in place until directed otherwise by police. People pouring into the hallways to leave could give a shooter more targets…”

When a gunman holes up in a hotel room with one or more other people, as happened Sunday at the Westin Canal Place in New Orleans where police said a man shot a friend before killing himself, the first task of hotel management, after making sure police are en route, is to usher other guests someplace safe and comfortable, hotel security specialist Mike Cahn said on Monday.

For more: http://bit.ly/1yArFWE

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Filed under Crime, Employee Practices, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “As Marijuana Becomes Legal in More States, How Should Employers Handle Positive Drug Tests?”

“…Hospitality employers also need to be aware of potential violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) associated with medical marijuana.  Employers with facilities in states that allow medical marijuana use may need to provide a reasonable accommodation under the ADA for employees with a valid doctor’s authorization. 042314_acuna_marijuana_640 For instance, the New York statute permitting medical marijuana use automatically classifies every individual who is considered a Certified Patient as disabled.  Therefore, New York employers must engage in an interactive process with the employee to determine whether they need to provide the employee with a reasonable accommodation…”

Due to the ever changing laws surrounding the legality of marijuana, many of our hospitality clients have recently asked us whether it is lawful to terminate an employee who has tested positive for marijuana.  The answer varies greatly depending on the state in which you are located.

States continue to pass legislation legalizing marijuana use for specific purposes.  On July 5, 2014, New York became the twenty-first state along with the District of Columbia to legalize marijuana use for certain medical conditions—joining Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.  Two other states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized recreational marijuana use for individuals who are 21 years old or older, and Alaska and Oregon currently have similar legislation pending.

For more: http://bit.ly/1Bek1W8

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Filed under Employee Practices, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership

Hospitality Industry Conference Update: “2014 Northern California Hotel & Lodging Conference”

2014 Northern California Hotel & Lodging Conference

Petra’s Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, and Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, will be in attendance and giving presentations on “Current Hotel Security Issues & Updates” and “Best Housekeeping Practices”

For more information, or to register for the event, check out the conference website here: http://bit.ly/V8Mco5

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Filed under Conferences, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Atlantic City Hotel Security Caught on Video Beating Guests Bloody”

“…Professional poker player John Binns, along with his wife Renee and daughter Andrea, Atlantic-City-casino-guests-sue-over-security-beatings-caught-on-video-ABC-Newsfiled two separate lawsuits against Harrah’s for their behavior during an August 2012 dispute. The Binns’ suit argues that the hotel computer mistakenly erased their registration two nights into their stay. During an ensuing argument with security, guards surrounded him and took him to the ground…”

An Atlantic City hotel and casino faces separate lawsuits from at least eight guests for excessive use of force by security personnel and local police, ABC News reported on Friday.

The plantiffs suing Harrah’s Atlantic City include a financial analyst and a professional poker player whose 17-year-old daughter suffered a broken nose after hotel security forced her to the ground. The altercations involving both plaintiffs were filmed on the hotel’s in-house security cameras.

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

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Filed under Claims, Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Injuries, Management And Ownership, Training