by | February 5, 2014 · 8:30 am

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Mission Valley Travelodge Owners Agree to Increase Security Measures to Thwart Prostitution”

“…Tourism is one of San Diego’s largest industries, guests to our city should feel safe and secure during their stay,” said City Attorney Jan Goldsmith.Image “Our office will continue to combat illegal activity such as prostitution and will work diligently to hold business owners accountable and clean up neighborhoods…” 

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – The owners of the Travelodge motel in Mission Valley have agreed to increase security measures to thwart prostitution activity, the San Diego City Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

Mission Valley Travelodge Joint Venture and WW Lodging Ltd. are to hire onsite security guards and reimburse the city of San Diego more than $18,000 in investigative costs, according to the deal reached last week.

The partnership that owns and manages the motel at 1201 Hotel Circle S. already have installed more security cameras, posted signs to deter criminal activity and improved registration policies to include the photocopying of all guest and visitor identification cards and registering of all guest and visitor vehicles, the City Attorney’s Office said.

For more: http://www.sandiego6.com/story/owners-of-mission-valley-travelodge-agree-to-increase-security-measures-to-thwart-prostitution-activity-20140203

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by | February 4, 2014 · 9:00 am

Hospitality Industry Liability Risk: “Legally Speaking: Avoiding Bath Fall Liability”

“…But knowing that shower areas present risks is not a trade secret shared only among guests. Hoteliers are also in the know. That fact imposes on inns a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable bathroom mishaps. bathThose steps include installation and ongoing maintenance of any of the following: non-skid strips on the tub or shower floor, a bathmat, handrails along the walls of the tub for gripping and/or like devices designed to reduce the dangers. Failure to provide, and keep in good form, these simple apparatus deprives the guest of protection against falling, and in many states opens the door, to a founded lawsuit…”

Some issues in hotel law come and go. Falls in slippery bathtubs have a sticking quality. Liability in this type of lawsuit can be avoided but it takes some attention to those porcelain bastions of cleanliness.

In the typical case a guest is showering, loses his balance and falls. Because floors and walls surrounding showers are customarily rock-hard, injuries are likely to occur and be substantial.

So, who’s at fault? The answer is: it depends. Yes, guests should know that tubs and shower stalls are, by their very nature, slippery and potentially dangerous. And, yes, guests should therefore use caution to protect themselves from injury.

For more: http://hlconverge.com/index.php/component/k2/item/781-legally-speaking-avoiding-bath-fall-liability

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by | February 3, 2014 · 8:10 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Z-Wave Technology: Offering Hotels a Wireless Energy Management Solution”

“…As someone in the hospitality industry you probably recognize that it isn’t all about costs, you have to keep your guests happy too. Image This system allows guests to have various room functions to suit their needs, with settings that are easily adjusted – this helps to make sure that your guests check-out of their room nothing less than happy…”

“…You can easily install back-office software which allows you to monitor and control your energy consumption. This allows you to always know where you stand and know where you might be able to make small changes. Of course you also have the added benefit that this is great for the environment…”

If you’re in charge of a hotel, then of course running costs are going to be one of your priorities. With any business you’ll want to keep outgoings to a minimum, but in the hospitality industry this can be tough.

The problem with this type of industry is that you aren’t always in charge of your outgoings – after all, you don’t know how long a guest will leave the hot water running or how much electricity they’ll use on an overnight stay.

For more: http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article76195.html

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by | January 31, 2014 · 9:00 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risk: “The Bed Bugs Rise Again”

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For the full size image: http://visual.ly/bed-bugs-rise-again

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by | January 30, 2014 · 8:32 am

P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Regulating the Use of Electronic Cigarettes by Hotel Guests” Presented by Loss Control Manager Marco Johnson of Petra Risk Solutions (Video)

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/85264426 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Regulating the Use of Electronic Cigarettes by Hotel Guests’. 

P3 ( Petra Plus Process) is the Risk Management Division of Petra Risk Solutions – America ’s largest independent insurance brokerage devoted exclusively to the hospitality marketplace.

For more information on Petra and P3 visit petrarisksolutions.com or call 800.466.8951.

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by | January 29, 2014 · 8:30 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risk: “With Better Security Technology, Hotels Shore Up Blind Spots”

“…In New Orleans, Mike E. Cahn III, president of the Greater New Orleans Hotel and Lodging Association security network, says he sends surveillance tapes showing criminal activity to other area hotels, and to the police,Image who sometimes put them on YouTube. Recently a man stole a laptop from a conference room, Mr. Cahn said, and within 24 hours, he was recognized from the distributed video footage and apprehended…”

At a poker tournament in Barcelona last September, Jens Kyllönen, a professional player, said that his room at Hotel Arts was broken into and malware was installed on his computer to transmit anything he saw on his screen as he played. Despite video camera systems and electronic key card entry logs, no one was caught.

Although he said he discovered the malware in time, he says he is much more careful now about where he stores his belongings and secures his computer. Hotel Arts declined to comment, saying it was a private event.

His case is just one in what has become a technological cat-and-mouse game between hotels and criminals.

For more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/28/business/with-better-security-technology-hotels-shore-up-blind-spots.html?_r=0

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by | January 28, 2014 · 8:38 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risk: “Woman Forced to Cut Dreadlocks After Bedbugs Found in Suburban Chicago Hotel Room: Lawsuit”

“…Harder to explain is the trauma affecting travel for me now. I travel a lot for work, and every time I stay at a hotel I just get filled with anxiety…”453857859

“…Brumfield claims that on the second day of her stay at the hotel in Oct. 2012 a manager said an inspection of her room was needed after the bloodsucking Cimex Lectularius insects were found next door…”

A tennis coach was forced to cut off her waist-length dreadlocks after finding bedbugs in her suburban Chicago hotel room, a lawsuit claims.

Donna Brumfield alleges she had to hack off the cherished mane she’d been growing for 13 years after the creepy critters set up home on her head.

For more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-forced-cut-dreadlocks-bedbugs-found-hotel-room-lawsuit-article-1.1590046

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by | January 27, 2014 · 9:04 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Smartphones to Open Doors at Some Hotels”

“…Guests at these properties will receive a message on a Starwood app containing a virtual key, which will unlock the door with a tap or twist of their phone through the use of Bluetooth technology.Image The company says the iPhone 4s or newer models and the Android phones running 4.3 or newer will be compatible…”

“…Nevertheless, many hotel operators have been searching for ways to eliminate the bottlenecks that can form at a hotel’s front desk. The delays are the bane of many a road warrior’s travel experience…”

Guests arriving at the Aloft Hotel in Manhattan or one in Silicon Valley will soon be able to do something hotels have dreamed about offering for years: walk past the check-in desk and enter their rooms by using a smart phone as a room key.

The boutique hotel brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. plans to offer this feature at two hotels, in the Harlem neighborhood and in Cupertino, Calif., before the end of the quarter.

For more: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304856504579339130820876304?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304856504579339130820876304.html

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by | January 24, 2014 · 9:27 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: “Slaying the Silent Killer, Carbon Monoxide”

“…Fireplaces, boilers, water heaters, pool-heating equipment, gas-powered tools, barbecues and cooking equipment are the most common types of fossil-fuel-burning equipment found in hotels,” said Todd Seiders, director of risk management at Petra Risk Solutions….” 20140123_carbonmonoxide_feature

“…Carbon monoxide is a gas, so it’s going to penetrate solids and seep into any open spaces just like cigarette smoke does,” said Stephen Barth, professor of hotel law at the University of Houston and the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com. “The problem is it’s deadly because you can’t see it, taste it or smell it. They call it the silent killer….”

REPORT FROM THE U.S.—Three deaths linked to a faulty pipe that allegedly exposed guests to a lethal dose of carbon monoxide at a Best Western in Boone, North Carolina, have hoteliers stressing the importance of carbon-monoxide safety.

With rare exceptions, hotels all have sources of carbon monoxide, sources said, and without proper installation, maintenance and inspection, hotel owners and managers could be putting their guests at risk.

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by | · 8:33 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Update: “Police Arrest Two of Weld County’s Most Wanted After Hotel Employee Recognized Duo From Photos Aired on News”

“…When the couple tried to check into the Best Western Brighton Inn, 15151 Brighton Road near U.S. 85, an employee recognized them from the photos and immediately called the Brighton Police Department…”Image

“…Montiel and Ureste — who also go by Destiny Lucero and Danny Montiel, respectively — were wanted in Weld County for multiple cases of identity theft, criminal mischief and failure to appear for court dates…”

Police on Wednesday arrested two of Weld County’s most wanted after a vigilant hotel employee recognized the pair from a news broadcast earlier in the evening.

Bianca Montiel, 24, and Christopher Ureste, 25, were arrested on suspicion of entering unlocked vehicles that were parked at day care facilities, stealing credit cards and racking up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges, said Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur.

The pair would wait in the parking lot of the centers early in the morning while parents dropped their children off. When parents took the kids inside, the suspects would enter the unlocked vehicles, steal purses and then use credit cards at local retailers.

For more: http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/9875062-113/police-satur-weld-arrest

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