Category Archives: Training

by | April 25, 2011 · 7:04 am

Hospitality Industry Fire Risks: Oklahoma Hotel Is Consumed By Fire Caused By "Electrical Short" But Fire Extinguishers And Good Escape Plans Prevent Tragedy

A three-alarm fire at America’s Best Value Inn and Suites near Mustang Rd. and I-40 forced people onto the streets as flames and smoke overtook their rooms.

“…Driven by the wind, flames quickly spread into the rafters and began pouring out of the roof…. Fire officials say the fire appears to have been caused by an electrical short…”

John Thompson works at the hotel and tried to put out the flames with fire extinguishers. He went through four of them before giving up and evacuating the area.

“We could only put out what was exposed,” Thompson said. “So, we knew it was a losing battle when it traveled.”

“Initially our concern was the wind. We had a pretty good breeze that was blowing through here and heavy smoke that was drifting all the way across Reno Avenue,” OKC Battalion Chief Greg Lindsay said.

Occupants in one of the rooms saw smoke coming from underneath the floor and pulled a fire alarm. Everyone was evacuated safely including two people who had to be rescued by ladder.

“Everything worked like it was supposed to and everybody was able to get out,” Lindsay said.

For more:  http://www.kfor.com/news/local/kfor-news-fires-apt-hotel-story,0,1882611.story

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by | April 20, 2011 · 6:37 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: "Extended-Stay" Hotels Can Be "Havens For Crime" Unless Extra Security Measures Are Implemented Including Use Of Off-Duty Police Officers And Criminal Record And Sex Offender Background Checks

Extended-stay hotels make up about 10 percent of the hotel industry, said Joe McInerney, president of the American Hotel and Lodging Association.

“…the list of crimes reported at a Value Place extended-stay hotel included prostitution, drug sales, methamphetimine manufacture, heroin use, drug overdoses, child pornography, theft and a rape.

“…City officials and hotel leaders met April 4 and hashed out an agreement…. The hotel agreed to employ an off-duty Arnold police officer 24 hours a day. The hotel already was checking to make sure potential guests weren’t sex offenders, but will now check for other criminal offenses, as well….”

City officials were fed up and threatened to revoke the hotel’s business license. But a recent agreement to curtail crime at the 124-unit hotel is working, authorities say.

“By word of mouth, one tells the other this is a place where you can set up shop and be unencumbered,” Unrein said. Police had been called to Value Place about 230 times since it opened, Unrein said. That’s more than triple the number of calls to the city’s three other hotels combined, he said.

Problems reached a head this month. The hotel is offering a free hotel room where an Arnold police officer can live and have allowed police dogs to roam the halls this month, said Gina-Lynne Smith, president of Value Place.

The chain has a hotel in St. Charles. Police get more calls for service at that hotel than others in town, but it’s certainly not a nuisance, said Sgt. Todd Wilson of the city’s police department.

The hotels are not popular everywhere. Subdivision residents in Oakand Park, Fla., launched a campaign to keep a Value Place from being built nearby. So far, they have succeeded.

Their guests range from those who can’t afford a lease to professionals away from home for a temporary job assignment or extended training.

Kell Stovall of Memphis, an estimator for a roofing company, said he is spending his third week at the Arnold Value Place. He plans to move to an apartment at the end of the month.

He considered staying elsewhere after hearing about the hotel’s history but opted not to leave because he hasn’t had any problems. He said police officers knock on his truck windows to check on him when he talks on his phone on the hotel’s lot.

For more:  http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_76aae994-5d06-5e84-aaf6-5d7f13adc180.html

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by | April 19, 2011 · 5:16 pm

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Hotel Management Must Remain Proactive In "Bed Bug Infestation" Prevention Through Use Of Professionals, "Good Passive Monitoring" And Detailed Action Plans

Trip Advisor, Bed Bug Registry, Bed Bug Database and other websites allow users to upload and track bed bug sightings and encounters online.

Bed Beg infestations at hotels can result in guilty verdicts against hotel owners if conscious and deliberate behavior led to infestations going untreated.

There is even a Bed Bug iPhone App that was launched late 2010.  

There are a number of proactive approaches that can be implemented to lessen their impact on your operations when they arrive. EcoGreenHotel spoke with Michael Merchant, PhD an urban entomologist for the Texas AgriLife Extension in Dallas to discuss ways to reduce your risk:
 

  1. Work with a Pest Management Professional (PMP) that has experience combating Bed bugs. Rely on the PMP’s experience and knowledge to guide you through all of the steps needed to prevent or eradicate an infestation. Bed bugs are complicated pests and are resistant to many traditional chemicals and treatment protocols.  An over-the-counter chemical remedy applied by an untrained hotel staff member could be a recipe for disaster.
  2. Employ good passive monitoring in your guest rooms. Glue or deadfall traps allow hotel owners to identify potential problems quickly and without great expense. If bed bugs are spotted in a trap, a well-trained PMP can quickly identify if the infestation is limited to one room or if it has spread to adjacent rooms. Canine units trained to detect bugs can also be brought in to help identify the extent of the infestation.
  3. Develop a bed bug action plan to educate all hotel staff members what to look for in the guest rooms and how to react quickly and effectively if a guest makes a complaint in person or online. Simple visual inspections by trained housekeepers looking at sheets, mattresses and other hiding areas is an inexpensive first line of defense.
  4. Use of mattress, pillow and box-spring encasements effectively eliminates the most common breeding grounds. A typical encasement set for a king bed can be purchased for around $150. It is extremely important that the mattress encasement be placed on both the mattress and the box springs. Encasements can also help eliminate allergens and dust mites that improve indoor air quality in your green hotel.
  5. Until a nationwide eradication strategy is implemented, we will continue to see this epidemic in hotels and other lodging facilities, homes, movie theaters, dormitories, and all of the other uninviting areas they reside nationwide. Hotels will definitely be subjected to bed bugs arriving with guests on a continual basis. The problem will not go away without a fight.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article54128.html

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by | April 15, 2011 · 10:13 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Satisfaction: "Hotel Room Cleanliness And Maintenance" Are #1 Guest-Reported Complaints And Problems

“…the most consistently reported problems from hotel guests across the country involve room cleanliness and maintenance, according to experts at Hospitality Staffing Solutions.”

“…Properties benefit when they can maintain a static number of permanent employees with relative job security while meeting the ever-changing demand that is inherent to the travel and tourism industry with help from staffing companies like HSS, which is equipped to meet the needs of most properties within 24 hours.”

A property can offer hundreds of amenities including a first-class spa, top-rated restaurants and an immaculate 18-hole golf course, but if a guest checks in and finds their room dirty, that guest may leave and never come back – and you can bet they’ll tell their friends (and probably Tweet) about it, too!
 
At HSS, housekeeping specialists undergo a selective recruiting process, which includes background checks, reference interviews and extensive training sessions. As a result, they are consistently listed at the top of posted room inspection scores. 

“Room attendants are the primary ambassadors of any guest-centric facility, so we are very picky,” said Holliday. “The key to ensuring high levels of excellence among back-of-house employees is to selectively recruit the best talent and motivate them by offering advancement opportunities tied to performance. This formula has worked very well for us.”
 
“Hotels often need to staff entire departments in a very short amount of time,” he said. ”

For more:  http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=20370

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by | April 8, 2011 · 10:53 am

Hospitality Industry Health Insurance: Law Firms Advise Hotel Ownership And Management To Prepare For Implementation Of Health Care Reform With "Wellness Programs" And State-Run "Insurance Exchanges" On The Way

Given the legal challenges to the proposed reform of the United States health care industry, there might be a temptation on the part of hoteliers to take a laid-back attitude toward preparing for the changes. That line of thinking, however, would be a mistake, said Scott Sinder, a partner in the Steptoe & Johnson law firm government affairs and public policy practice.

  • One of the biggest issues hotel companies will have to wrestle with will be whether to retain grandfather status, which refers to plans in place prior to 23 March 2010
  • Grandfathered plans, for example, can allow for changes to the network of providers but cannot impose new or decreased annual spending limits
  • The potential introduction of a wellness provision that provides funding for employers to establish wellness programs…will be the biggest key to keeping health-care costs down
  • The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that just 38% of the employees in the hospitality sector had access to health care as of March 2010 compared with 71% across all industries
  • Every state will eventually have an Insurance Exchange as most state lawsuits against health care reform will be settled before Presidential Election

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/5314/Hoteliers-should-assume-health-care-changes

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by | April 5, 2011 · 2:15 pm

Hospitality Industry Security And Terrorism Risks: "Eye On Awareness—Hotel Security And Anti-Terrorism Training" Online Video Course Offered By Hotel Association (Video)

CLICK ON "SEE" TO WATCH "EYE ON AWARENESS" PREVIEW

Hotel bombings in Baghdad, Jakarta, and Morocco—hospitality properties have become popular targets for terrorism in recent years. Not surprisingly, a majority of today’s guests list safety and security as their most important concern when planning a hotel stay.  How can your hotel ensure a sense of security and still offer a welcome and inviting environment for guests? A property’s front-line employees may well be the most crucial, yet often overlooked, element of effective hotel security.

Developed in partnership with international security experts, hospitality leaders, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s If You See Something, Say Something™ campaign, Eye on Awareness—Hotel Security and Anti-terrorism Training™ provides the skills and knowledge essential for hotel employees to recognize, report and react to suspicious situations at their property.

For more:  http://www.ahlei.org/eyeonawareness/

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by | March 31, 2011 · 10:05 am

Hospitality Industry Accident Risks: Texas Hotel Sued For Negligence In Guest "Slip And Fall" Injury

Pomrenke accuses Homewood Suites of negligence for not warning customers of the dangers of the wet floor or offering an alternative route around the area. She asks for an unspecified amount of money in damages for medical costs, loss of income and court fees. Pomrenke represents herself in this matter and asks for a jury trial.

A Harris County woman is suing a Memorial hotel after she allegedly dislocated her knee when she slipped on a wet lobby floor. Emily L. Pomrenke filed a lawsuit March 28 in Harris County District Court against Homewood Suites Hilton-Austin South.

According to the petition, Pomrenke was a guest of the Homewood Suites in April 2009. As she was walking in the hotel lobby with her son in the early afternoon, Pomrenke says, she slipped on the wet marble floor that had just been cleaned by the hotel staff. She alleges she dislocated her knee, bruised her tailbone and tore a retina in her right eye in the fall. Pomrenke claims an accident report was written up by the hotel manager and that she received a phone call from the hotel’s insurance carrier, which told her Homewood Suites would take full responsibility for the accident.

For more:  http://www.ultimatememorial.com/stories/239385-memorial-hotel-named-in-slip-and-fall-claim

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by | March 30, 2011 · 11:08 am

Hotel Pool Safety Risks: "Heavily Drinking Man" Drowns At Florida Hotel "Music Week Festival" Pool Party

The busy Miami Music Week festival claimed at least one life this weekend when a man drowned during a pool party at the Clevelander hotel. The 40-year-old man from out of town was swimming in the hotel’s pool after drinking heavily and drowned. The hotel was hosting the Nervous Pool Party at the time.

CBSMiami reports that the drowning occurred late Sunday afternoon. The man slipped below the surface, and despite efforts by onlookers to save him and perform CPR, he died.

The station also reports that the man and his friends were believed to be drinking heavily before going in the pool.

The Nervous Pool Party 2 was headlined by superstar DJs like Oscar G, Ralph Falcon, and Junior Sanchez.

For more:  http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2011/03/man_drowns_during_pool_party_a.php#

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by | March 28, 2011 · 12:10 pm

Hospitality Industry Legal Compliance Issues: Hotels Must Be Compliant With "Americans With Disabilities Act" (ADA) Regulations Including "Mobility Issues" For "Devices Other Than Wheelchairs"

Federal law requires hotels to give people with mobility issues access to their properties, including allowing them to use devices other than wheelchairs as long as they do not raise legitimate safety concerns. The type, size and speed of the device, along with the amount of pedestrian traffic all factor into the decision.

One major change deals with the information available to people making room reservations. The idea is that people with disabilities should be able to book hotel rooms with the same efficiency, immediacy and convenience as those who do not need accessible guest rooms. The provision applies whether people are making reservations by phone, in person, on a website or though a third-party provider such as a travel agent or OTA.

Hotels must identify and describe the hotel’s accessible features in enough detail so potential guests can determine if the hotel can meet their needs, McCullough said.

Hotels also have an obligation to hold accessible guest rooms for people with disabilities unless all other guestrooms of that type have been rented. For example, McCullough said, if a hotel has 25 double-bed rooms and two are designated accessible, the reservation service must rent all 23 of non-accessible before it rents the two to people without disabilities. The rule does not apply to unique rooms such as a penthouse or bridal suite.

The difficulty is making sure that the reservation system accommodates this requirement, since the rule applies to reservations made through all channels.

“That will be a technical hurdle for your companies to leap over within the 11 months,” McCullough said. “I hope you are working on this particular issue.”

Another change requires that hotels honor a specific guest room request from customers with disabilities, even if it’s a policy of a hotel to not hold specific rooms.

For more:  http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=20172

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by | March 24, 2011 · 7:42 am

Hotel Industry Employee Injury Risks: Video From The "Health And Safety Authority" In Ireland Demonstrates "Risk Factors" Associated With Housekeepers Handling Of Laundry

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

  • Manual Handling Case Study 15 Handling Hotel Linen
  • On Screen Text: Manual Handling: Handling of linen in a hotel bedroom
  • Hotel employee removing linen from hotel bedroom
  • Scene 1:
    A hotel employee has just finished changing the linen on a bed. He walks out of the hotel room and down a corridor to throw the linen into an already-full black bag. He then throws the bag over his shoulder and down the corridor further, and throws the black bag into a lift. The lift is already full of other black linen bags.
  • On Screen Text:
    Need to carry out a risk assessment of this task
    Look at how the job is carried out
    Collect information: Load weight, etc
    Identify risk factors with the job
    Make changes to improve the job
  • On Screen Text:
    Risk Factors/Problems
  • Scene 2:
    Still image of character throwing the bag into the lift. Large Red “X” marks indicate the risk factors with the job.
    Load is too heavy
    Load is too large
    Difficult to grasp
    Physical effort is too strenuous
    Bending and twisting of the trunk
  • On Screen Text:
    The new system of work: Assess risk to reduce and reorganise manual handling
  • Scene 3:
    The hotel employee put the used bed linen into a linen trolley, rolls the trolley out of the room and down the corridor to the waiting lift. He rolls the trolley into the lift.
  • On Screen Text:
    Manual Handling : Assess to avoid, reduce or reorganise

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