Tag Archives: Insurance

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Former Hotel Broker Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison for Conducting Fraud Schemes”

“In one scheme, Koger had been hired by Host, the country’s largest hotel owner, to sell two properties. Instead of selling to the highest bidders,Court Ruling Koger allegedly sold the properties to straw buyers, who then immediately resold them to the interested buyers for a profit. Koger allegedly orchestrated a similar deal in which a straw buyer purchased promissory notes backing European hotels that Host was interested in and then resold them to Host at a higher price, pocketing the difference.”

Former hotel broker Robert T. Koger was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years in prison for orchestrating a series of fraudulent schemes resulting in more than $55 million in losses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia.

Koger, 48, served as president and sole owner of Molinaro Koger, a hotel real estate brokerage firm in Vienna. According to court records, charges against the 48-year-old were tied to various schemes, including a pair that cost Host Hotels & Resorts more than $22 million.

For more: http://wapo.st/1pNSO7V

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Filed under Crime, Hotel Industry, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Water Line Bursts, Floods W Hotel”

“…San Diego Fire crews tried to help fix the flooding, but the damage done is more than the firefighters were prepared to handle.Water leak W Hotel Instead, an outside company that specializes in flooding cleanup was called in to deal with it…Guests rooms were not damaged in the flooding, hotel management told NBC 7. There was extensive damage to other areas of the hotel including some flooding into the lobby, they said…”

Guests are avoiding some major flooding after a big water line burst inside the W Hotel Monday night.

Water started leaking from the third floor, through the roof and down onto floors below around 8:15 p.m. inside the hotel at 421 W. B Street.

Joyce Baghtassarian was staying at the W Hotel on her trip to San Diego from Los Angeles. She was heading out the door to go to dinner when she noticed water flowing from the elevators.

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

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Filed under Hotel Industry, Insurance, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Structural Damage

Hospitality Industry Conference Update: “2014 Northern California Hotel & Lodging Conference”

2014 Northern California Hotel & Lodging Conference

Petra’s Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, and Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, will be in attendance and giving presentations on “Current Hotel Security Issues & Updates” and “Best Housekeeping Practices”

For more information, or to register for the event, check out the conference website here: http://bit.ly/V8Mco5

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Filed under Conferences, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitliaty Industry Management Update: “Train Businesses on Service-Animal Laws” (With Video)

“…Customers do have a responsibility to ensure their service animals are behaved. service-dog-courseFederal law makes an exception if the dog is out of control and its handler does not control it, or if the dog is not housebroken. However, that only means the pooch can be removed from the premises; the handler still is entitled to full accommodation…”

When it comes to accommodating customers with service animals, some businesses need to be taught new tricks.

As reported Monday by The News-Journal’s Chris Graham, Steve Keene is the latest person with a service dog to have encountered difficulties at a local establishment in recent years. When the Port Orange resident showed up with his dog Kima at the Racing’s North Turn restaurant in Ponce Inlet, staff asked him for documentation proving the black Labrador-Australian shepherd mix is a service animal. When he became irate at the request, he was asked to leave.

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

For a brief video on how to best train your staff for handling guests with ADA service animals, check out the video below:

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/102936915 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Risk Management Director, Todd Seiders, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘ADA Service Animals: Do’s and Don’ts’. 

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

Hospitality Industry Insurance Update: “Federal Backstop for Terrorism Insurance Set to Expire”

“…In 2002, Congress stepped in and passed the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA),hotel lobby a public-private partnership that provides a federal backstop against losses from a terrorist attack. But the law is scheduled to expire at the end of this year, and the two competing bills that would renew it lay out different visions of how much federal help private insurers should get…”

When a large hotel near the World Trade Center was destroyed in the 9/11 attacks and a second one severely damaged, the company that owned them — like many other businesses — was relieved they were covered by insurance.

But after 9/11, the insurance industry, which ended up sustaining an estimated $32.5 billion in total losses, grew skittish and began excluding terrorism from commercial policies nationwide. That resulted in businesses having less terrorism coverage or none at all. States and cities worried lenders wouldn’t approve loans to businesses that didn’t have terrorism coverage, potentially stunting economic development and harming real estate markets.

For more: http://bit.ly/UctZG6

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

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Small Palm Springs Hotels Slapped with Disability Lawsuits”

“…The lawsuit claims Langer wanted to stay at her hotel back in March,calla lily inn palm springs - 01 but it didn’t have a parking space compliant with the American with Disabilities Act. Other hotel owners on Belardo Road said they’re getting sued for the same issue and were surprised to discover Langer has a reputation for filing lawsuits…”

Leslie Dunn owns the Calla Lily Inn in Palm Springs. The boutique hotel, built in the 1950s, has nine rooms and nine parking spots.

Her business is among at least four small Palm Springs hotels, including the Del Marcos Hotel and Chase Hotel, getting sued by Chris Langer, of San Diego, for not having handicapped accessible parking available on their property.

For more: http://bit.ly/1zu1apl

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

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Mahwah Hotel to Pay $110,000 to Settle Sandy Price-Gouging Lawsuit”

“…State law prohibits price increases of more than 10 percent than normal during declared states of emergency. GavelComfort Suites Mahwah allegedly charged more than $100 more than the allowed increase in some cases, according to the state lawsuit…The state filed 27 lawsuits against businesses accused of price gouging after Hurricane Sandy…”

A township hotel will pay $110,000 to settle claims that it gouged prices after Hurricane Sandy, authorities said.

Comfort Suites Mahwah allegedly engaged in 473 instances of illegal price gouging after the storm, a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs said.

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

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

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Blame Flies Over Drowning Death in Seattle Hotel Pool”

“…The lawsuit claims that Deboch’s body was dragged by suction from a pump to a drain in the middle of the deep end,WA pool where it was held for nearly three hours. The suit claims that the pump’s emergency shut-off, which would have released suction after detecting a blockage, had failed. The suit also claims poor water quality prevented rescue attempts by firefighters…”

The family of a man who drowned a year ago in the swimming pool at the Quality Inn & Suites Seattle Center has filed a wrongful-death suit against the owners of the hotel, claiming poor maintenance made the water unusually murky and contributed to a botched rescue operation by firefighters.

For more: http://bit.ly/V2RT7K

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Filed under Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa

Hospitality Industry ADA Update: “Best Western Responds to Property That Refused Family With Service Dog”

“…Under the Americans with Disabilities Act,service dogservice animals can accompany people with disabilities in all areas where members of the public are allowed. Staffers are allowed to only ask two questions: Whether the dog is a service animal and what tasks he has been trained to perform…”

Best Western International has responded to its Baton Rouge property that refused the reservation of a North Carolina family traveling with a service dog by temporarily restricting the hotel from accepting reservations.

For more: http://yhoo.it/1yULoDz

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Filed under Claims, Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Hotel Industry, Hotel Restaurant, Management And Ownership, Training

Hospitality Industry Risk Update: “‘Mother Whose Son, 11, Died in Killer Hotel Room Starts Foundation to Raise Carbon Monoxide Awareness”

“…The mother and son, in town to pick up Jeffrey’s sister from a science camp, did not know that only two months earlier an elderly couple died in the same room after being overcome by carbon monoxide gasImage…Mrs Williams also hopes that in sharing her tragic story, she would raise awareness of the silent, odorless and colorless killer that has robbed her of her son…”

The North Carolina mother whose 11-year-old son was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning has started a foundation to raise awareness of the lethal, odorless, colorless gas.

Jeannie Williams nearly died from a carbon monoxide leak in a hotel that claimed the life of her son Jeffrey Williams, and now she’s made it her life’s mission to make people aware of the killer.

For more: http://dailym.ai/1pxZMf3

 

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Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Health, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management