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NBC Security Consultant shows how criminals can use hotel staff to break into a hotel room.
Tag Archives: Safety
Hospitality Industry Security Risks: NBC Security Consultant Demonstrates How Criminals Can Use Hotel Staff To Break Into Hotel Rooms (Video)
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Filed under Crime, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft, Training
Hospitality Industry Pool Risks: 7-Year Old Boy Saved From Drowning At A "Crowded" Missouri Hotel Pool; Water Was "Cloudy" And Obscured Most Guests From Seeing Body Floating Near Bottom Of Pool
“…The water was a bit cloudy; he could make out a figure — pool artwork, he thought — that looked like it had six limbs. He didn’t realize it at the time, but what he saw was the near-drowning victim, laying on a black line on the pool’s bottom…”
“…The child’s father, who had been watching over two younger children, rushed over and started frantically administering CPR while Garry Pate made sure the boy’s head was turned to the side as fluids gushed forth from the boy…”
Justice was recently recognized by DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis, the Board of Commissioners and others for his bravery over the summer in getting the 7-year-old out of a hotel pool in Bridgeton, Missouri, near St. Louis. Justice has received medals, police patches, and commendations from DeKalb and Bridgeton.
When Justice arrived at the pool — crowded due to a birthday celebration — he found his brother Makenzie just dangling his feet in the water and his brother Maxwell sitting with his father, Garry Pate, who was in a lounge chair watching a nine-year-old cousin play in the three-feet area of the pool.
Justice got in the water and started practicing for a pool game when he saw “a big, grayish object†– a child slowly floating near the bottom of the pool.
Justice knew something was wrong. He came out of the water and went over to his father. Dad, there’s a boy on the bottom of the pool, Justice told him.
That’s a drawing or painting at the bottom, Garry Pate said. But before he could say another word, his son had left his side.
“Justice didn’t even look at me,†Garry Pate recalled. “He jumped in.â€
Pushing off the wall with his legs to gain speed, Justice quickly swam down to the child. He grabbed him, pulled him up, swam to the surface and held the child up over the water.
“Call 911!†Garry Pate shouted. Nervously, a niece did, helped by other relatives in getting the right address to the dispatcher.
Justice got the child to the wall where his father was standing, and Garry Pate helped get the victim to the pool deck.
Some people on the pool deck stood frozen among the commotion.
The child’s father, who had been watching over two younger children, rushed over and started frantically administering CPR while Garry Pate made sure the boy’s head was turned to the side as fluids gushed forth from the boy.
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Liability, Maintenance, Pool And Spa, Risk Management
Hospitality Industry Kitchen Risks: Restaurants Must Insure That Employees Understand "Kitchen Safety Procedures" (Video)
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Young Workers are the most vulnerable workers. They need to speak up more if they don’t understand safety procedures. Supervisors need to make sure they are working safely. This story takes place in a restaurant kitchen, and is a graphic example of the risks involved with young people not speaking up. It doesn’t hurt to speak up.
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Filed under Health, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Training
Hospitality Industry Guest Safety Risks: Child Drowns In Missouri Hotel's Hot Tub As "Water Slide" Distracts Adult Supervision
“…The death of a 3-year-old who drowned in a hotel hot-tub is being ruled an accidental drowning….the boy’s grandfather was watching two older siblings at a water slide when he noticed Parker was underwater in the hot tub and pulled him out…”
Police say 3-year-old Parker Wilson of Rosendale went underwater in a hot tub at the Ramada Inn last Monday. Wilson was at the water park with his siblings and their grandparents.
Emergency workers performed CPR on the boy but he later died at the hospital.
Filed under Guest Issues, Injuries, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Guest Room Security: Hotels Are Deploying New Technology For In-Room Guest Security And Satisfaction (Video)
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David Heckaman, VP of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, walks us through some of the cool features built into their new Hotel in Las Vegas. the technology is by Control4, Guestlink, Saflok and Axxess. The system adds security, huge Energy savings and provides Guests with the best in-Room experience they can possibly have.
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Filed under Guest Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Training
Hotel Industry Health And Safety Issues: Bed Bug Infestations Have Been Reported In All 50 States And Restricted Use Of Pesticides Will Make Eradication Efforts Difficult (Video)
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Prior to World War I, nearly 30 percent of all homes were infested with bed bugs. Widespread use of pesticides such as DDT all but eradicated bed bugs for nearly 50 years. But with declining use of pesticides and the elimination of DDT, bed bugs have staged a comeback and are reported in all 50 states. There is even an iPhone app that allows users to track bed bug sightings. Dr. Jeffrey Levin of the U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler discusses bed bugs in this post to the U.T. Health Science Center at Tyler’s YouTube Channel.
Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Outbreak Of Norovirus At Hotels And Restaurants Can Be Minimized With Antimicrobial Technology
“Ultimately, the impact an outbreak has on a hotel’s reputation could be devastating. Norovirus, for example, can be particularly dangerous for the elderly or very young, especially if customers have 
underlying health problems. Then there’s Campylobacter – the most common form of food poisoning – which is estimated to cost the UK economy £500m a year.â€
 A leading microbiologist is calling on the hospitality and leisure industry to take more drastic action to minimise the risk of customers and staff being infected with potentially harmful microorganisms following a food poisoning outbreak at the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow.
 Dr Richard Hastings, a microbiologist for BioCote, says that by adopting antimicrobial silver ion technology into areas where hygiene is critical, like a hotel’s kitchen and restaurant, or public areas where there is high footfall, it can help lower levels of contaminating bacteria by up to 99.99%. This dramatically reduces the possibility of cross contamination and the risk of people getting infected.
For more:Â http://www.hoteldesigns.co.uk/industrynews/news_7391.html
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Hotel Industry Safety And Security Risks: Major Hotel Chain Testing “Smart Phone” Application For Keyless Room Entry Which Could Expose Hotel Guests To Potential Risks
“…not all properties are as security-conscious as others. “
At this point we don’t know if there will be would-be prowlers hopefully beeping at locked hotel room doors or how glitchy the system could be.
Hackers also target hotels not only because they give up the goods pretty easily, but on average it takes a hotel about five months to figure out they’ve been hacked.
So far, little is known about the Open Ways application, including its vulnerabilities
Also, hotels as a rule, are known as easy pickings for hackers looking to find credit card numbers and other forms of identification. Because many are independently owned and operated, not all hotels in the same chain will have the same amount of security. and how it works in relation to the hotel system.
For more:Â http://industry.bnet.com/travel/10006366/smartphones-as-hotel-room-keys-not-so-fast/
Hotel Industry Safety: Guest Safety Will Always Be Compromised If Hotels Do Not Demand Physical Proof Of Identity
There is a conflict of interests between guest safety and guest satisfaction, which plagues the industry. By nature, hotels — especially five-star properties — are welcoming and discreet when a guest checks in. More rigorous identification procedures that require front-desk staff to demand additional personal information or physical proof of identity could jeopardise this.
(From a HotelierMiddleEast.com article)  Identifying hotel guests used to be a simple procedure; the receptionist had to match the name of the guest with the name on the reservation and then hand over the room key. But in today’s world of cyber crime, credit card fraud and identity theft, it is more important (and complicated) than ever to ensure that the person checking in to your hotel is really who they say they are.
In GCC countries, industry standards require hotels to upload data from the passport of every guest who is staying in the hotel on to a central government portal.
Two months ago, numerous individuals who were carrying false passports managed to enter the UAE, check into hotels using fake identities and fake credit cards, and then depart the country less than 24 hours later, after they allegedly assassinated Palestinian Hamas chief Mahmoud Al Mabhouh.
The events that took place at the Al Bustan Rotana Dubai in late January have still not been confirmed, but one thing is clear; a number of individuals managed to check into the hotel under assumed identities.
According to Al Bustan general manager Mohamad Haj Hassan, hotel staff followed standard protocol when several of the suspects checked in; taking a scan of their passports and a credit card swipe before handing them their room keys and wishing them an enjoyable stay.
Hotel Industry Safety And Surveillance: New Technology From 3VR Security Increases Safety For Hotel Guests
“The system will also allow us to do things we never thought about.” Just some of the uses that are being tested at Hilton Americas-Houston include counting arriving vehicles to determine peak times for staffing and monitoring any vehicle accidents in the garage area to provide guests with needed information for their insurance purposes. Ltd.
(From SecurityInfoWatch.com article)Â In order to provide guests with the ultimate in security and customer service, Hilton Americas-Houston, the city’s largest hotel, has enhanced their surveillance systems with cutting edge technology from 3VR Security, Inc. The 3VR platform makes it possible for the property to find relevant surveillance footage in seconds, rather than hours, allowing the hotel to utilize the technology for multiple purposes.
As the number-one convention hotel in the city, Hilton Americas-Houston is the first hotel to utilize 3VR’s facial recognition, license plate recognition and advanced motion analytics to provide the ultimate in guest security. In the hotel security business since 1990, John Alan Moore, director of security and life safety for Hilton Americas-Houston says “I’ve never seen anything that is able to do the things this technology does; it’s light-years ahead of the system we previously used.” In addition to providing the ultimate in security for their guests, the hotel is also able to utilize the 3VR system to ensure the best possible customer service. Hilton Americas-Houston is now able to help guests locate lost possessions with the system’s color, directional and object search capabilities. A guest’s misplaced suitcase can be found almost instantly by following the piece using a search based on color and object, from the time it enters the hotel all along its path throughout the building. With over 7,000 lost guest items per year in lost and found, the system will significantly increase the hotel’s ability to satisfy the customer on even higher levels. Another use for the system that Hilton Americas-Houston has found useful is recognizing repeat customers. According to Moore, “We will be able to tie in with front office systems to flag our Gold Card members in order to be able to blow them away with service. This is another tool to be used to keep Hilton as the leader in the industry.” With 90% accuracy, the system registers few false positives, even picking up good facial info on cameras not specifically designated as facial-recognition. On a humorous note, the system is so sensitive that it has recognized faces that were not actually guests; they were photos of the t-shirts of guests. Moore said “President Obama made an appearance on our skywalk, on a guest’s clothing. That’s how bad the system wants to recognize a face.” This high-sensitivity makes the system a most useful tool for the property, providing the ultimate in guest safety and security.
Moore stated, “The system will also allow us to do things we never thought about.” Just some of the uses that are being tested at Hilton Americas-Houston include counting arriving vehicles to determine peak times for staffing and monitoring any vehicle accidents in the garage area to provide guests with needed information for their insurance purposes. Ltd.
