Tag Archives: Legal Risks

by Ida | April 28, 2015 · 9:00 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Settlement Deal Reached in Hotel Pool Electrocution”

The investigation showed that the Hilton Westchase did not meet city, state, and national electrical codes and that the pool did not have ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) on the pool lighting system – which are standard safety features in pool construction, or kitchen and bathroom design, where electrical systems might come in contact with water.

A final civil settlement was reached Monday in a hotel swimming pool electrocution death that a devastated family claimed was “gross negligence of epic proportions.”

Raul Hernandez Martinez, 27, died 6 days after the 2013 Labor Day weekend incident.

He and his family had gathered at the Hilton Houston Westchase hotel and several family members were in the hotel swimming pool when the pool lights came on.

Martinez’ little brother David Duran, 11, began to convulse in the deep end of the pool. Their mom, Maria Isabel Duran, tried to reach the boy but was shocked unconscious by the electrical current.

Family members pulled her from the pool where she was revived via CPR. Martinez, meanwhile, reached his little brother and pushed him to the edge where others pulled the boy out.

But Martinez became motionless as the current continued to surge through the pool.

Rescued and revived, he never recovered and was removed from life support 6 days later.

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1PSDdPN

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Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management

Tagged as Civil Settlement, Crime, Death, Electrical Surge, electrical systems, Electrocution, Employees, Guest Safety, Health Hazards, Hilton Westchase, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Death, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Pool, Hotel Pool Electrocution, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Houston, Injuries, Insurance, Investigation, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Managing Risk, Motels, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Pool and Spa Safety, Property Damage, Risk Management, Settlement, Swimming Pool, Swimming Pools, Texas

by Ida | April 24, 2015 · 10:10 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “The Real Value of Dual-Brand Hotels”

“Based on the analysis of the seven subject properties, it appears that operating efficiencies do not come automatically for all dual-branded properties. Throughout all facets of the lodging industry, attention must be paid to the fundamentals. Dual-branded hotels provide the opportunity to achieve operating efficiencies, but management still needs to optimize shared resources to earn their efficiencies.”

The pace of new hotel construction is picking up. According to STR, there were 1,003 hotels under construction in the United States as of January 2015, up 31.8 percent from January 2014. The most active under-construction segments of the hotel industry are upper-midscale (37.9 percent of total projects) and upscale (34.5 percent of total projects).

One way developers are taking advantage of the popularity of these segments is to build dual-branded hotels. The majority of dual-branded properties in the United States consist of affiliations within the upper-midscale and upscale segments. For the purpose of this article and analysis, we defined dual-branded hotels as single buildings that contain two distinctly branded operations. More often than not, the dual-branded properties contain separate entrances, front desks, and elevators for each brand but share back-of-the-house operations and guest amenities, such as meeting space and pools.

According to Kallenberger Jones & Company, there were 30 dual-branded hotels in the United States as of year-end 2014, offering a total of 12,193 rooms. Another 24 projects, with a total of 10,284 rooms, were under construction as of January 2015.

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1PvBD67

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Filed under Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Social Media

Tagged as Crime, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Dual Branding, Employees, Gross Profit Margins, Hospitality, Hospitality Brand, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Brand, Hotel Branding, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Marketing, Hotel Research, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Insurance, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Lodging Magazine, Managing Risk, Market Reports, Marketing, Mobile Technology, Motels, Operating Efficiencies, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Profit Margins, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk Management, Risk Management Update, Security, Technology

by Ida | April 22, 2015 · 9:32 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Marriott International Announces Energy Conservation Results on Earth Day”

Since 2013, Marriott International has used Green Hotels Global to track the environmental footprint of each managed and franchise hotel in the company’s portfolio. The data in Green Hotels Global allows the company to identify and drive programs to support the reduction of energy, water, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste.

As part of its global sustainability strategy to address climate change, Marriott International (Nasdaq:MAR) announced the company’s global energy intensity decreased cumulatively by 2.6 percent over 2013, 13.1 percent compared to a 2007 baseline.

Across the majority of the company’s four global regions, energy results continued to decline. In The Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, energy intensity for managed hotels decreased over 2013 by 3.0 percent, 0.7 percent and 1.3 percent respectively. In the Middle East and Africa, energy intensity increased by 1.2 percent over 2013 as the region stabilized and travel increased.

“Our global decrease in energy intensity demonstrates the commitment Marriott International has made to attain its sustainability goals,” said Denise Naguib, vice president, sustainability and supplier diversity, Marriott International. “As Marriott’s global footprint expands, we continue to look for new ways to conserve energy at our more than 4,100 properties.”

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1ySMvaf

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Filed under Employee Practices, Green Lodging, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Hotel Restaurant, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Training

Tagged as Clean Energy Power, Conservation of Energy, Crime, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Death, Definition of Energy, Earth Day, Earth Day 2015, Earth Day Quiz, Employees, Energy Conservation, Fire, Green Hotels Global, Guest Safety, Health Hazards, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Insurance, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Managing Risk, Marriott International, Mobile Technology, Motels, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Property Damage, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk Management, Security, Technology

by Ida | April 21, 2015 · 10:12 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Hotelsâ€™ Lessons For Marketing to Multi-Generational Travelers”

â€œThe marketing world is getting older and younger all at the same time but not in all the same places. The demographic picture is like a two-humped camel: a large group of Boomers (born 1946-1964) and Millennials (born 1982-2000). The big opportunity for brands is strategically managing both of these groups at the same time. That applies to any number of stay occasions, including multi-generational trips together.

As summer inches closer in the U.S. so do the waves of grandparents and their families ready to relax and flex their spending power on vacations.

Multi-generational travel already has a strong showing at hotels and destinations around the world and if the 80 million people who will be considered older Americans by 2020 are any indication, this market will undoubtedly continue to flourish.

One Hotelâ€™s StrategyÂ

Preferred Hotels and Resorts, previously Preferred Hotel Group, released the results of itsÂ national surveyÂ in December on U.S. multi-generational travelers. The findings emphasize that even though hotels need to think of this market holistically, the way properties communicate with the various generations should be differentiated.

â€œMillennials, for example, donâ€™t want to feel like theyâ€™re being specifically marketed to,â€ said Lindsey Ueberroth, president and CEO of Preferred Hotels and Resorts. â€œThis market stays longer and spends more. Grandparents are the ones who are paying for these vacations but itâ€™s the millennials who are influencing where theyâ€™re going.â€

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1yOELpK

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Filed under Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Social Media

Tagged as Baby Boomers, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Digital Marketing, Employees, Guest Safety, Health Hazards, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Branding, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Marketing, Hotel Reviews, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Insurance, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Luxury Travel, Managing Risk, Marketing, Millennials, Mobile Technology, Motels, Multi Generational Travel, Online Marketing, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk Management, Security, Summer, Summer Vacation, Surveillance, Swimming Pools, Technology, Travel, Travel Blog, Travelers, TripAdvisor, Vacations

by Ida | April 20, 2015 · 8:46 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Getting Serious About Risk Management”

“To be successful, an organization must do a good job of communicating the importance of risk management, which should raise awareness and provide how-to information to employees.Employers must understand that education needs to occur in order to drive continual improvement and adoption of a risk management mindset. This communication should bleed through all levels of the organization in a consistently open and honest manner.”

Success in todayâ€™s complex business environment is greatly dependent upon workforce productivity. Creating a proper work environmentâ€”one that is safe and secure for employees, customers and dataâ€”is vitally important. It means minimizing downside risk and creating a risk management culture.

There has been an invigorated focus on enterprise risk management, the analysis of a broad spectrum of loss exposures that businesses often face. Executives need to be concerned about reputational damage, falling stock prices, shifts in customer appetites for products or services, and even currency fluctuations. In addition, businesses may be impacted by traditional insurance exposures. Some dramatic examples in recent years include:

Hurricane damage from Superstorm Sandy and other severe weather events.
The Ebola crisis that left a Dallas hospital reeling.
Recent cyberattacks on SONY Pictures, Home Depot, Anthem Inc., Target Corp. and the federal government.

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1DDRJ8w

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

Tagged as Credit Cards, Crime, Crisis Management, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Digital Marketing, Employees, Fire, Guest Safety, Health Hazards, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Illnesses, Injuries, Insurance, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Management, Managing Risk, Mobile Technology, Motels, Online Marketing, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Pool and Spa Safety, Property Damage, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk Management, Security, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Surveillance, Swimming Pools, Technology, Theft

by Ida | April 16, 2015 · 9:23 am

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

CH&LA and AAHOA have once again partnered to present the annual Northern California Hotel & Lodging Conference.Â This year the event is moving back to the DoubleTree San Jose.Â Each year this event gathers together over 300 hoteliers who enjoy the free educational seminars, updates on industry topics and to attend the trade show.

The show will include the usual abundance of networking opportunities, general session luncheon, and of course the trade show, the largest of its kind in Northern California.Â Over 100 vendors will be eager to show off the latest industry products, many who offer special rates and discounts for this conference.Â There will also be a reception in the trade show at 4:00 pm, with appetizers, soft drinks, no-host bar and lots of networking.

To get a glimpse inside one of our California Hotel & Lodging Trade Shows, click here.

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

Tagged as California, California Hotel, CH&LA, Conferences, Credit Cards, Crime, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Death, Employees, Fire, Guest Safety, Health Hazards, Hospitality, Hospitality Conference, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Branding, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Marketing, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Illnesses, Injuries, Insurance, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Managing Risk, Mobile Technology, Motels, Northern California, Northern California Hotel & Lodging, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Pool and Spa Safety, Property Damage, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk, Risk Management, Risk Management Update, Security, Surveillance, Swimming Pools, Technology, Videos

by Ida | April 13, 2015 · 9:13 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Survey Finds Social Media Boosts Hotel Occupancy by 2x”

â€œThe hospitality industry has experienced the impact social media can have on their business, both positive and negative, but these findings allow properties to quantify the impact of taking action on reviewsâ€”and make it easier to justify additional investments in social media engagement,â€ said Aurelia Setton, Medalliaâ€™s general manager for hospitality.

Hotel properties that actively engage with social media reviews grow occupancy at double the rate of properties that donâ€™t, according to a study released by Medallia. The study examines customer and business data from more than 4,400 hotel properties worldwide to understand and quantify the impact of social media engagement on a companyâ€™s revenue growth, customer satisfaction, and social reputation.

Results Overview
The study found a direct relationship between responsiveness to social media reviews and occupancy rate. Properties that responded to more than 50 percent of social reviews grew occupancy rates by 6.4 percentage points, more than twice the rate of properties that largely ignored social media reviews. These socially engaged properties also outperformed the hospitality industry as a whole, which achieved a 4.3 percent occupancy growth rate during the same period.

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1cphmkq

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Filed under Employee Practices, Hotel Industry, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Social Media, Technology

Tagged as Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Employees, Facebook, Facebook Marketing, Google, Guest Safety, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Branding, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Marketing, Hotel Occupancy, Hotel properties, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Insurance, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, LinkedIn, Lodging Magazine, Managing Risk, Marketing, Mobile Technology, Motels, Online Branding, Online Marketing, Online Reviews, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk Management, Security, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Manager, Social Media Marketing, social media reviews, Technology, TripAdvisor, Twitter

by Ida | April 10, 2015 · 8:40 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Issues Loom For Keyless Entry in Hotels”

“At the moment, the complications might be magnified for multi-brand, multi-property operators piloting more than one keyless system from more than one brand/vendor, but sources said that this somewhat disjointed approach may actually be preferable to a universal solution; at least until keyless tech is a little further along in its development cycle.”

As hotel companies across the industry begin to embrace keyless entry technology, they will also need to work out the challenges that go hand in hand with such integration.

Major conglomerates such as Hilton Worldwide Holdings and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide are continuing to conduct pilot testing across multiple properties and brands. Starwood is backing up the technology with a $15-million investment. After launching its SPG Keyless solution at select properties (Aloft Beijing; Aloft Cancun; Aloft Cupertino; Aloft Harlem; W Doha; W Hollywood; W Hong Kong; W New York-Downtown; W Singapore; and Element Times Square), the company is now installing SPG Keyless in 30,000 doors at all of its 150 global W, Aloft and Element hotels.

In the meantime, Hilton is pilot testing its own mobile-enabled room key technology at 10 U.S. properties. By yearâ€™s end, the company expects to offer the digital amenity at all U.S. properties of four brands: Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts and Canopy by Hilton. Looking ahead to 2016, Hilton will then deploy the technology at scale across 11 brands globally. Similar to the SPG Keyless solution, Hiltonâ€™s keyless entry platform is driven by the companyâ€™s branded mobile app. Hilton hopes the keyless system will drive usage of the app, which hoteliers can then use to drive incremental revenue through mobile devices. Itâ€™s a potentially major revenue source to sway hoteliers who might still be on the fence.

For more:Â http://bit.ly/1Fusi7x

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

Tagged as Android, Arrest, Branding, Credit Cards, Crime, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Digital Branding, Digital Marketing, Digital Media, Employees, Guest Safety, Hilton Hotels, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hospitality Technology, Hotel Brand, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Marketing, Hotel News Now, Hotel Reviews, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, Hotel Technology, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Insurance, iPhone, Keyless Entry, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Managing Risk, Marketing, Mobile Technology, Motels, Online Branding, Online Marketing, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Property Damage, Restaurant Employees, Restaurants, Risk, Risk Management, Risk Management Update, Security, Technology, Theft

by Ida | April 9, 2015 · 9:37 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Security Flaw In Hotel Wi-Fi Routers Could Put Devices At Risk”

“This is the second time in recent months that security researchers have warned of hotel Wi-Fi networks being a potential vector of attack for cybercriminals, providing a not-so-subtle reminder that individuals must be ever-vigilant regarding the security of their devices and access points.”

Cylance, a security vendor, says that its security researchers at the Sophisticated Penetration Exploitation and ResearchÂ team (SPEAR) have uncovered a flaw in the InnGate Wi-Fi router commonly used by many hotels that could be placing the devices of guests at risk. According to Wired, the Cylance team reports, the vulnerability could threaten not just guests, but could also spread to the hotels themselves if hackers are able to compromise the router to allow them to access other parts of the hotel network. Cylance says this could potentially impact reservations and billing.

The vulnerability, dubbed CVE-2015-0932 gives an attacker full read and write access to the file system of an ANTLabsâ€™ InnGate device, Cylance reports. Â Cyber thieves gain remote access through an unauthenticated rsync daemon running on TCP 873, which then allows them to read and write unrestricted to the file system of the Linux based operating system.

For more: http://bit.ly/1yYJZK7

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

Tagged as Android, Arrest, Computer Security, Credit Cards, Crime, Cyber Law, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Employees, Free Wifi, Guest Safety, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, Hotel WiFi, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Information Security, Insurance, Internet Security, iPhone, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Liability, Managing Risk, Mobile Technology, Motels, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Property Damage, Restaurants, Risk Management Update, Security, Surveillance, Technology, Theft, WiFi, Wifi Router

by Ida | April 8, 2015 · 8:59 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Exploring The Brave New World of Hotel Tech Amenities”

“The most powerful existing effect of digital technology on design, Jacobs told me, is the feedback loop of websites and social media that plays back the success or failure of each design choice in real time, making it visible to the guestâ€™s friends, and their friends, and theirÂ friends.”

Hotels are my favorite places to think and write, or simply to escape from reality, which is sometimes harsh. The hotels I am grateful for are run by sensitive, thoughtful people who provide the precarious balance of anonymity and personal care that I crave. I want privacy, interesting design, and also a place to be sociable or take a meeting for an hour or two without breaking the spell of being somewhere far away from home. I like camping out alone under the stars, in a nice room with a comfortable bed, a desk, and room service.

As human beings become switching stations for the digital signals coming in and out of our phones, the technological backwardness of so many hotels has become, for me, part of their charm. I take comfort in the fact that hotel rooms often double as museums of Jurassic technologiesâ€”the desktop landline that acts as a five-pound free weight, the dedicated button you must push to order room service, the DVD player for which you can rent actual DVDs. Still, the fear that the hotel experience I am dependent on might dissolve into the surrounding digital babble of Big Data and wearable gizmos and giant LCD screens doesnâ€™t seem entirely unreasonable.

For more:Â http://for.tn/1JopkVV

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Filed under Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology

Tagged as Amenities Hotel, Crime, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Employees, Green Technology, Guest Safety, Health Hazards, Hospitality, Hospitality Industry, Hospitality Lawyer, Hospitality Risk Solutions, Hotel Employees, Hotel Guest, Hotel Industry, Hotel Safety, Hotel Security, Hotel Staff, Hotel Technology, hotel workers, Hotels, Housekeepers, Information Technology, Insurance, Lawsuits, Legal Issues, Legal Risks, Leisure, Liability, Managing Risk, Mobile Technology, Motels, New Technology, P3, Petra Risk Solutions, Restaurants, Risk Management, Risk Management Update, Room Amenities, Security, Surveillance, Technology, Travel, TripAdvisor

Tag Archives: Legal Risks

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Settlement Deal Reached in Hotel Pool Electrocution”

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Marriott International Announces Energy Conservation Results on Earth Day”

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

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Issues Loom For Keyless Entry in Hotels”

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Security Flaw In Hotel Wi-Fi Routers Could Put Devices At Risk”

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Exploring The Brave New World of Hotel Tech Amenities”

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