Tag Archives: Hotel Room

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Hidden Cameras Reveal How Much (And How Little) Some Hotel Maids Really Clean”

At a Crowne Plaza hotel, the maid collected all the used drinking glasses, put them into the sink, and turned on the water. Then she gathered all the dirty towels from the bathroom floor,housekeeper held onto one, and used it to help dry the cups. The Crowne Plaza maid then used the same towel to wipe down the countertop, the toilet and the bathtub. She never used soap on anything, but she did return to spray the room with air freshener.

When you check into a hotel room, you assume the maid has cleaned everything, including changing the sheets and disinfecting the bathroom. But a hidden camera investigation revealed that may not always be the case.

The Rossen Reports team booked rooms for two nights at some of the most popular hotel chains and rigged them with cameras (all three of the hotels were in northeastern New Jersey). In each case they put soda in the glasses, threw towels on the bathroom floors and made the rooms looked used before calling to have housekeeping make them up, as well as prominently displaying the card requesting that all linens be changed.

For more: http://on.today.com/1ur6PcG

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Filed under Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Kari’s Law Pushed After Murder, Failed 911 Call”

Kari’s Law has received support from nearly 500,000 online signatures and would require that all who dial the three digits 911 would be connected to an emergency dispatcher regardless of the multi-line telephone system (MTLS).hotel-phone Right now, dialing 911 at an office building, school, or hotel MLTS may or may not get the caller they help they are seeking. As Hunt travels the country to speak about Kari’s Law, he takes notice in each hotel room where he stays.”

One of the most well-known and obvious lessons taught to children and remembered through adulthood makes Hank Hunt feel angry, yet guilty.

“We all teach our children to dial 911,” said Hunt about the three digits ingrained in everyone’s head in case of an emergency. But it took tragedy for Hunt to realize those three digits do not always work.

In December of 2013, Hunt’s daughter Kari Dunn was stabbed to death inside a Marshall, Texas hotel room. Her estranged husband is now charged with her murder. Dunn’s 9-year-old daughter was inside the hotel room and dialed 911 four times.

Each time, the call failed.

For more: http://bit.ly/1plHxXt

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

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Tennessee Hotel Guest Dies From “Carbon Monoxide Poisoning”; Room Directly Above Natural Gas Pool Heater

“…Health Department inspectors found deficiencies at the Best Western’s indoor swimming pool earlier this hotel Carbon Monoxide Poisoningyear…the bottom-floor pool is below the second-floor room where the deaths occurred. Room 225 is directly above a room with a natural gas heater for the pool, police said…a March 6 inspection showed the pool’s pump was not approved by an industry standards group. The report also found the pool’s chemical and equipment room needed better ventilation…”

Police on Monday said elevated carbon monoxide levels were found in a hotel room where an 11-year-old boy died over the weekend, two months after the poisonous gas killed an elderly couple in the same room. Authorities said an autopsy of Jeffrey Lee Williams of Rock Hill indicated he died from asphyxia, though blood tests were not complete. Jeffrey was found Saturday in a room at Best Western Plus Blue Ridge Plaza, where he was staying with his mother, Jeannie Williams.

Williams, 49, remained hospitalized Monday at Watauga Medical Center. At a Monday news conference, Boone police Sgt. Shane Robbins said newly obtained blood test results show carbon monoxide killed Daryl Dean Jenkins, 73, and Shirley Mae Jenkins, 72, both of Longview, Wash. They were found April 16, also in Room 225.

The revelations raised new questions about the death investigations, including why blood test results in the Jenkins’ deaths took two months to complete.

A spokesman for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the state’s medical examiner’s office, refused to release death reports in the three cases, saying they were incomplete.

The Observer requested an interview with N.C. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Deborah Radisch, but spokesman Ricky Diaz said she would not be available.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/06/10/4097181/report-carbon-monoxide-found-at.html#storylink=cpy

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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Maintenance, Pool And Spa, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Hotels Should Employ “Motherboard Fix” To Make Electronic Door Locks Secure From Hacking And Break-In

“It’s the older Onity locks that are subject to hacking,” Seiders said. “With the old locks, which were the best at the time, the encryption code that authorizes the lock to open has been installed on all of those individual Onity Electronic Locklocks. The hacking device, when it’s plugged into the lock, fools the lock into thinking it’s an authorized programmer. The newer locks don’t have the encryption code in each one; the code is issued at the front desk.”

Following a robbery at a Houston hotel in which thieves exploited security flaws in Onity locks first revealed at the Black Hat conference in July, Hotel Management spoke with Todd Seiders, director of risk management at Petra Risk Solutions and former director of loss prevention at Marriott, for tips on how hoteliers can keep their rooms secure.

“[Onity] immediately started offering the caps and screens to block the port that causes the vulnerability, but I don’t think that’s a very valuable option, because if you block these terminal ports and you have an emergency in the room and the lock has failed, you have to be able to plug in the portable programmer or you’ll have liability issues,” Seiders said. “The thing to take advantage of now is the motherboard switch out. If you mail it in within a reasonable amount of time they’ll replace it for free. The motherboard fix, that’s what these hotels should be doing.”

While Seiders noted that the recession has meant less money available for full-time security staff and new equipment like cameras, he emphasized the importance of staff training in hotel security. “My advice is to go walk the halls and if you see a person standing in the hallway go and look at him for 60 seconds. He’ll either go to a room, or, if not, approach him and say ‘what’s up,’ find out if you can help him. Customer service is the best security.”

Seiders also pointed out that the newer models are not as vulnerable to hacking.

In a statement from Onity, the company said, “Over the next several weeks, we will ensure all hotel properties in our database receive the mechanical solution. These mechanical caps and security screws block physical access to the lock ports that hackers use to illegally break into hotel rooms. The mechanical solution remains free of charge to customers. Technical solutions vary depending on the age, model and deployment of locks at properties.”

For more: http://www.hotelmanagement.net/operations-management/keep-your-rooms-secure-from-door-lock-hackers

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Washington Hotel Room Used By “Major Identity Theft And Forgery Ring”; Police Seize Laptops, Lamination Machine And Bags Of Stolen Mail

“These labs tend to be mobile…they go from hotel to hotel…the room contained a computer, two laptops, laminating paper, card stock, check stock and a hot laminator machine along with identification, checks and identity theftbags of mail that had been stolen. Also seized were more than 100 licenses and other IDs, roughly 20 hard drives and numerous other media storage devices, such as thumb drives and memory chips.

Police and U.S. Secret Service agents believe they have taken down a major identity theft and forgery ring involving at least a dozen suspects and more than 100 victims. The number of victims could grow as experts analyze computer hard drives and video surveillance footage from businesses where the suspects tried to get money. As of Friday evening, authorities estimated more than $45,000 had been stolen, but said that amount is likely to grow.

Evidence is being examined at the Secret Service’s Electronic Crimes Task Force lab in Seattle. Many of the victims — both individuals and businesses — are from Everett, but the center for the operation was traced to a hotel room in Shoreline.

That’s where police and the Secret Service found what amounted to a ID-theft factory Thursday.

For more:  http://heraldnet.com/article/20130105/NEWS01/701059947

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Technology, Theft

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Major Hotels Increase Review Of Guest Security Processes After Recent Reports On Door Lock Vulnerability

“…An assault on guests or theft of their belongings during a hotel stay can result in a court case…the “reasonable person” test is used to determine the outcome. If hotel owners are made aware of a procedure or item in their property that is not keeping the guest safe, they are required to do what a reasonable person would do under those circumstances. “And if they don’t, they’re negligent…”

Recent media reports scrutinizing the vulnerability of guestroom door locks have brought hotel guest safety issues to the forefront of hoteliers’ minds. As the media and traveling public continue to express their concerns, hotel companies are taking steps to ensure a safe environment for guests.

Marriott International, for example, issued a statement on its website that said the company is in the process of implementing solutions to resolve any issues with door locks that could compromise guest safety.

Reevaluating standards and policies
As hotel management companies and major hotel brands continue to review security processes and implement solutions, there are a few points for hoteliers to keep in mind when it comes to guest safety, according to Fred Del Marva, president of hotel consulting firm Del Marva Corporation.

Guest safety starts at the front desk during the check-in process, Del Marva said. The standard policy throughout the industry is for front-desk employees not to verbally issue guests their room numbers, he said.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx?ArticleId=9384&par1=z7Vqd2AtHfkNLvAuP25I0Q==&par2=2EAFVJU1Lms7zTjNNV7iNMJVd1wKf1Q9bx5n/Mqpu2K12/66UcXBIn1NuEvyifCh&goback=.gmp_922967.gde_922967_member_186188808

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Theft

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Tennessee Hotel Rooms Broken Into By "Convicted Burglar" Using "Chiseled Tip Knife" And Keycards Stolen From Cleaning Carts

“…Police said Brown was carrying seven keycards from several hotels as well as knife with a chiseled tip that could be used to defeat locking mechanisms…He told police he had taken the keys from a cleaning cart…”

Police are investigating whether a man who allegedly broke into a hotel room in downtown Nashville had any involvement in ten other similar hotel burglary since January.

Police said the victims were inside their hotel room on the 13th floor of the Renaissance Hotel when 35-year-old Antoun Brown came in and asked where the ice machine was, and then made his way into the bathroom before leaving.

The victims told police they heard someone messing with their door lock before he came inside.

Hotel security apprehended him on the 4th floor and held him until police arrived to take him into custody.

Brown, who is a convicted burglar, was charged with aggravated burglary and possession of a burglary tool.  His bond was set at $13,000.

For more:  http://www.newschannel5.com/story/20040554/man-allegedly-broke-into-downtown-hotel-room

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Hospitality Industry Security Risks: Hotel "Electronic Room Locks" Opened With "Hacking Device" Tool Disguised As "Dry Erase Marker" (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyN-8CeNSZg]

A trio of hackers have built a tool that appears to be an innocent dry erase marker, but when inserted into the port on the bottom of a common form of hotel room keycard lock triggers the lock’s open mechanism in a fraction of a second.

The security researchers who spend their days breaking into clients’ systems to find and fix security vulnerabilities often call themselves “penetration testers,” or “pentesters.” But one group of hotel lock hackers just gave the term “pentest” a very different meaning.

The inconspicuous lock hacking device is an adaption of one demonstrated at the Black Hat security conference in July by Cody Brocious, a hacker and software developer for Mozilla, who discovered and exploited a vulnerability in Onity locks, a cheap and popular hotel room lock that the company says are used on at least four million hotel rooms worldwide. Through the port on the bottom of the lock intended for a device that hotels can use to set master keys, Brocious found he was able to read the lock’s memory, including a decryption key stored on the locks that gave him access to their opening mechanism.

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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Pennsylvania Hotel Evacuated After "Meth Lab" Chemicals And Materials Discovered In Third-Floor Room

“…Hotels and motels are increasingly used by meth-makers because the chemicals used – which can include lighter fuel, lye, lithium, and acetone, among other dangerous substances – seep into fabrics, furniture, and floors, according the Department of Justice website…” 

“You basically destroy someone’s hotel room, and then you leave.”

At least 300 guests were evacuated from the Hampton Inn at 1301 Race St. about 5:30 a.m. as first Philadelphia firefighters, then the Police Department’s homeland security and terrorism unit arrived to handle the volatile chemicals left behind by a would-be meth-maker.

Investigators discovered in a third-floor room the chemicals and materials used in the “one-pot” or “shake-and-bake” method of producing the dangerous, highly addictive stimulant.

The procedure can result in toxic fumes and explosions, leave behind a dangerous trail of chemicals, and render the room uninhabitable.

For more:  http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/20120729_Makeshift_meth_lab_forces_evacuation_of_Center_City_hotel.html

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Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Kentucky Hotels "Annual Inspection Reports" Are Now Posted "Online" With Scores And Violations Easily Accessed

Scores from annual inspections of more than 70 Northern Kentucky hotels and motels can now be found online.

Information on the inspection process, along with the scores, can be viewed on the Northern Kentucky Health Department’s website.

CLICK ON "INSPECTIONS" TO VIEW ONLINE INSPECTION REPORTS

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