Tag Archives: Lawsuits

by | July 7, 2014 · 9:43 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Greenwood Village to Take Final Vote on Hotel-Motel Stay Limit”

“…The law would give long-term hotel and motel patrons in Greenwood Village until Nov. 1 to find a new place to live. Greenwood Village City Council meeting they will have first reading on an ordinance amending the Greenwood Village land development code regarding length of stay in hotels and motelsA daily fine of $499 could be levied against the hotel operator, or the occupant, for violations beyond the stay limit…The hotel operator would be responsible for moving out long-term residents on a voluntary basis. But because Colorado law gives tenancy rights to anyone residing at one location for 30 days or more, those who refuse to leave could face eviction.…”

Dozens of families living in Greenwood Village hotels and motels will have to start looking for new homes if the City Council on Monday passes a measure limiting a hotel stay to no more than 30 days.

The city claims the ordinance is needed because hotels, which lack residential zoning, are not equipped to operate as long-term living facilities.

For more: http://dpo.st/1pUIf50  

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by | July 1, 2014 · 9:27 am

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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by | June 30, 2014 · 9:04 am

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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by | June 27, 2014 · 9:43 am

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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by | June 24, 2014 · 8:35 am

Hospitality Industry Liability Update: “Hotels Don’t Need CO Alarms, New Rules Say”

“…CO is a very real danger, and CO alarms should be in hotel rooms,”CO says Stephen Thom, a University of Maryland professor of emergency medicine and a CO specialist. “CO incidents happen in every major city regularly, and people only pay attention to the need for CO detectors when there is a tragedy…”

New international building and fire codes that will be published this summer may provide hotel guests less protection from deadly carbon monoxide.

The 2015 codes eliminate a 2012 requirement that required a CO alarm in each guest room or a detection system in all common areas, according to Michael O’Brian, a member of an International Code Council committee that recommended the new codes.

For more: http://usat.ly/1jLdVBe

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by | June 11, 2014 · 9:02 am

Hospitality Industry Bed Bug Update: “How to Search Your Hotel Room for Bed Bugs”

“…I also found “joke” apps pretending to be bed bug detectors for the purposes of freaking your friends out,bedbugs2 and some highly bogus “ultrasonic repelling” apps that suggest they turn your phone into a sonic threat to bugs of all kinds. There is no evidence that bed bugs or mosquitoes are repelled by ultrasound. Don’t waste your money…”

You’re packed for your trip, your boarding passes are downloaded… and then that little moment of terror hits. What if the hotel you’re going to stay in has bed bugs? It’s a real concern, but by being vigilant, you can reduce your chances of bringing home some unexpected souvenirs.

I don’t put a lot of trust in online hotel bed bug ratings or reports; infestation status can change from day to day, and there is no reliable way to verify that reviews are not fake.

Here’s how I search for bed bugs when I arrive at a new hotel. I can’t promise this is foolproof, but knowing how one slightly-paranoid entomologist deals with the threat of bed bugs might be useful to some readers.

For more: http://wrd.cm/1odGOha

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by | June 3, 2014 · 7:54 am

P3 Hospitality Industry Risk Report: “Front Desk Best Practices” Presented by Loss Control Manager Marco Johnson of Petra Risk Solutions (VIDEO)

[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’. 

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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by | June 2, 2014 · 8:00 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Update: “Methamphetamine Labs Pose Growing Problem, Expense for Hotel Owners”

“…The ingredients for meth and their byproducts, including ammonia, hydrochloric acid gas, lithium, sulfuric acid and pseudoephedrine,Meth Labs carry a plethora of possible side effects depending on the length of exposure….The size of most hotel rooms and the self-contained air-handling systems in them work in favor for decontamination crews. Since each room has its own heating and air-conditioning unit, the chances of the vapors getting into the rest of the building are slim…”

Gone are the days when making meth on the go was confined to low-end hotel rooms. The drug’s cooks are now finding their ways into hotels that any family might choose for road trips or weekends at various lake communities in the area.

“It’s not just happening in low-level hotels or strip hotels. It’s starting to happen in middle-class hotels,” said Joe Clark, operations manager for water and special projects at Protechs, a Fort Wayne company that does meth lab decontamination.

For more: http://bit.ly/1pzPNsk

 

 

 

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by | May 28, 2014 · 8:26 am

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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by | May 23, 2014 · 8:24 am

Hospitality Industry Bed Bug Update: “Suit: Calumet Park Hotel Infested With Bed Bugs”

“…The one-count lawsuit claims the hotel negligently and carelessly failed to provide guests with safe and sanitary rooms; Imagefailed to take steps, including inspections and extermination, to keep its premises clean and free of infestations; and, among other things, failed to train staff appropriately to recognize signs of bed bugs…”

A woman suffered from bed bug bites after she stayed at a hotel in Calumet Park, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday.

Bridget Flowers rented a hotel room Feb. 14 at the Magnuson Hotel, 12800 S. Ashland Ave., and slept on the bed and used the sheets that the hotel provided, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court.

For more: http://bit.ly/1gWJaOj

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