Tag Archives: Security

by | February 23, 2015 · 10:13 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Bill Requiring Sex-Offender Checks on Hotel Workers Advances”

One of those is the fact that the measure as approved by the panel Monday has no enforcement mechanism and no penaltiesarizonabackgroundchecks for those hotels that ignore the law. Hobbs said she is counting on key changes when the measure goes to the full Senate. And Sen. Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, said he wants something in the legislation to ensure there are regular checks made of employees, not just at the time they are hired.

Told of the rapes of two guests in separate incidents in Mesa, members of a Senate panel voted Monday to require hotels to see if those who have access to room keys are sex offenders.

SB 1432 spells out that owners or managers have to use one of two available Internet websites before hiring anyone who can get into a guest’s room. If the employee shows up on either one, the hotel is barred from providing keys, keycards or any other method of getting into a room.

The vote followed testimony of attorneys who represent two women who were attacked in two separate incidents at two separate hotels — both reportedly by the same man.

For more: http://bit.ly/1EIOPyn

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Filed under Claims, Employee Practices, Guest Issues, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management

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by | February 19, 2015 · 8:40 am

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Tips to Keep Hotel Data Hackers at Bay”

Also of concern to hotels is the Dark Horse Virus, Shortz said. This virus is meant to capture sensitive data business travelers might have on their devices.data hack She said it presents itself as a system update when a user logs onto a hotel’s Wi-Fi network and is prompted to type in their name and room number…Data hacks will continue to happen in the hotel industry, the presenters said. During an interview with Hotel News Now following the session, Garfinkel said it’s not a matter of if a hotel company is hacked, but when.

Lara Shortz surveyed the crowd Tuesday at the Hospitality Law Conference and asked attendees to raise their hands if they’ve been involved in a data breach.

“If you haven’t raised your hand, you should,” Shortz, an attorney at Michelman & Robinson, said during a session titled “Anatomy of a hospitality data breach.”

The session was especially timely given reports that White Lodging was again targeted by data haxkers. In 2014, malware was found in the food-and-beverage outlets of 14 of  its hotels a year ago.

For more: http://bit.ly/1G81ko8

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Filed under Conferences, Crime, Employee Practices, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

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by | February 17, 2015 · 9:46 am

Hospitality Industry Management Update: “5 Trends in Hotel Design”

Developers with sustainability goals can use the LEED credit list and become certified, but Beckman says those things aren’t always sensible. He sees a bigger payoff in selecting sites that are polluted and need fixing.HotelIndigo1-620x330 “Now, you’re taking care of a site that has had some industry on it and has left some residue behind that needs to be cleaned up,” he says. “So you’re doing something positive for the urban environment, for the city, and for yourself.”

As the U.S. economy continues to strengthen, the architecture and design industry is gaining momentum. Gordon Beckman, principal and design director at John Portman & Associates, an architectural and engineering firm with more than 60 years of expertise in designing hotels and other buildings, discusses opportunities and trends in hotel design.

All About Authenticity
Hotels across the country are focused on providing locally relevant and authentic experiences. As a result, lobbies have evolved into active social hubs with flexible spaces for work and play, featuring cafés, bars, libraries, computer stations, game rooms, and more. “The more interactive things you have, the better—whatever you can do to connect people and make it less of a hotel and more of a place,” Beckman says. By incorporating flexible design elements, hotels can more quickly adapt to consumers’ changing tastes and preferences. “There’s a certain flexibility that gets built in to allow for change, because more and more people see hotels as an evolution of place rather than a static brand.”

For more: http://bit.ly/1DmhV9L

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by | February 13, 2015 · 11:50 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “How Technology is Changing the Hotel Concierge”

Marriott International’s Renaissance Hotels has adopted a hybrid approach that combines technology and personal service:Concierge a global hospitality program called “Navigator” that provides guests with resources allowing them to be “in the know” and to discover a destination’s hidden gems

The role of the hotel concierge might never disappear entirely, but advancements in technology (and changing attitudes from the guests who use it) are supplanting the need for human contact in many hotels around the world.

“The current role of the concierge is to provide information and services to guests,” said Kevin Murphy, chairman of the Hospitality Services Department at Rosen College of Hospitality Management in Orlando, Florida. “Their role will never diminish, but it’s going to be a much more specialized type of service that they’re providing.”

According to Les Clefs d’Or, an organization for professional hotel lobby concierges, there are 595 concierges wearing the group’s crossed gold keys insignia in the United States, a 14% increase since 2009.

For more: http://bit.ly/1zBaoMM

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by | February 9, 2015 · 11:02 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “U. Michigan Frat Accused Of Causing $50,000 In Damage To Hotel ‘Embarrassed And Ashamed’ Of Behavior” (VIDEO)

“We had a group of a fraternity that was visiting and had an excessive party and did damage on the resort.frat party Food, beer, alcohol, the walls, carpet damage, ceiling broken down and furniture damage,” the Treetops Resorts general manager told local 9 & 10 News. He also said that the students had to be led out of the hotel by police.

The University of Michigan chapter of Sigma Alpha Mu released a statement Wednesday taking responsibility for a reported $50,000 worth of damage to a northern Michigan ski resort.

“We are embarrassed and ashamed of the behavior of a few of our chapter members at Treetops Resort over the weekend of January 17-18,” the fraternity said. “This behavior is inconsistent with the values, policies, and practices of this organization.”

The Sigma Alpha Mu members allegedly caused a reported $50,000 worth of damage. Two other UMich fraternities also reportedly caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to another nearby ski resort the same weekend.

For more: http://read.bi/1CMh6GM

And for more on how to manage special events, check out the video below from Petra’s own P3 Risk Management Team.

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/119141202 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Managing Prom Nights & Grad Parties’. 

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 | February 6, 2015 · 9:03 am

Hospitality Industry Conference Update: “2015 Hospitality Law Conference”

The speakers, panelists, roundtable hosts, and facilitators of the 2015 Hospitality Law Conference represent the full spectrum of key roles in the hospitality industry:hlc2015 Private attorneys, hotel and restaurant corporate counsel, risk managers,finance executives, real estate developers, human resources managers, loss prevention managers, insurance brokers, and hotel and restaurant owners, managers, and operators

Hospitality Insurance and Loss Prevention Summit: The Petra Risk Solutions Hospitality Insurance and Loss Prevention Summit converges insurance, risk, LP, legal and finance to break down the silos of these functional areas. As we do each year, we begin with the top claims that have occurred over the last twelve months and the best practices to prevent them from occurring at your hotel or restaurant. As Worker Compensation Claims are becoming more of a challenge for the industry, we will take a deeper dive into best practices for prevention, claims handling and back to work policies.

For more: http://bit.ly/1zX3RBh

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by | February 3, 2015 · 9:09 am

Hospitality Industry Insurance Update: “Will Workers’ Comp Pay For Medical Pot For Back Pain?”

A workers’ compensation judge (WCJ) found Dr. Reeve didn’t prescribe medical marijuana and concluded that the pot program wasn’t reasonable and necessary medical care as required by workers’ compmedicalmarijuana…the appeals court had found the certification required under the Compassionate Use Act by a person licensed in New Mexico to prescribe and administer controlled substances is the functional equivalent of a prescription.

In a state where medical marijuana is legal, a recent court decision has reinforced a previous one regarding pot prescriptions under workers’ comp. 

Miguel Maez suffered injuries to his lumbar spine in February and March 2011 while working for Riley Industrial in New Mexico.

Maez received temporary disability benefits under workers’ comp. Dr. Anthony Reeve treated him for back pain starting in June 2011 and prescribed medication for pain management. He also referred Maez to another doctor for spinal injections.

During a test required for pain management patients, Maez tested positive for marijuana. Dr. Reeve told Maez that if he was going to continue to take marijuana, he needed to have a license for Dr. Reeve to continue administering other narcotics.

For more: http://bit.ly/1BSqcfS

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Filed under Employee Benefits, Hotel Employees, Hotel Industry, Insurance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Workers' Compensation

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by | February 2, 2015 · 9:22 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “Tech-Savvy Hotels: How Technology Can Differentiate Your Brand”

The key lies within providing a balance between introducing new technology and relying too heavily upon it. hotel techTechnology that is implemented to make a guest’s stay more convenient and interesting is definitely a worthwhile investment.On the other hand, technology and gadgets that are incorporated just to seem swanky and impressive are just another type of gimmick; in essence creating a hotel with a ‘technology theme.’

Technology often progresses faster than consumers can keep up, and small boutique hotels as well as big chain hotels are plying tech-savvy travelers with all sorts of gadgets and goodies to keep them interested. However, where is the line drawn between defining your hotel brand and just keeping up with a trend?

Does the Technology Add Value to your Guests?

(Not so much in these cases)

Hotels like the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas have used technology to make their rooms more futuristic and, supposedly, more comfortable. When guests enter their room the curtains open, music plays and the climate control switches on. Preferences are even stored for their next visit. Thank goodness, because I’ve always found flicking the lights on as I come into my room and turning the AC up from low to medium a really arduous task.

Hotel 1000 in Seattle has rooms with built in infrared sensors to detect body heat, therefore the staff can know automatically that guests are in their room and that they shouldn’t disturb them. They also have a “virtual golf club” which uses advanced technology to analyse your golf swing before you head out into all that pesky fresh air and play on a real golf course instead. No one enjoys doing that.

For more: http://bit.ly/1CSBcxA

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by | January 28, 2015 · 10:01 am

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “FCC Rules Hotel Wi-Fi Blocking Is Illegal and Subject to Penalties”

“No hotel, convention center, or other commercial establishment or the network operator providing services at such establishments may intentionally block or disrupt personal Wi-Fi hot spots on such premises, includinghotelwifi as part of an effort to force consumers to purchase access to the property owner’s Wi‑Fi network,” The FCC states. “Such action is illegal and violations could lead to the assessment of substantial monetary penalties.”

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission forcefully came down on the “disturbing trend” of hotels and other commercial entities blocking consumers’ personal Wi-Fi hot spots and declared such practices “illegal.”

The enforcement advisory directly rebuffs efforts by Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide and the rest of the U.S. hotel industry to get the authority to block attendees’ personal Wi-Fi hotspots at meetings and conventions.

Although the FCC hasn’t directly ruled on the Marriott and American Hotel & Lodging Association petition, filed in August, to seek clarification of the law as it pertains to Wi-Fi blocking, the FCC did note: “While the Enforcement Bureau recognizes that the Petition questions our position, the Bureau will continue to enforce the law as it understands it unless and until the Commission determines otherwise.”

For more: http://bit.ly/1EqnSm1

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by | January 23, 2015 · 10:00 am

Hospitality Industry Risk Management Update: “Preventing Credit Card Fraud at Hotels”(VIDEO)

Our P3 Team has created a video to help train your staff on how to recognize the signs of credit card fraud and how to best prevent your property from falling victim. If you have any questions, contact us today!

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/113722566 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Matt Karp, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Preventing Credit Card Fraud at Hotels’. 

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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