[vimeo https://vimeo.com/96622404 w=500&h=281]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Front Desk Best Practices’.Â
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.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Front Desk Best Practices”
Filed under Employee Practices, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
“Already, companies are having trouble getting terrorism insurance, and many companies that had terrorism insurance have now lost it because there
were clauses written into their policies that said if TRIA is not there, they do not have the insurance coverage,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.).
The House voted to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) on Wednesday, sending the legislation to the Senate.
The measure passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 416-5, with one lawmaker voting present.
Lawmakers failed to reauthorize the program during the last Congress, and it expired on Dec. 31, leading to uncertainty in the business community.
For more:Â http://bit.ly/142RaaB
Â
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “House Passes Terrorism Insurance Bill”
Filed under Crime, Hotel Industry, Insurance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
Ed Higgins, vice president of Thousand Islands Insurance Agency in Clayton, N.Y., and vice chair at the Applied Client Network, says he believes that independent agents are missing out on the opportunity that mobile apps provide…
Thousand Islands Agency was an early adopter of the MobileProducer, the mobile-app version of Applied System’s agency management platform. For Higgins, the key benefit of the app is the ability to deliver what he calls the “Starbucks experience†for customers.
Four years ago, Apple trademarked the phrase, “There’s an app for that.†With more than 1.2 million offerings in the iTunes App Store—and about 1.4 million in Google Play—it would seem that the phrase is more true than not. However, only a few general-market agent productivity apps exist, and none have more than a few reviews from users.
“It’s a relatively small number of agents who are using insurance-specific apps today,†says Chad Hersh, senior vice president at The Nolan Co., an insurance management consulting firm. “Granted, a lot of agents use general apps on their mobile devices to the extent that many people do in their daily lives and jobs, but the penetration just isn’t there for insurance apps for agents.â€
For more:Â http://bit.ly/14oxiiB
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Going mobile: The tipping point is close”
Filed under Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology
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,
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:Â http://bit.ly/1xBjigV
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Management Update: “How Hotels Can Prepare for a Spike in Business”
Filed under Conferences, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
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.
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:Â http://bit.ly/1DpKzDy
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Looking Back to 2014, Ahead to 2015 at Natural Disaster Activity”
Filed under Flood Insurance, Hotel Industry, Insurance, Magazines, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
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.
 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:Â http://bit.ly/1rvrX3F
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Hotel Industry Takes Action with 911 Direct Dial”
Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology
By now you should understand how critical it is to have policies and procedures in place. Remember that it’s not enough to just have the SOPs and SSOPs documented in writing. It is imperative that you monitor compliance on a routine basis.
It also requires timely updates; yearly should be sufficient. Once your policies and procedures have been established, it is important to keep your staff informed of any changes or updates as they occur
In order for a restaurant to run smoothly and deliver excellence on a consistent basis, Standard Operating Procedures (“SOPsâ€) and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (“SSOPsâ€) are an integral part of the business. No matter whether you’re a corporate chain or an independent owner/operator, it behooves you to take a moment to think about your SOPs and SSOPs. You have them, of course, don’t you? Or are they only in your head and it takes a visit to Total Recall in order to pluck them from your brain? Are they written policies or are they handed down verbally from person to person? Or will it take a lawsuit in order for you to address your policies and procedures?
For more:Â http://bit.ly/1vk9WRZ
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Due Diligence – Standard Operating Procedures: Don’t Play Russian Roulette with Your Business”
Filed under Employee Practices, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Training
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’.Â
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.
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: Carbon Monoxide” (VIDEO)
Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
AH&LA is hopeful that final action on a long-term TRIA extension occurs in the coming weeks during the lame duck session.
The Senate passed its reauthorization bill earlier this year on a huge bipartisan vote, but action has stalled in the House.
The new Senate Republican Majority, combined with a larger House Republican Majority, will significantly alter the policy landscape for the business community and the lodging industry, says the government affairs team at AH&LA.
The association anticipates a busy year legislatively that includes smaller, targeted measures getting to the President’s desk and being signed into law, though likely not any grand compromises on issues like immigration or the nation’s fiscal policy. When it comes to issues impacting the lodging industry, here’s what AH&LA expects to come down the pike:
For more:Â http://bit.ly/13kLmJr
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Assessing the Midterms’ Impact on Lodging”
Filed under Employee Benefits, Employee Practices, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management
The two industry groups are seeking an injunction to block enforcement of the hotel wage law, which was approved in September. The measure is set to go into effect in July for hotels with at least 300 rooms and expand a year later to hotels with at least 150 rooms
…backers of the measure said it would prevent hotel workers from having to take on second jobs that keep them from seeing their families. They also argued that the hotels in Los Angeles have benefited from the city’s efforts at boosting the tourism industry.
Two hotel industry groups filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging a new Los Angeles law that requires a higher minimum wage at the city’s larger hotels.
The lawsuit from the American Hotel and Lodging Assn. and the Asian American Hotel Owners Assn. contends that the City Council’s decision to impose a $15.37 per hour minimum wage is preempted by federal labor law and therefore unenforceable.
The two groups also say the city is interfering with labor relations and union organizing at its larger hotels. And they voiced fears that L.A.’s ordinance could be replicated elsewhere in the country.
For more:Â http://lat.ms/13aZQeG
Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Industry Groups Sue Over L.A.’s Minimum Wage for Hotel Workers”
Filed under Employee Benefits, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership
