Tag Archives: Petra Risk Solutions

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Savioke’s First Robot Begins its Career as a Hotel Bellhop”

“It rolls down the hallway from the lobby, communicates with the elevator wirelessly to know when it can board and then travels the final leg to the guest’s room.robot Botlr calls guests via their room phone to let them know it has arrived. The touchscreen guides the guest through retrieving their item and then asks for a rating out of five stars. If the feedback is good, it does a little dance.”

If you call down to the front desk at the Aloft hotel in Cupertino, Calif., to replace that toothbrush you forgot to bring, a human will not come to your aid. Beginning tonight, a robot named Botlr will take the elevator up to your room and deliver it instead.

Botlr is the first product out of Savioke, a robotics company that received $2 million in seed funding in April to bring helpful robots to the service sector. Just 10 weeks after announcing the funding, Savioke closed a deal with Starwood Hotels to begin testing a robotic bellhop at the Cupertino Aloft. Other hotel locations could follow.

For more: http://bit.ly/1p926fM

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Savioke’s First Robot Begins its Career as a Hotel Bellhop”

Filed under Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology

Hospitality Industry Insurance Update: “Business Interruption Coverage More Important Than Ever to Cyber Policies” (Video)

Video

Click image to play video

London-based MGA, CFC Underwriting, has brought a new cyber product to market for large companies that goes beyond the traditional cyber product, says Graeme Newman, director of marketing for the company. In this video with MyNewMarkets.com, Newman discusses how the increased knowledge of cyber risks has led large companies to demand a more complete product that includes business interruption coverage and how CFC’s coverage addresses these exposures.

For more: http://bit.ly/1whB8GL

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Insurance Update: “Business Interruption Coverage More Important Than Ever to Cyber Policies” (Video)

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

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

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

Filed under Crime, Hotel Industry, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Cause of Sickness Linked to Hotel Swimming Pool Remains Unclear”

“An inspector found that the pool’s pH levels were outside the ideal range Monday morning, but it was not clear that the issue was serious enough to sicken someonepool…The incident began about 8 p.m. Sunday when one of the children vomited and the others said they felt sick. They were all treated and released from the hospital by morning, a Children’s Health spokesperson said…”

The cause of a sickness that hospitalized 13 children after they used a hotel swimming pool Sunday night remained unclear Monday.

The pool at Homewood Suites, 4210 Airport Way, remained closed while the incident was investigated, the Denver Department of Environmental Health reported.

For more: http://bit.ly/1z1fcvo

2 Comments

Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Maintenance, Pool And Spa, 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

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

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

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Don’t be Alarmed by That Robot Delivering a Toothbrush to Your Hotel Room”

“We think this is such a huge opportunity to deliver better service to our customer.Botlr-in-Hallway-lr  The mundane task of running a razor behind the scenes goes away, you’ll see our associates more because they’ll be more front and center than they’ve ever been,” McGuinness said. “This is by no means replacing the human element of hospitality.”

The situation usually plays out like this. You’re unpacking in a hotel room and realize you forgot something. Rather than trek to whatever store might be near, you call the front desk and ask for a razor, toothpaste or whatever you need. The hotel then sends someone up with the delivery.

Except for the Aloft Hotel in Cupertino, Calif, which will begin using an R2D2-esque robot for such trips. Fittingly, Aloft’s parent company, Starwood Hotels, tests the latest technology at the Silicon Valley hotel. Guests can enter their rooms with a smartphone app and bypass the traditional check-in process at the front desk.

For more: http://wapo.st/1o63HNa

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Don’t be Alarmed by That Robot Delivering a Toothbrush to Your Hotel Room”

Filed under Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Technology

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Millbrook Hotel Faces Legionnaires Lawsuit”

“…The Wheat and Renta families, in the area for a local softball tournament, were among at least 14 people who became sick with flu-like symptoms including difficulty breathing, elevated temperature,Legionella-pneumophila body aches, dizziness, headaches, and chills, according to the suit…Legionnaires disease is typically contracted by inhaling or ingesting Legionella bacteria. The bacteria can also cause related illness, such as Pontiac fever, pneumonia, and other serious and sometimes permanent health conditions…”

Montgomery law firm Beasley-Allen has filed a personal injury lawsuit on behalf of two Jefferson County families, who the suit contends contracted Legionnaires disease while staying at the Sleep Inn & Suites in Millbrook.

Clayton Wheat and Tony Renta, along with several members of a girls’ softball team, became ill and several tested positive for Legionnaires disease after a weekend stay at the Sleep Inn & Suites, according to the suit filed by the Beasley Allen Law Firm in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.

For more: http://on.mgmadv.com/1mR4GRC

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Millbrook Hotel Faces Legionnaires Lawsuit”

Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Risk Management

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Someone’s Been Shot at Your Hotel. What Should Management Do Next?”

“…A full evacuation of a hotel property typically isn’t necessary unless there is a roaming shooter,NOLA Shooter he said. Even then, Cahn’s advice to anybody staying at a hotel when a violent outburst occurs is to remain in place until directed otherwise by police. People pouring into the hallways to leave could give a shooter more targets…”

When a gunman holes up in a hotel room with one or more other people, as happened Sunday at the Westin Canal Place in New Orleans where police said a man shot a friend before killing himself, the first task of hotel management, after making sure police are en route, is to usher other guests someplace safe and comfortable, hotel security specialist Mike Cahn said on Monday.

For more: http://bit.ly/1yArFWE

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Management Update: “Someone’s Been Shot at Your Hotel. What Should Management Do Next?”

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

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “As Marijuana Becomes Legal in More States, How Should Employers Handle Positive Drug Tests?”

“…Hospitality employers also need to be aware of potential violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) associated with medical marijuana.  Employers with facilities in states that allow medical marijuana use may need to provide a reasonable accommodation under the ADA for employees with a valid doctor’s authorization. 042314_acuna_marijuana_640 For instance, the New York statute permitting medical marijuana use automatically classifies every individual who is considered a Certified Patient as disabled.  Therefore, New York employers must engage in an interactive process with the employee to determine whether they need to provide the employee with a reasonable accommodation…”

Due to the ever changing laws surrounding the legality of marijuana, many of our hospitality clients have recently asked us whether it is lawful to terminate an employee who has tested positive for marijuana.  The answer varies greatly depending on the state in which you are located.

States continue to pass legislation legalizing marijuana use for specific purposes.  On July 5, 2014, New York became the twenty-first state along with the District of Columbia to legalize marijuana use for certain medical conditions—joining Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.  Two other states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized recreational marijuana use for individuals who are 21 years old or older, and Alaska and Oregon currently have similar legislation pending.

For more: http://bit.ly/1Bek1W8

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Management Update: “As Marijuana Becomes Legal in More States, How Should Employers Handle Positive Drug Tests?”

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

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

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

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