Tag Archives: Security

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Those ‘Secure’ Websites Aren’t Always Secure, Study Finds”

“InterContinental Hotels Group, for example, last year used Ghostery to discover the source of unauthorized digital vendors that were collecting data on some of the hotel company’s web pages,laptop which were slowing down the sites’ response times…’Every millisecond of page latency costs thousands of dollars in lost sales,’  said InterContinental Hotels Group Director of Web Delivery Chad Westfall.”

As brands invest in marketing technologies that make it easier to engage with consumers online, their concerns about digital security are growing.

Companies have encrypted web pages that are designed to prevent third parties from accessing customer data entered online. But many of these sites still have marketing technology that isn’t secure and that could expose a brand to potential data breaches, according to new research from privacy tech firm Ghostery.

Ghostery examined 50 encrypted websites in the airline, financial services, insurance, news and retail industries using data collected from its panel of 20 million consumers. According to Ghostery, 96% of the web pages studied that were supposed to be secure had a security blind spot due to the presence of non-secure code.

For more: http://on.wsj.com/1mCbsAJ

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

Hospitality Industry Conference Update: “15th Annual California Tourism Safety & Security Conference”

Last years conference was a huge success and we could not be more excited to be back! Come see Petra’s own Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, along with other members of the Petra P3 team. We hope to see you there!

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For more information on our P3 team: http://bit.ly/WUWpWi

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

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “The Apple Watch Will Help You Unlock Hotel Rooms Without a Key. But is That a Good Idea?”

“But moving systems to a smartphone or other mobile device that has built-in computing power that could be used to run algorithms to break that security could ‘open up a big can of worms,’ Apple Watchhe said. Although he assumes Hilton and other companies considering this move have taken ‘great care’ to reduce risk, he still worries that the additional attack surface and communication abilities of mobile devices might make them more difficult to secure.”

At least one app for the Apple Watch will allow the wearer to unlock a hotel room with the wave of a wrist. But using mobile devices to provide keyless entry to hotel rooms isn’t a novel concept — and could come with added security risks.

Hotels have been experimenting with mobile apps to unlock hotel rooms for some time. The Starwood Hotel group, which is reportedly working on an Apple Watch app, had been testing a similar feature for smartphone users at least since earlier this year. And in July, Hilton Hotels announced guests would be able to use digital check-in and room selection at more than 4,000 properties around the world by the end of this year.

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

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Filed under Crime, Hotel Industry, Risk Management, Technology

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Arizona Lawmakers Want Background Checks for Hotel Workers”

“…The attorneys say less than nine months later, in June 2012, the same night clerk raped another woman who was a guest at the hotel, again using the master key to gain access.Arizona They say there is an additional police report from Illinois that claims the man, again working as a night clerk, used the master key to enter her room and attempt to sexually assault her. Neither attorney knew of the man’s current location…”

Hobbs said the existing sex-offender laws — those that dictate where an offender can live and work — are in place to keep the public safe and aware.

“It is unthinkable that this registered offender has exploited loopholes in the law to gain access to sleeping hotel guests and to reoffend,” she said.

Friday’s press conference was the first time the prospect of legislative efforts on the issue had been brought to the attention of the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association, and officials were unaware of what a proposal would entail, said Kristen Jarnagin, senior vice president of the trade group.

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

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

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Kari’s Law Pushed After Murder, Failed 911 Call”

Kari’s Law has received support from nearly 500,000 online signatures and would require that all who dial the three digits 911 would be connected to an emergency dispatcher regardless of the multi-line telephone system (MTLS).hotel-phone Right now, dialing 911 at an office building, school, or hotel MLTS may or may not get the caller they help they are seeking. As Hunt travels the country to speak about Kari’s Law, he takes notice in each hotel room where he stays.”

One of the most well-known and obvious lessons taught to children and remembered through adulthood makes Hank Hunt feel angry, yet guilty.

“We all teach our children to dial 911,” said Hunt about the three digits ingrained in everyone’s head in case of an emergency. But it took tragedy for Hunt to realize those three digits do not always work.

In December of 2013, Hunt’s daughter Kari Dunn was stabbed to death inside a Marshall, Texas hotel room. Her estranged husband is now charged with her murder. Dunn’s 9-year-old daughter was inside the hotel room and dialed 911 four times.

Each time, the call failed.

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

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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Hotel Industry, Liability, Management And Ownership, Technology

Hospitality Industry Technology Update: “The Hotel Booking App That Will Change Everything!”

“Also, unlike most apps, Roomlia has no ties to a user’s credit card information. It passes the credit card data on to the hotel securely,Roomlia which means that the user can handle booking changes directly with his or her hotel of choice, making it much easier on the traveler and the hotel.”

I am an avid hotel-booking-app user. I regularly toggle between Hotel Tonight, Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz to hunt for rooms and deals when I travel. Sometimes I use them even when I don’t have travel plans as a way to decide where I want to go. I’m cheap!

I like to search Gogobot to browse by destination. I think Hipmunk offers a stellar user experience. I am not altogether unhappy with the app landscape right now, so I’m not necessarily in the market for a new hotel booking app, but I am always willing to try something new.

For more: http://yhoo.it/1qKUGuJ

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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

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

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

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

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

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Atlantic City Hotel Security Caught on Video Beating Guests Bloody”

“…Professional poker player John Binns, along with his wife Renee and daughter Andrea, Atlantic-City-casino-guests-sue-over-security-beatings-caught-on-video-ABC-Newsfiled two separate lawsuits against Harrah’s for their behavior during an August 2012 dispute. The Binns’ suit argues that the hotel computer mistakenly erased their registration two nights into their stay. During an ensuing argument with security, guards surrounded him and took him to the ground…”

An Atlantic City hotel and casino faces separate lawsuits from at least eight guests for excessive use of force by security personnel and local police, ABC News reported on Friday.

The plantiffs suing Harrah’s Atlantic City include a financial analyst and a professional poker player whose 17-year-old daughter suffered a broken nose after hotel security forced her to the ground. The altercations involving both plaintiffs were filmed on the hotel’s in-house security cameras.

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

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