Category Archives: Training

by | December 15, 2012 · 12:59 pm

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Restaurant Owners Should Provide Comprehensive Employee Handbooks That Describe Employees' Rights, Expectations And Company Obligations

Small Business AdministrationAn employee handbook is an important communication tool between you and your employees. A well-written handbook sets forth your expectations for your employees, and describes what they can expect from your company. It also should describe your legal obligations as an employer, and your employees’ rights. This guide will help you write an employee handbook, which typically includes the topics below.

Anti-Discrimination Policies

Compensation

Work Schedules

  • Work hours and schedules
  • Attendance, punctuality and reporting absences
  • Guidelines for flexible schedules and telecommuting.

Standards of Conduct

  • Dress code and ethics
  • Legal obligations

General Employment Information

Safety and Security

For more: http://www.sba.gov/content/employee-handbooks

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by | December 10, 2012 · 7:05 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: California Restaurant Fire Caused By "Improperly Stored Oily Rags" Catching Fire; 10 Propane Tanks Explode

“…Oily rags ignited a Sunday morning fire that caused several propane tanks to explode at the Gingham restaurant owned by a celebrity chef…the rags were balled up and tossed in a bin when they should have been Restaurant Firelaid out to dry and stored in a properly approved container…”

Most of the estimated $50,000 in damage occurred in the exterior courtyard between Gingham and the shop next door, McCrea Music Company. The businesses reside between La Mesa Boulevard and Allison Avenue.

Initial reports at 5:48 a.m. were of a rubbish fire behind the restaurant. When fire crews arrived three minutes later, the flames were 10 feet high and firefighters witnessed multiple explosions of propane tanks. In all, as many as 10 of the 35 tanks stored behind the restaurant exploded.

Battalion Chief Bent Koch said it appeared that the cleaning rags from the restaurant, which were stored in a container outside, had spontaneously combusted.

For more: http://www.nctimes.com/fire-at-la-mesa-s-gingham-restaurant/article_a596c7f7-4b96-5250-8d65-5e8532cf6144.html

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by | December 9, 2012 · 7:29 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Iowa Restaurant Linked To Meat Contaminated By E. Coli That Nearly Killed Woman; Beef Processing Plant Used Mechanical Tenderizer

“…Although blading and injecting marinades into meat add value for the beef industry, that also can drive pathogens — including the E. coli O157:H7 that destroyed Lamkin’s colon — deeper into the meat…if it isn’t Risks of E. coli contamination in restaurant beefcooked sufficiently, people can get sick. Or die.

Big Beef and other processors are co-mingling ground beef from many different cattle, some from outside the United States, adding to the difficulty for health officials to track contaminated products to their source. The industry has resisted labeling some products, including mechanically tenderized meat, to warn consumers and restaurants to cook it thoroughly.

Three years ago, at age 87, Lamkin was forced to begin wearing a colostomy bag for the rest of her life after a virulent meat-borne pathogen destroyed her large colon and nearly killed her. What made her so sick? A medium-rare steak she ate nine days earlier at an Applebee’s restaurant.

Lamkin, like most consumers today, didn’t know she had ordered a steak that had been run through a mechanical tenderizer. In a lawsuit, Lamkin said her steak came from National Steak Processors Inc., which claimed it got the contaminated meat from a U.S. plant run by Brazilian-based JBS — the biggest beef packer in the world.

“You trust people, trust that nothing is going to happen,” said Lamkin, who feels lucky to be alive at 90, but beef companies “are mass-producing this and shoveling it into us.”

The Kansas City Star investigated what the industry calls “bladed” or “needled” beef, and found the process exposes Americans to a higher risk of E. coli poisoning than cuts of meat that have not been tenderized. The process has been around for decades, but while exact figures are difficult to come by, USDA surveys show that more than 90 percent of beef producers are now using it.

Mechanically tenderized meat is increasingly found in grocery stores, and a vast amount is sold to family-style restaurants, hotels and group homes. The American Meat Institute, an industry lobbying group, has defended the product as safe but recently said it can’t comment further until it sees results of an assessment by the meat safety division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/12/08/4469815/mechanical-tenderizers-linked.html#storylink=cpy

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by | December 7, 2012 · 8:59 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Florida Hotel And Spa Sued For "Sexual Abuse" Of Woman During Massage; Masseuse Used "Inappropriate Draping Techniques" And Contact

“…The suit alleges masseuse failed to use appropriate draping techniques and within 10-15 minutes, Hospitality Industry Lawsuitshe was completely naked…he proceeded to “massage” her exposed breast and lower belly, saying it was a technique in which he specialized, according to her attorney…”

A woman and her attorney have filed a lawsuit against a Miami Beach spa after she claimed she was sexually abused by a masseuse. According to the lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court early Thursday morning, the unnamed woman went to the Sanctuary Hotel on South Beach with her husband on Feb. 20th and purchased a massage at the Sanctuary Spa & Salon through Groupon.

According to the suit, Fraga continued the sexual conduct by rubbing between her buttocks, legs and private parts and placed his penis in her hand. The woman has sued the Sanctuary Hotel Group, Inc.

For more:  http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/12/06/lawsuit-woman-alleges-sex-abuse-by-masseuse-at-sobe-spa/

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by | December 6, 2012 · 8:01 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Restaurant Dishes And Silverware Cleaning And Sanitation Methods "Fall Short Of Eliminating Norovirus" According To Research Study

“Norovirus is the leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis and the major cause of foodborne illness in the United States…proper sanitation and handling remain the single biggest factor that can prevent cross-norovirus outbreak hotelscontamination of food and dishware at food service establishments…better agents or methods (are needed) to significantly reduce the presence of norovirus…”

Restaurant dishes and silverware may be an overlooked place where people can catch stomach viruses, according to a new study published December 5, 2012 on the PLOS One website.

While the current industry guidelines for cleaning dishware used in public settings are effective at neutralizing bacteria, researchers at The Ohio State University found that they appear to fall short of eliminating norovirus.

Norovirus is the leading cause of epidemic gastroenteritis and the major cause of foodborne illness worldwide, responsible for at least 50% of all gastroenteritis outbreaks in the United States.

For more:  http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0050273#s5

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by | December 5, 2012 · 7:34 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: California Restaurant Kitchen Fire Caused By "Commercial Gas Grill" Igniting Wood Inside Wall; Repairs Estimated At $10,000

Restaurant Fire

“…Firefighters were hampered by multiple concealed spaces caused by past remodeling. Firefighters located the seat of the fire in the wall and extinguished it with a small amount of water, but found that the fire had traveled through the wall and in to ceiling spaces between layers of roofing materials above…”

Humboldt Bay Fire responded to a reported structure fire at Pho Thien Long Restaurant, 615 F St. Upon arrival fire personnel were directed to the kitchen area where light smoke was seen coming from a hole in a wall and the wall was extremely hot to the touch. Fire personnel directed restaurant customers and staff to exit the building. Power and gas was secured to the building as firefighters began cutting in to the wall to locate the fire.

Humboldt Bay Fire spent about 90 minutes ensuring that any remaining pockets of fire had been extinguished. The restaurant was turned back over to the business owner. The fire caused about $10,000 damage, and the business will need extensive repairs before it will be able to reopen. The cause of the restaurant fire appeared to be accidental. The fire was caused by heat radiated from a commercial gas grill igniting the wood in the wall.

For more:  http://www.times-standard.com/breakingnews/ci_22121723/updated-pho-thien-long-restaurant-will-need-extensive

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by | December 4, 2012 · 8:02 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Kentucky Restaurants Sued By Cities For "Multiple False Alarms"; Thousands Of Dollars In Unpaid Fines

“…The city has filed 37 lawsuits in recent weeks — with at least 13 more pending — against the most egregious offenders, seeking thousands of dollars in unpaid fines and hoping to send a message about fixing alarms that False_Alarmswaste police time and cost taxpayer dollars…”

More than 40 times since 2008, Louisville Metro Police Department officers have made emergency runs to the Taco Bell on East Broadway, only to find they were responding to a false alarm.

Under a policy enacted in June 2005 that aims to crack down on residents and businesses who have multiple false alarms, the city has fined the Taco Bell — repeatedly — up to $500 per false alarm.

But the restaurant, like some others, has not paid its fines, which now total $10,700, according to city records.

Before police began charging fees for false burglary and hold-up alarms in 2005, officers were responding to more than 40,000 false alarms a year, Gibson said. Since then, that number has fallen dramatically, with less than 20,000 false alarm runs through October of this year.

For more:  http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20121203/NEWS01/312030096/City-sues-collect-false-alarm-fines?odyssey=nav|head

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by | December 3, 2012 · 6:58 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Hotel Employee Causes Chemical Reaction By "Accidentally" Mixing Pool Chemicals, Forcing Evacuation; Hazmat Team Sent For Clean-Up

“…an employee had accidentally poured chlorine into a container of muriatic acid, causing a chemical chlorine gas leakreaction…since chlorine was diluted and poured down a drain by an employee, the Region of Peel’s hazardous materials team has also been sent to the hotel…”

A mishap with pool chemicals has forced some of the staff and guests at the Hilton Garden Inn on Traders Blvd. E. to be evacuated from the hotel this morning.

Everyone on the first floor of the building was evacuated as the Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services Department and police arrived. The second floor has now been evacuated after guests reported smelling chlorine. A Mississauga Transit bus has been sent to the hotel at 100 Traders Blvd. E., just east of Hurontario St.,  to accommodate those who have been forced outside. A decontamination area has been set up to help with the clean-up.

An ambulance has taken one person to Credit Valley Hospital.

For more:  http://www.mississauga.com/news/article/1547378–hotel-evacuated-after-pool-chemical-mix-up

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by | December 2, 2012 · 7:15 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Texas Hotel "Stairwell Fire" Forces Evacuation Of Nearly 400 Guests; Building Remains Without Power

“…Dallas Fire Rescue said the fire happened in the south stairwell on the third floor…electricity was shut off Hotel fire and smoke damageand the hotel remains without power…”

Hotel management said 387 people were listed as guests at the time of the fire and everyone evacuated.

A Downtown Dallas hotel fire caused the evacuation of nearly 400 guests on Saturday afternoon.

One person was taken to the hospital for further evaluation of possible burns.  Their name and condition have not been released. Paramedics treated some other people on scene for non-life threatening issues.

As of 5:30 p.m., the fire is extinguished but electricity has been shut off to the hotel.

Management is now allowing all guests to gather their belongings and transfer to another local hotel. Investigators are searching for the hotel fire’s cause.

For more:  http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Hundreds-Evacuated-In-Downtown-Dallas-Hotel-Fire-181695311.html

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by | November 29, 2012 · 8:47 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Satisfaction: Hotels Must Develop And Facilitate A "Mobile Device Strategy" That Pays "Careful Attention To Guests' Needs"

“…Given the rapid move to mobile devices by travelers, (hotels must) develop a “mobile strategy” that facilitates the use of mobile devices to make sure a hotel is noticed during a mobile search–and gets the business. Hotels must find a way to become part of guests’ mobile ecosystem, in part by paying more careful attention to guest needs…”

Two new publications from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) at the School of Hotel Administration outline technology issues and the effects of social media on the hospitality industry. A study by Cornell’s Chris Anderson confirms what hospitality operators have long suspected–social media reviews drive hotel reservations.

One particular value of analytics is that they can highlight and resolve problems with guest satisfaction that may not show up in conventional guest surveys. Hotel operators are aware that their property needs to appear near the top of web search results, and analytics can present techniques for making this happen, such as connecting the hotel with local attractions or events.

  • First, he documented the increasing influence of TripAdvisor, as the number of reviews consulted by consumers prior to booking a hotel room has steadily increased over time.
  • Second, an analysis of transactional data from Travelocity illustrated that a 1-point increase on Travelocity’s 5-point scale allows the hotel to increase its price by 11.2 percent and still maintain the same occupancy or market share.
  • Third, by matching ReviewPRO’s Global Review IndexTM with STR’s hotel sales and revenue data, Anderson’s analysis finds that a 1-percent increase in a hotel’s online reputation score leads up to a 0.89-percent increase in a hotel’s average daily rate (ADR), as well as an occupancy increase of up to 0.54 percent and up to a 1.42-percent increase in revenue per available room (RevPAR).

Perhaps most critically, customer reviews have now become a major discriminating point for customers’ determination of a hotel’s quality. Whereas price used to be used for that purpose, customers now put a greater weight on user-generated content on social media sites. Surprisingly, the fashion industry may be a model for how to use social media to promote hotel sales. People like to hear comments on how they look in a new outfit, so the issue is how to translate that kind of interaction to a restaurant meal or hotel stay.

For more:  http://www.equities.com/news/headline-story?dt=2012-11-29&val=770928&cat=service

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