Tag Archives: Guest Safety
Hotel Industry Risk Management: “GuestChecker.com” And Its “Twitter” Site Represent A Trend In Current And Future Web-Based Solutions To Guest Security Issues
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Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology
Hotel Industry Health And Safety Issues: Bed Bug Infestations Have Been Reported In All 50 States And Restricted Use Of Pesticides Will Make Eradication Efforts Difficult (Video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAEavqJS9eI]
Prior to World War I, nearly 30 percent of all homes were infested with bed bugs. Widespread use of pesticides such as DDT all but eradicated bed bugs for nearly 50 years. But with declining use of pesticides and the elimination of DDT, bed bugs have staged a comeback and are reported in all 50 states. There is even an iPhone app that allows users to track bed bug sightings. Dr. Jeffrey Levin of the U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler discusses bed bugs in this post to the U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler’s YouTube Channel.
Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
Hotel Industry Security Risk Management: “Fingerprint Entry Systems” Are Starting To Become More Common As A “Reliable” Guest Security Option
If you want to get into your room at New York’s SoHo Loft, you’re going to have to lift a finger. The seven-room hotel has a fingerprint entry system. Guests touch the door pad 
then enter a code for extra security. Kimpton’s 190-room Nine Zero Hotel in Boston was the first hotel to install a biometric iris scanner back in 2004, but only guests of the 1,065-square-foot Cloud Nine penthouse suite have to bat their eyelashes.
Those plastic key cards that once seemed so innovative will soon go the way of the actual key. The new thing is contact less Smartcards and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) cards that need just be waved to allow room access.
Much like the cruise world’s one card system, these cards may soon make hotel stays easier by allowing guests to pay for services, as well as to check-in and check-out, through a single device. Travelers may even be able to save preferences on the cards, from pillow type to floor choice. RFID cards are already in use at New York’s Plaza Hotel, and Starwood Hotels are considering introducing them into their hip Aloft and Element properties.
But travelers worried they will constantly have to traipse back to reception every time they lose their card need not despair. Security systems in some hotels do away with cards altogether.
 “In addition to Radio Frequency Identification, there are also systems that use a smartphone, such as an iPhone,” says Frank Wolfe, CEO of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals. “When a guest checks into a hotel and provides their phone number, they get an encrypted sound code via text message.” You can then play back the code to unlock your room door.
Yet more card-free security systems are on the way. They may still be minor blips on the greater hotel horizon, but biometric systems that seem right out of Mission Impossible have been introduced in the U.S. If you want to get into your room at New York’s SoHo Loft, you’re going to have to lift a finger. The seven-room hotel has a fingerprint entry system. Guests touch the door pad then enter a code for extra security. Kimpton’s 190-room Nine Zero Hotel in Boston was the first hotel to install a biometric iris scanner back in 2004, but only guests of the 1,065-square-foot Cloud Nine penthouse suite have to bat their eyelashes. The uses for biometrics don’t have to stop at the guestroom door, either. The Nine Zero also uses the technology to make the property safer all round, as it has installed the LG IrisAccess 3000 at the employee and delivery entries to the hotel, as well, meaning that non-staff members and intruders can’t access the property.
For more:Â http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/10/29/the-future-of-hotel-security/
Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Hotel Industry Guest Relations: Hotels Will Increasingly Opt For “Check-In Kiosks” To Provide “Cozy, One-On-One Welcomes” To Improve Guest Satisfaction
 The key is removing the barrier between the guest and the hotel — be it for better service, streamlining, experience or profit. The sitting-behind-a-desk days are not what travelers 
want,†Sinclair said. “However the hotel chain chooses to roll it out — kiosks, check-in pedestals, tablets or iPads — you walk to the lobby and whoever you speak to can handle your entire needs …
“Traditional front desks, however, may be destined for a scrap heap teeming with bygone lobby fixtures like key boxes, desk bells and hat racks. Some mid-market chains already are dumping imposing check-in counters for cozy, one-on-one welcomes or for virtual check-ins through kiosks or mobile devices.
When Sherry Richert Bulel entered the Andaz West Hollywood in February, she was greeted by a “host†who offered her wine, a comfy chair and room selection via his laptop. “There was no looming desk between us to indicate that he was the hotel staff and I was the guest,†said Richert Bulel, author and founder of simplycelebrate.net, which creates tribute books for special occasions. “I immediately relaxed.â€
In addition to Andaz, Courtyard by Marriott has renovated 201 of its 800 U.S. lobbies, swapping its standard front desks for smaller “welcome pedestals†that allow clerks to step out to meet patrons, then step back to check them in. Courtyard will finish the makeover by 2013.
Meanwhile, Starwood has used one of its urban-style Aloft hotels to test a tech-driven welcome service. Several thousand customers who already carried Starwood Preferred Guest cards were texted their room numbers before arriving at the Aloft Lexington in Massachusetts, allowing them to bypass the front desk and head to their floor.Â
FITs, or Free Independent Travelers. In general, FITs have above-average income, prefer to roam alone, in small groups or as couples, avoid tourist tracks, research their explorations via their mobile devices, and spend freely. They are, Sinclair said, “now the dominant market traveler being sought after by most major brands.†FITs, experts believe, prefer hotels that offer texted check-in codes or lobby kiosks that spit out room keys. So how long until old-school front desks vanish from most or maybe all mid-market hotels?
“Within the next 36 months,†forecasts James Sinclair, principal of OnSite Consulting, a national restaurant and hospitality consulting company. His clients include W Hotels and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Related: Tech-savvy travelers embrace self-service model “ You sit on a couch and wait your turn rather than (stand) behind Bob who is arguing that he didn’t have the salt-and-honey peanuts from the minibar.†Viewed from the bottom line, chopping the front desk also “makes sense for the hotel in terms of profit maximization,†Sinclair said. “As the hotel market has become more competitive with the various online practices and the need to refocus on margins, there are only a few areas that can be looked at.†Number one: payroll. No front desks, or smaller versions, could allow hotels to operate with fewer employees. What’s next? No beds? Then again, that’s the chief reason why some mega-mile travelers — like comedian Dan Nainan — hate the downsizing of check-in counters. Spending huge chunks of their lives on the road, they befriend hotel employees and feel somewhat protective of them. “If I ever see a hotel without a front desk, I can guarantee you that that is a hotel I would never, ever, ever patronize,†said Nainan, who flew 200,000 miles last year. “I will turn right around on my heel and march out of that place so fast I will actually do a wheelie. What brilliant cost-cutting move will they think of next? How about hotel rooms with no beds? Imagine the savings!†But hotel chains say de-emphasizing, shrinking or removing the front desk simply gives their guests more options. Further, the tactic is part of a larger shift, they say, to entice patrons to spend more time — working or relaxing — in attractive, compelling lobbies. Courtyard’s fresh, first-floor face, which costs the chain about $750,000 per makeover, includes free WiFi, “media pods†where patrons can plug in laptops and watch TVs, plus a 57-inch, LCD touch screen — the “GoBoard†— that provides news, weather, and directions to local attractions. An eat-in bistro — “Starbucks meets Panera,†they say — offers breakfast, then later a casual dinner and cocktails. About three years ago, Courtyard’s lobby designers used Styrofoam cutouts to simulate changes — including the “welcome pedestals.â€
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Filed under Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Management And Ownership, Training
Hotel Industry Guest Issues: Hotel Guest Databases Such As “GuestChecker.com” Can Assist Hotel Management In Avoiding “Problem Guests”
“Many hotels now refuse guests based on their perceived or real behavior,” the story says. “For example many hotels in Florida and the Caribbean will not accept 
reservations for “Spring Break” groups. In Europe, hotels shy away from groups of British Soccer fans.”
Hotels are increasingly interested in swapping information with each other about “bad” guests, just like guests do with “bad” hotels using TripAdvisor, according to Hospitality Business News.
Most hotel guests, naturally, are good.
But when hotels do encounter guests who, for instance, call their credit card company to reverse a charge, assault another guest or even smoke in a non-smoking area, they just might wind up in the type of database maintained by GuestChecker.com.
For more:Â Â http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2010/10/hotel-blacklist-how-do-hotels-define-a-bad-hotel-guest/127726/1
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Filed under Guest Issues, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft
Hospitality Industry Guest Relations: “Problem Prevention” Is The Key To Customer Satisaction
J.D. Power and Associates continues to observe that high levels of customer satisfaction 
are dependent on problem prevention, rather than problem resolution. That is not to say that service recovery is not required when a guest experiences a significant problem; however, it is more difficult to achieve the satisfaction level of those guests who don’t experience a problem in the first place, than for guests who experience problems that are eventually resolved.
Across the industry, overall satisfaction is 144 points higher when guests did not experience a significant problem (781), compared with when they did (637). While there is a significant gap in satisfaction among the guests for whom the problem was resolved (705), compared with those for whom the problem remained unresolved (582), satisfaction still falls significantly below that of guests who did not experience a problem in the first place.
While it is possible to so impress and exceed a guest’s expectations during recovery that they are more satisfied after recovery than if they never had a problem, these are rare occurrences. We certainly would not advocate creating false problems in order to heroically swoop in and solve the problems for guests as a business model, but it does reinforce the important opportunity recovery represents. It makes a statement to guests about your brand and how you value their business.
You might wonder, what are the most frequently occurring problems that guests cite?
Across the industry, the top three problems guests cited are:
- Noise
- Hotel/room maintenance
- Heating ventilation and AC problems
For more:Â http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/4128/Guest-problems-better-prevented-than-resolved
Filed under Guest Issues, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
Hotel Industry Risk Management: Hotel Management Must Have Policy For War Veterans Using “Service Dogs” (Video)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7gToiVKY8g]
An Iraq veteran was on the verge of being kicked out of her temporary home, all over her service dog.
KOB Eyewitness News 4 cameras were rolling as police showed up. Retired Army Sergeant Erin Hunt is recovering from post traumatic stress disorder. Helping her is Memphis, a service dog given to her by the non profit “Paws and Stripes.”
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Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Risk Management, Training
Hotel Industry Security Risk Management: Hotel Management Can Limit Guest Theft Liability By Maintaining Room Locks, Posting Legal Notices, And Keeping Back And Side Entrances Closed And Locked
Security expert Chris McGoey of  CrimeDoctor.com defended the hotel’s security practices with one 
exception, the back door not requiring a key card to open. He says that if the victims’ story is true, it’s quite possible the theft was committed by another hotel guest.
Gallagher says he’s considered suing the hotel, but under state law, the hotel would most likely not be liable for the lost belongings because it provided locks for the suite and likely posted the various required legal notices inside of it.
As was later reported in the Chicago Tribune, the Gallaghers claim that when they went out for coffee on the second morning of their stay (as the Bruners slept soundly in another of the suite’s rooms), the suite was burglarized, resulting in the loss of $2,000 in valuables, including purses, wallets, cameras, cell phones and luggage.
Both couples blame the hotel’s lax security for allowing the theft to happen. But Lawrence Duffy, the hotel’s general manager, says the victims told him the break-in happened after they left their door propped open, an allegation the victims deny. He says the hotel rarely has problems with crime.
For more:Â Â http://www.milwaukeenewsbuzz.com/?p=254429
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Filed under Crime, Insurance, Liability, Risk Management, Theft
Hotel Industry Liability Risks: Hotel Guests’ 4-Year Old Child Finds “Condom” In Room And Family Has Retained Attorneys To File Suit Against Hotel Owners
Jones has since filed a report with the Atlanta Police Department and the family engaged lawyers to negotiate a settlement with the hotel. If no settlement is reached, the lawyer plans to file suit.
Wyndham Hotels said it was “disturbed to learn of the allegations,” but that the hotel in question was individually owned and operated. It has been sold since the incident occurred, the hotel chain said.
A 4-year-old boy was being tested for sexually transmitted diseases after he found a used condom in an Atlanta hotel room and tried to blow it up, thinking it was a balloon, his family said.
The boy found the condom in the sheets of a bed in the hotel where his family was staying, according to his grandmother Carmen Jones.
According to the statement, she then called hotel management and asked for alcohol and mouthwash for her grandson. The hotel manager came to the room, put on latex gloves and took the condom from her, citing “company policy.”
“He had his tongue in it,” Jones said in a statement released by her lawyers. “I immediately took it out of his mouth.”
The boy sickened and developed sores on his tongue not long after, Jones said. She took him to Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta to have him tested for sexually transmitted diseases, including herpes and HIV, a local CBS affiliate reported.
He had “little white blisters all on the top of his mouth, on his tongue, inside the mouth, inside the lip, the bottom lip. It was all over,” Jones told the CBS affiliate.
Hospitality Industry Risk Management: Management Must Train Staff To HALT If They Are “Hungry, Angry, Lonely And Tired” To Prevent Accidents, Mistakes And Bad Public Relations With Guests
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"...Whenever (hotel employees) are hungry, angry, lonely or tired...(they) need to stop, HALT! In this state of being hungry, angry, lonely and tired (employees) are much more vulnerable to getting... buttons pushed...AND BAD THINGS ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAPPEN... "
Many hotel guests have all of these conditions going on upon arrival at the front desk. They have traveled a great distance, they are tired, and they may have not eaten in hours and as a result are angry or grumpy. Any delays or unpleasant encounters will send this guest into a full fledge melt down going off on employees who may also be vulnerable.Â
 In your hotel consider what investment goes into getting a guest to call and book a stay at your location? How much advertising was done? How many staff hired? How much time and energy in training with staff, operators and front-line?
How much patience and time was given to gain that guest trust? Your building preparations and maintenance of the property? What did it take to have them call and give you their credit card and put their money into your hotel or establishment?Â
Considering this investment is significant when in a moment that guest can be turned away by a negative encounter with one of your employees or managers.Â
What took months and perhaps thousands of dollars to build can be lost in a moment. Your hotel and its ultimate success is only as good as its weakest employee. That might be a scary thought! But even the best employee can be worn thin and not recognize their vulnerable condition.
For more:Â Â http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=5338
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Filed under Health, Injuries, Labor Issues, Liability, Risk Management, Training
