Tag Archives: Water Systems

by | June 20, 2014 · 9:30 am

Hospitality Industry Health Update: “Food and Water Quality an Ongoing Challenge for Hotels”

“…While a wide variation of food and water quality practices exists from country to country,water it’s a misconception that safety concerns are limited to poor areas in developing regions. Many germs have no boundaries, so the NSF StaySafer program will play an important role in establishing a universal set of standards that can be used as a benchmark and complement local requirements…”

From the buffet salad bar greens to the ice clinking in drinks served poolside, hotel administrators are finding that protecting guests from food and water illness outbreaks is a continuous challenge.

It’s also a necessary undertaking to demonstrate the hotel’s commitment to its patrons’ well being. Travelers won’t soon forget the awful stomach cramps if they experience a sickness during their stay, and such episodes can cause nearly irreversible damages to a hotel’s reputation.

For more: http://bit.ly/1kVhmFd

For a brief video on some of the steps you can take to help prevent Norovirus outbreak at your hotel, check out the video below:

[vimeo https://vimeo.com/98741016 w=500&h=281]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Loss Control Manager, Matt Karp, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Preventing Norovirus at Your Property’. 

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 | August 12, 2012 · 7:05 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Hotel Sued By Nine Guests Claiming They Contracted Meningitis From Hotel Pool; Suit Seeks Damages For Premises Liability And Negligence

“…The plaintiffs claim the hotel failed to sanitize the pool, fill it with clean water, use purification chemicals or “obtain proper certification of health & safety codes to reopen pool and water park facilities after pool closure.”

They seek medical costs, damages and punitive damages for premises liability, negligence, gross negligence, public nuisance and loss of consortium.

Nine people claim they contracted meningitis and/or other deadly diseases two years ago from a pool at the Grand Pacific Palisades Resort in Carlsbad. Lead plaintiff Gerald Green claim that during their stay in August 2010 the hotel failed to properly sanitize its family swimming pool. Plaintiff claim that hotel staff told them later that “the pool had been closed due to prior fecal or other form of contamination.”

“Plaintiffs were caused to sustain severe personal injuries, including, but not limited to symptoms of fever, headache, myalgias [muscle pain], vomiting and diarrhea, resulting in diagnoses to include meningitis and aggravated multiple sclerosis,” the complaint states.
Meningitis is a potentially fatal disease caused by inflammation of the protective membranes of the brain and spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis, which causes damage to nerves in the brain and spinal cord, is a debilitating disease with no known cure.

For more:  http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/08/06/49015.htm

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by | June 9, 2012 · 1:13 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Texas Hotel Temporarily Closed After Legionnaires' Disease Diagnosis

The SuperMedia Hotel and Conference Center, a hotel near the Dallas airport, closed temporarily this week after a guest was diagnosed with Legionnaires’ Disease. It is not yet known if the guest contracted the disease at the hotel or elsewhere, but the hotel closed temporarily while tests are being conducted.

“A guest at the hotel attached to SuperMedia’s offices was treated for Legionnaires’ disease and released from a nearby hospital. After the one case was initially reported to us, we took the precautionary step of asking our employees to work from alternate locations while the appropriate tests were being conducted. No other cases have been reported and we don’t know that this case originated from the hotel,” Andrew Shane, a  SuperMedia spokesperson, told Food Poisoning Bulletin.

Legionnaires’ Disease is a lung infection caused by Legionella bacteria which got its name when a number of people attending a 1976 American Legion convention in Philadelphia came down with the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

For more:  http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2012/legionnaires-case-shuts-down-dallas-hotel/

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by | March 23, 2012 · 8:30 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Maryland Hotel Suffers $50,000 In Water Damage As Guest Is "Tricked Into Breaking Off Fire Sprinkler"

“…Fire officials said a female guest was contacted by someone at the  website pranku.net and told that a gas leak had occurred in the hotel.  The  guest was then tricked into breaking off the sprinkler head in her room with a  toilet bowl cover, which then caused water to flow into eight rooms and the  floor below…”

The state fire marshal’s office is investigating an incident at a hotel in  Aberdeen in which a guest was pranked into breaking the sprinkler system with a  toilet bowl lid, which subsequently caused several rooms to flood.

Firefighters were called to the second floor of the Holiday Inn Express  in the 1000 block of Beards Hill Road about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

Officials said there was about $50,000 worth of damage to the hotel. No  charges have been filed at this point.
Read more: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/30746462/detail.html#ixzz1pxPycGH5

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by | February 3, 2012 · 6:33 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: New York Hotel's Water System Is "Source" Of Six Reported Cases Of Legionnaire's Disease In 2011

“…New York state health officials say six cases of Legionnaire’s disease contracted last year have been linked to an upstate hotel…Legionnaires can cause deadly pneumonia…the germs spread through mist or vapor from contaminated water or air conditioning systems…”

A Department of Health spokesman tells local media outlets that tests confirmed earlier this week that higher than normal levels of legionnella bacteria were present in the water system at the Best Western Sovereign Hotel in Albany.

Officials say the guests who became ill stayed at the hotel between September and December.

The Times Union of Albany reports that Phoenix-based Best Western International said in a statement that the company is working with health officials and has taken steps to eliminate the bacteria. The company says current guests aren’t at risk.

For more:  http://online.wsj.com/article/APc99086b2afa94c57a72e593a6a15e400.html

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by | January 31, 2012 · 1:35 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Nevada Hotel Sued For "Negligence" By Guests Claiming To Have Contracted "Legionnaires' Disease" From Water System

Eight guests sued in August, seeking $337.5 million in damages from the resort and its builders. An MGM Resorts spokesman at the time denied negligence, saying hotel officials carefully communicated with its guests and reimbursed them fairly for legitimate medical expenses. The case is still pending in federal court in Las Vegas.

The bacteria that causes Legionellosis – or Legionnaires’ disease – was found in water samples at the Luxor hotel-casino this month after a guest died of the form of pneumonia, health officials in Las Vegas said Monday.

The Southern Nevada Health District said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention national surveillance program reported three cases in the past year of Luxor guests being diagnosed with the disease caused by Legionella bacteria.

The Las Vegas Strip resort’s water was tested after the first two cases were reported during the spring of last year, but no Legionella bacteria was detected, district officials said. Those guests recovered.

Officials say the Luxor, owned by MGM Resorts International, immediately began a remediation process once the bacteria was found.

MGM Resorts spokesman Gordon Absher said treatment procedures include superheating and super-chlorination of the water system.

For more:  http://www.thirdage.com/news/legionellosis-found-in-luxor-hotel-water-samples-in-nevada_01-30-2012

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by | November 11, 2011 · 4:21 pm

Hospitality Industry Fire Risks: Los Angeles Hotel Fire Starts On Third Floor But Sprinklers Cause Water Damage Up To Eighth Floor (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhfMEdzXgTo]

A fire at the historic Mayfair Hotel in downtown Los Angeles causes severe damage to several floors. Unique Restoration helped the hotel recover from the disaster with emergency water and fire restoration services.

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by | July 17, 2011 · 8:10 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Nevada Hotel Guests Exposed To "Bacteria Causing Legionnaires' Disease"; Water Treatment Capabilities Increased

“…Spokeswoman Stephanie Bethel of the Southern Nevada Health District said Thursday that six cases of the sometimes-deadly form of pneumonia have been reported among Aria guests by the Centers for Disease Control….”

The hotel says in a letter to guests that it added additional water treatment and the latest tests show no detectible levels of the bacteria.

The Aria Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip is warning guests who stayed during a two week window that they may have been exposed to high levels of the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease.

Bethel says all six people were treated and have recovered. Hotel officials say water tests in several guest rooms between June 21 and July 4 detected elevated levels of the bacteria Legionella.

For more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9748294

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by | September 1, 2010 · 7:39 am

Hotel Industry Water Safety Risks: Hotel Management Must Check Water Filtration Systems Regularly To Eliminate Risk Of Legionella Bacteria

“We did find Legionella in the water system of the hotel,” said Vincent Conte, deputy director of epidemiology, disease control and immunization services at the health department.
 
Health officials praised the hotel’s owner and management for their quick response to the crisis and efforts to disinfect the water supply and system in the 54-story, 677-unit building opened in December 2008.

A study by the Miami-Dade County Health Department released Tuesday found seven confirmed and three “probable” cases of people who contracted the water-borne Legionnaires’ disease after staying at the luxurious Epic Hotel and Residences last fall.

In addition, one man, a 57-year-old tourist from England, died in November.

Seven of the ill hotel guests have fully recovered and three others are in the process of recovering, county officials said. One of the guests was from Germany and another from Spain.

None were Miami-Dade residents.

The only connection between the tourists is that they stayed at the Epic Hotel, health officials said.

Their complex investigation focused on the water at the hotel and condominium development at 270 Biscayne Blvd. Way in downtown Miami.

While county health officials said they were not able to prove “100 percent” that the filtered water at the hotel caused the disease, Legionella bacteria was found in 23 of 25 cultures collected by the hotel’s contractor. Similar results were found in the health department samples.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/09/01/1801654/study-links-legionnaires-cases.html#ixzz0yI5crfY9

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