Tag Archives: Health Hazards

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “How Hotels Can Prepare for a Spike in Business”

While emergencies may force some on-the-fly thinking, citywide festivals, high-profile conventions, and major sporting events offer the luxury of time to fully prepare. Hotels make good use of those months—years, in some cases—addressing the situation from multiple angles,surge in business says Javier Rosenberg, COO, Americas, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. If the event involves public figures, security is enhanced to keep celebrities separate from fans. If traffic will be heavy, alternate travel routes are identified and schedules adapted to reach destinations on time.

Talk to anyone who has worked in the hotel industry for any length of time, and chances are you can uncover a story or two involving a surprise guest surge. For Robert Holmes, one of his most poignant experiences occurred less than two hours into his first morning manning the front desk at the Park Hyatt Washington D.C. in Georgetown on Sept. 11, 2001.

“I was standing at my desk, and I saw all of these people coming in,” Holmes remembers. “I turned to my staff and said, ‘We’re going to get through this.’” Prompted by a bomb threat, the hotel across the street evacuated its guests to the lobby of the Park Hyatt. With flights suspended and the local community on high alert because of the attack on the Pentagon two miles away, visitors were seeking both rooms and solace. Guests who had anticipated checking out suddenly had nowhere to go, while newcomers needed a place to stay.

For more: http://bit.ly/1xBjigV

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Filed under Conferences, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Looking Back to 2014, Ahead to 2015 at Natural Disaster Activity”

The report says that it is possible that the U.S. may still have two to three years of near-average flood-related damage before the next catastrophic loss occurs, based on projections from historic data.insurance-journal-logo-340 The 2015 flood losses could total between $5-6 billion, with flash flooding events continuing to account for a large percentage of overall annual damage

Fewer tornadoes, a mild hurricane season, lower acreage lost to wildfires, overall less flood  and other damage— all in all, 2014 was not as bad as it could have been for natural disasters in the U.S.

That’s according to global property information and analytics firm CoreLogic, which released its annual Natural Hazard Risk Summary and Analysis detailing the most significant natural disasters of 2014 and providing several projections for 2015.

The report provides a look at the year’s hurricanes, floods, hailstorms, tornadoes, wildfires, sinkholes, earthquakes, tropical cyclones and typhoon events in the U.S. as well as an international snapshot of the hazard events that caused significant damage across the globe.

For more: http://bit.ly/1DpKzDy

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Filed under Flood Insurance, Hotel Industry, Insurance, Magazines, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Hotel Industry Takes Action with 911 Direct Dial”

To date, 10 of AH&LA’s largest hotel member chains have activated 911 direct dial access at nearly all of their owned and managed properties, with the remainder expected to complete the process very soon.911 Further, more than half of these chains have updated, or are in the process of updating, brand standards to ensure franchisees upgrade their phone systems as well. Led by AH&LA, all of these chains, as well as the broader hotel industry, also have worked hard to educate franchisees and their properties on the need to make the switch as quickly as possible.

One year ago, tragedy struck an east Texas town. Not only did our community lose a loving mother, daughter, and sister, but the nation also lost trust in a system it relies on in life-threatening circumstances.

Last December, Kari Rene Hunt Dunn was murdered by her estranged husband in a hotel room in Marshall, Texas. Kari’s 9-year-old daughter, while witnessing the unthinkable, did exactly what we train our children to do in an emergency—dial 911. However, in this case, the daughter could not get through to the authorities because she failed to dial 9 to get an outside line.

For more: http://bit.ly/1rvrX3F

 

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Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: Carbon Monoxide” (VIDEO)

The holiday season is upon us and our P3 team here at Petra knows that, that means more use of fireplaces and heaters. Because of this, we have put together a video on the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and the steps your staff can take to help best protect your guests and themselves in these colder months!

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/114357192 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Carbon Monoxide’. 

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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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Hotel Housekeepers Say ‘Green’ Program Eliminates Jobs”

Chavez said housekeepers have been reprimanded for not cleaning rooms fast enough and some have resorted to working through breaks to avoid warnings. green-hotelsStill, she said, there are days when she looks at the clock at 2 p.m. and realizes she won’t finish on time. By comparison, before the program started, she could clean up to 20 rooms in a day because some rooms just needed a light touch.

A program that encourages hotel guests to decline housekeeping to conserve water and electricity sounds like a noble idea.

But hotel housekeepers say the program is killing their jobs, their legs and their backs as those workers still employed say they have to work harder because the rooms tend to be dirtier.

Fabiola Rivera, 31, said her managers expect her to clean rooms left unkempt for as many as three days at a pace of 16 rooms per day in an eight-hour shift, the same quota as if the rooms were tidied daily. And she also has to run around delivering fresh towels to guests in the program who cheat a bit.

For more: http://trib.in/1waj7sz

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Filed under Employee Practices, Green Lodging, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Training

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: Carbon Monoxide” (VIDEO)

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/114357192 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Carbon Monoxide’. 

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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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Injuries, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “The Case For Giving Hotels the Same Health Grades as Restaurants”

Many hotels fail to perform adequate background checks on job applicants before hiring them. In September 2011, a woman staying at a Best Western hotel in Arizona woke up in the middle of the nightWashington Post Security to find a man standing over her bed. She says the man raped her. He was a registered level-3 sex offender, according to news reports, but Best Western had hired him as a night clerk and given him a master key to guest rooms, allowing him unfettered access to turn any of its female guests into his next victims

The difference between a hotel room at $75 a night and $750 a night is the view, the extra shampoo, the cost of the pillows, the fluff of the towels. Price is a measure of comfort and service. What must always be the same — at every price — is your security, your safety and cleanliness. Unfortunately, it’s not. Across the country, hotels are skimping on key safety and security measures, and the consequences range from stolen laptops and Peeping Toms to sexual assaults and robbery at gunpoint. More than 125 property crimes are committed in hotels and motels every day, in addition to more than 21 violent crimes (excluding murders).

For more: http://wapo.st/1vnfYFb

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Insurance Update: “Think Your Workers’ Compensation Covers Everything? Think Again!”

Consider the risks involved when an employee travels overseas for work. Courts have often ruled that an injury or illness that an employee suffers while on short term assignment away from home—even if he or she is not working when it occurs—is work-related.workers comp But a basic workers’ compensation policy will probably not cover this type of claim. A foreign workers’ compensation policy will. Although no law requires employers to provide this coverage, you risk paying medical and lost-time costs out of pocket if you do not have coverage and a traveling employee becomes injured.

You might think your workers’ compensation covers all work-related injuries and illnesses. This could prove a costly mistake.

In most cases, workers’ compensation will cover work-related injuries and illnesses. But in certain special circumstances—which might apply to your company—the basic workers’ compensation policy will not provide coverage. This could leave your company on the hook for a costly workers’ compensation claim.

For more: http://bit.ly/1ycd3fF

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Filed under Employee Benefits, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Injuries, Insurance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Costa Mesa Sued Over Law Limiting Stays at Motels

Under the ordinance, which took effect last month, motel owners must apply for a conditional use permit to allow any new long-term tenants.Costa Mesa Hotel To be granted a permit, the motel must meet requirements such as providing on-site laundry facilities, installing kitchens in every room and having at least 75 rooms.

A recently enacted law that limits how long people can stay at motels in Costa Mesa was illegally designed to target low-income residents, a lawsuit filed against the city alleges.

The Public Law Center, a Santa Ana-based pro bono law firm, sued this week on behalf of a group of residents to block an ordinance adopted last August limiting when motel guests can rent a room for more than 30 days.

For more: http://lat.ms/1FHJlDm

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Wyndham Hotel Group Partners with Polaris to Help Prevent Human Trafficking”

“The hospitality industry plays a critical role in the fight against modern slavery, since many traffickers exploit their victims in hotels and motels,” said Bradley Myles, chief executive officer of Polaris.  front desk“If we are to truly eradicate human trafficking, it’s absolutely essential that companies like Wyndham take proactive steps to combat this crime at the root while also helping victims rebuild their lives. Polaris applauds Wyndham Hotel Group for integrating a responsible business culture company-wide and for actively taking such a strong stance against human trafficking.”

Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company with approximately 7,590 hotels and part of Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN), today announced its continued commitment to preventing human trafficking by partnering with Polaris, a leader in the global fight to eradicate modern slavery and restore freedom to survivors.

As part of the joint effort, Wyndham Hotel Group and Polaris are developing comprehensive training and educational tools for hotel owners and franchisees, property-level staff and employees at its corporate offices and call centers to educate them about all aspects of human trafficking.

For more: http://bit.ly/1r2xZbX

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training