Video

Hospitality Industry Legal Risk: “Parents File Lawsuit on Behalf of Teenage Girl Critically Injured in Panama City Parasailing Accident”

“…This lack of oversight means no one is keeping tabs on parasailing operators to make sure ropes that are damaged by sun and saltwater are replaced,” said Chalik who has spent years pushing for reform. “Parasailing should be a fun and safe activity, but parasailing companies that cut corners or disregard the safety of their customers can turn the popular beachside pastime into a dangerous and even deadly trip…”

PANAMA CITY, FL and ROANOKE, IN–(Marketwired – January 23, 2014) - The family of an Indiana teenage girl critically injured in a horrific parasailing accident last summer in Panama City, Fla. has filed a negligence lawsuit against the parasailing company, its owner and the hotel that operated the excursions.

On July 1, 2013, 17-year-old Alexis Fairchild of Huntington, Ind., and her friend Sidney Good of Roanoke, Ind., went up in tandem when strong winds snapped their parasail free from its boat below. Witnesses watched in horror as the girls were flung across the shoreline, smashed into a nearby condo rooftop and were dragged into a power line, before plunging into cars parked below.

“Aquatic Adventures Management Group, which operated Why Knot Parasail, not only ignored the fact that weather conditions had deteriorated, but failed to operate the boat a safe distance from shore,” said attorney Deborah Chalik, partner at The Law Offices of Chalik and Chalik, who filed the suit on in Bay County, Fla. on behalf of Alexis’ parents Michael and Angelia Fairchild. Chalik and Chalik has successfully represented a number of cases regarding parasailing accidents.

For more: http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/parents-file-lawsuit-on-behalf-teenage-girl-critically-injured-panama-city-parasailing-1871901.htm

For the original article: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/florida-parasailing-victim-sidney-good-breaks-silence-article-1.1587594

(Visited 132 times, 1 visits today)

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risk: “Parents File Lawsuit on Behalf of Teenage Girl Critically Injured in Panama City Parasailing Accident”

by | January 23, 2014 · 8:41 am
by | January 22, 2014 · 8:42 am

Hospitality Industry Business Practices: “Bitcoin To Be Accepted For Food and Lodging In Two Las Vegas Hotels”

“…Using bitcoins for the casinos itself won’t be happening anytime soon. State regulators, particularly the Nevada Gaming Control Board, are being more cautious about acknowledging and accepting the new type of currency.Image The gaming industry isn’t particularly keen on pushing for it either. This is almost in contrast to the government of Singapore who just recently recognized Bitcoin as a valid, and therefore taxable, currency…”

Bitcoin has been making waves across the world, and now the cryptocurrency craze has reached the good city of Las Vegas. Starting Wednesday, two hotels in Las Vegas, including the The Golden Gate, the city’s oldest casino, will start accepting Bitcoin payments but only for hotel expenses.

Four years have already passed since Bitcoin came into being, but this new kind of currency only truly exploded last year, sometimes to rather insane heights. While it still mainly remains an oddity and curiosity for many, it has started to be become quite literally a serious business for others, including some governments.

For more: http://www.slashgear.com/bitcoin-to-be-accepted-for-food-and-lodging-in-two-las-vegas-hotels-21314010/

(Visited 40 times, 1 visits today)

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Business Practices: “Bitcoin To Be Accepted For Food and Lodging In Two Las Vegas Hotels”

Filed under Hotel Bar, Hotel Restaurant, Management And Ownership, Technology

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | January 21, 2014 · 8:02 am

Hospitality Industry Maintenance Update: “Hotel & Building Maintenance Tips”

Image

To see full size infographic: http://visual.ly/hotel-building-maintenance-tips

(Visited 182 times, 1 visits today)

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Maintenance Update: “Hotel & Building Maintenance Tips”

Filed under Guest Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

Aside

Hospitality Industry Employment Practices Update: “The Hotel Industry Needs To Stop Trying To Please Their Customers!”

“…There is less of an attachment of what’s in it for me when you’re primarily focused on making somebody feel good about themselves, versus trying to please them. customer serviceThe motivation and incentives have to be on a much higher level when you are positioning people in your organization to attempt to please your customers, versus when you have your organization focus on making their customers feel good about themselves through their interactions with the guests…”

If they truly want their customers to be pleased by their hotels’ brand experience.

As I just talked about in my recent three-part article series, which focused on creating a new strategy for enhancing the hotels’ business model performance by decoding the hotel guest experience, I wrote about this crazy notion in part three of the series. (It’s really not about trying to please customers, per se. It’s really more about making them feel good about themselves while they are experiencing your hotel’s brand of hospitality offerings.)

You are really not there to please your customers, as crazy as that may sound. Businesses that make their customers feel good about themselves as a result of their business experience offering don’t have to play that inauthentic game of trying to please people, or try to inspire and motivate their organization to do so either. They are more focused on strategically creating and managing a business experience that generates a strong emotional connection with their customers that fosters positive memories from all the different attributes and qualities of the business experience.

For more: http://www.fivestarcustomerexperiencedesign.com/blog/2013/10/hotel-industry-needs-stop-trying-please-customers/?utm_content=buffer4b0ee&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer

(Visited 909 times, 1 visits today)

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employment Practices Update: “The Hotel Industry Needs To Stop Trying To Please Their Customers!”

by | January 20, 2014 · 9:43 am
by | January 17, 2014 · 8:34 am

Hospitality Industry Food Safety Update: “Under New Food Safety Law, Bartenders Have to Wear Gloves”

“…In an effort to educate restaurant operators and health inspectors, the law will undergo a “soft roll-out” during the next six months to a year,Image according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. No points will be deducted when food handlers are not wearing gloves, but restaurant operators will receive a warning instead…”

Chefs aren’t the only ones affected by a new food safety law that bans culinary workers from touching certain foods with their bare hands. Like chefs, bartenders have to wear gloves or use other utensils to make their drinks. No touching ice, fruit garnishes or anything else that goes directly into your glass.

Changes to the California Retail Food Code that went into effect at the beginning of 2014 require disposable gloves or utensils such as tongs, paper or scoops to be used when handling “ready-to-eat” foods, which include sushi, bread, deli meats and fresh fruit and vegetables. Basically, nothing that won’t be cooked or reheated before it goes out to diners can be touched with bare hands.

For more: http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-under-new-food-safety-law-bartenders-have-to-wear-gloves-20140114,0,7520647.story#axzz2qTxmrCcS

(Visited 107 times, 1 visits today)

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Food Safety Update: “Under New Food Safety Law, Bartenders Have to Wear Gloves”

Filed under Employment Practices Liability, Food Illnesses, Hotel Bar, Hotel Restaurant, Management And Ownership, Training

Tagged as , , , ,

by | January 16, 2014 · 8:13 am

Hospitality Industry Cyber Security Risk: “The Target and Neiman Marcus Breaches: What Hoteliers Need To Know”

“…Most of all, hotel companies need to make a commitment to secure the sensitive information of their companies and their guests, and to seek out informed consultants and advisers.Image Information security is a relatively new and rapidly changing area, and requires specialized knowledge; the investment today can protect a hotel from being front page news — for the wrong reasons — later. Developing a comprehensive information privacy and security program…”

The recent headlines about the Target and Neiman Marcus security breach with customer credit cards highlights a growing crisis that concerns owners and operator of hotels as well as retailers. In this article, Bob Braun, one of the senior members of our Global Hospitality Group® who focuses on data security — when he is not working on hotel management or franchise agreements — gives us some thoughts on what to do about this problem.

The Target and Neiman Marcus problem. When 50 million Americans – more than 15% of the nation’s population – wake up to find that their credit card information was compromised while Christmas shopping, we all take note. When we find out that there were 70 million victims, and the information went far beyond credit card information, and that it wasn’t just one chain, Target, but at least four more, including Neiman Marcus (which estimates 40 million payment card numbers were compromised), we should start to look at our own businesses and procedures to think about how we should plan for and respond to these malicious attacks.

For more: http://www.hospitalitynet.org/column/global/154000392/4063594.html

(Visited 58 times, 1 visits today)

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Cyber Security Risk: “The Target and Neiman Marcus Breaches: What Hoteliers Need To Know”

Filed under Crime, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | January 15, 2014 · 8:42 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “State and Local Laws that Challenge a Hotel’s Existence: Alcohol License Regimes”

“…Hotel executives cannot escape the complex ins and outs of alcohol licensing.  However, there is no reason to fear the application and renewal process or to make assumptions about the limits of your hotel’s existing license.Bar If you are armed with the right questions,then you can more competently discuss these issues with your legal counsel and local alcohol licensing staff. Ask your legal counsel if you have the appropriate license and see if any of your current practices exceed the boundaries of the hotel’s alcohol license…”

The alcohol licensing process for hotels involves a patchwork of state and local regulation that can be difficult to navigate.  Licensing is often highly localized and variable.  Nevertheless, a hotel executive should have a working knowledge of the legal questions to ask in order to understand the bounds of their existing alcohol license.  After all, the alcohol license provides a valuable source of revenue for the business and offers an avenue to provide amenities to guests that encourage repeat patronage.  Conversely, violations of local regulation can result in costly fines and revocation of existing licenses that affect the profitability and marketability of the property.

For more: http://hlconverge.com/index.php/component/k2/item/760-state-and-local-laws-that-challenge-a-hotel-s-existence-alcohol-license-regimes

(Visited 52 times, 1 visits today)

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “State and Local Laws that Challenge a Hotel’s Existence: Alcohol License Regimes”

Filed under Hotel Bar, Hotel Restaurant, Licensing, Management And Ownership

Tagged as , , , , ,

by | January 14, 2014 · 8:47 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Update: “L.A. May Hike Minimum Wage for Hotel Workers to Highest in U.S.”

Image

“Hotel owners and their representatives say a $15 minimum would trigger higher room rates and worker layoffs, as managements struggle to keep costs under control. The owners argue it’s unfair to take a piecemeal approach to pay rules — singling out a few industries or geographic areas.”

Labor leaders hope a proposal that would dramatically raise the minimum wage in Los Angeles for workers at large hotels to roughly $15 an hour will be a step toward pay hikes for other industries.

Members of the City Council expected to propose that large hotels pay their workers $15.37 an hour – more than double the national minimum of $7.25 an hour and push far above California’s rate of $8.

Union leaders want the increase to apply at hotels with 100 rooms or more, saying such a hike would lift housekeepers, busboys and maintenance workers out of poverty and inject much-needed cash into a  languorous local economy.

For more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-la-minimum-wage-hike-hotel-workers-20140114,0,2611025.story#axzz2qOCybJiD

(Visited 26 times, 1 visits today)

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Employee Update: “L.A. May Hike Minimum Wage for Hotel Workers to Highest in U.S.”

Filed under Employee Benefits, Labor Issues, Management And Ownership, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | January 13, 2014 · 8:40 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: “Kari’s Law: Murder Victim’s Family Campaigns To Change Hotel Policy”

“When we do this we want to do it right so people can feel comfortable when they have to dial 911 and they get an emergency dispatcher,” ImageGohmert told local TV station KETK. “Even adults when they’re witnessing something terribly traumatic will not be thinking about ‘what do I dial to get an outside line?’ They’d be running and dialing 911.”

“We are attempting to ensure that any person needing police, EMS or the Fire Department at any hotel or motel location may be able to dial the numbers 911 and receive emergency response,”

It was Dec. 1, 2013, and Kari Rene Hunt lie on the brink of death in a hotel room in East Texas. The eldest of her three children, a 9-year-old daughter, attempted to call 911 for help, but because she had no idea that she would have to dial 9 first to get an outside line, the call never went through and her mother succumbed to her wounds. Now, Hunt’s father Hank is out to ensure that hotels across the nation do away with systems that require dialing anything before 911 to make certain that the same scenario doesn’t happen again.

“We are attempting to ensure that any person needing police, EMS or the Fire Department at any hotel or motel location may be able to dial the numbers 911 and receive emergency response,” Hank said in a petition on Change.org. “In a panic, any underage child — or for that matter, anyone in an emergency situation — should be able to depend on dialing 911 from any phone in the United States and receiving assistance.”

For more: http://www.ibtimes.com/karis-law-murder-victims-family-campaigns-change-hotel-policy-1536166

(Visited 34 times, 1 visits today)

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: “Kari’s Law: Murder Victim’s Family Campaigns To Change Hotel Policy”

Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , ,

by | January 10, 2014 · 8:12 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: “Costa Mesa to Slap Hotels With Fines For Too Many Police Calls”

“…Under the ordinance approved Tuesday, motels and hotels could incur fines of hundreds of dollars if they generate above an average 0.4 calls per room per month for recurring “nuisance activities.” Those activities were defined as including persistent noise, gang-related crime,Image illegal use of a firearm, disturbing the peace, illegal use or sale of fireworks, drug possession or sale, underage drinking and loud parties. Violent felonies are also covered…”

Costa Mesa hotels will have to pay a fine if they attract an “excessive” amount of police attention under a new law aimed at properties run by what one City Council member referred to as “slumlords.”

Under the ordinance approved Tuesday, motels and hotels could incur fines of hundreds of dollars if they generate above an average 0.4 calls per room per month for recurring “nuisance activities.” Those activities were defined as including persistent noise, gang-related crime, illegal use of a firearm, disturbing the peace, illegal use or sale of fireworks, drug possession or sale, underage drinking and loud parties. Violent felonies are also covered.

Reporting domestic violence and summoning fire or ambulance services, however, are not considered nuisance activities under the ordinance, the Daily Pilot reported.

For more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-costa-mesa-hotels-fines-police-calls-20140109,0,1005916.story#axzz2q0jOZxiH

(Visited 136 times, 1 visits today)

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: “Costa Mesa to Slap Hotels With Fines For Too Many Police Calls”

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , , , ,