Monthly Archives: October 2012

by | October 21, 2012 · 6:57 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Mississippi Hotel Fire Causes $4 Million In Damage As Roof And Most Of Third Floor Rooms Destroyed; Heavy Water Damage To Lower Floors

“…Three-quarters of the roof is gone, along with the tower over the elevator shaft, which collapsed… Most of the third floor rooms were damaged or destroyed by fire and the lower floors inundated by water from the fire hoses…”

Federal investigators have joined the investigation into Wednesday’s fire at a Howard Johnson Inn on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

The fire burned through the roof of the three-story hotel, doing an estimated $4 million in damage. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will help state and local officials determine the origin and cause of the fire, says Joel Lee, who leads the ATF’s Gulfport field office.

Four Jackson County fire departments responded to the blaze at the hotel Wednesday, which is in the unincorporated St. Martin community north of Ocean Springs. The fire burned for more than three hours.

Officials said the fire spread because the older building lacked the fireproofing required by building codes in newer structures. Another fire damaged the hotel in 2010.

For more:  http://www2.wjtv.com/news/2012/oct/20/federal-agency-joins-hotel-fire-investigation-ar-4794171/

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by | October 20, 2012 · 6:38 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risk Management: Hotels Face Increased Risk Of "Guestroom Burglaries" From Electronic Door Lock Hacking Devices

By Todd Seiders, CLSD

http://www.petrarisksolutions.com/

As many of you may have heard, the computer “hacking” community has made a small device that can open Onity hotel guestroom door locks. It costs approximately $50 in readily available electronic parts, and the device has been concealed in an iPhone case and a Dry Erase marking pen body (yes, the felt tipped dry erase pen used on whiteboards).

The hacking device plugs into the door locks, and opens the door. It shows up on the lock readout as a “portable programmer” use, but no serial number for the portable programmer is noted.

**We are now experiencing actual guestroom burglaries and guest thefts by use of these devices in Texas. Multiple rooms have been hit at several hotels. An arrest was made in Houston on some of these burglaries, so I hope to have additional info on that very soon.

**I am also receiving reports from hotels in Florida that a similar “hacker” has been seen carrying a laptop computer and using a key card (possibly connected to the laptop) to open guestroom door locks. There have been several guestroom burglaries and actual witnesses who saw the suspect with his laptop, using a key card to access locked guestrooms.

Please TRAIN and notify your hotel staff that these burglaries are spreading across the country. Hotel staff should be vigilant while they are on the guest floors and paying attention to guests walking through hallways. Take time to watch guests walking through your hallways to ensure they are going to a room and entering it. Be very suspicious of someone carrying a laptop or small bag wandering the hallways. Greet guests and ask them if they need assistance. If they appear nervous, or cannot tell you what room they are looking for, escort them to the lobby, or escort them to where a security camera is, so you can get a picture of them. If they leave the hotel, follow them and try and write down a vehicle license plate on their vehicle. Your hotel staff has to be more active on your guest floors when they see people walking around.

Onity locks is not accepting liability for the defect in their hotel locks, and have offered a software fix for the problem. Onity is charging hotels to supply the fix.

I’m sorry to say that this burglary issue will only get bigger as the hackers share their tales and their build your own device details in the future.

I’ll keep you posted on this topic…..

Todd Seiders, CLSD
Director of Risk Management

Email: ToddS@PetraRiskSolutions.com
Phone: (800) 466-8951 ext 207

Direct: (562) 623-0976
Fax: (800) 494-6829
Lic #0817715

 

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by | October 19, 2012 · 6:46 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Florida-Based Restaurant Group Faces Five Separate "Federal Labor Law Class-Action Lawsuits"; Employees Required To Work "Off The Clock" And Skip Required Breaks

“…Lawsuits filed by the Mexican-American Legal and Education Fund accuse Darden Restaurants—which owns the Capital Grille, Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains—of violating state and federal labor laws…the suits claim the restaurants regularly ask employees to work off the clock, skip legally required breaks and report to work when sick…”

The world’s largest full-service restaurant ownership company faces five separate class-action lawsuits filed by a group that works to protect restaurant workers’ rights.

The litigation began as a single class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago, with state class-action claims covering workers in Illinois, as well as California, Florida, Maryland and New York. Eventually, the lawsuit was severed into five jurisdictions due to the large size of the classes and the complexity of the various state claims. Five regional U.S. District Courts will hear the cases.

The lawsuits were initiated by the Restaurant Opportunities Cen­­ters United, which seeks to improve wages and working conditions for low-wage restaurant workers.

For more:  http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/33010/worker-advocates-cook-up-five-suits-against-restaurant-group

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by | October 18, 2012 · 6:12 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: North Carolina Restaurant Settles "Food Contamination" Class-Action Lawsuit For $375,000; Hundreds Had To Be Vaccinated For Hepatitis Virus

“…the lawsuit alleged that the restaurant chain exposed customers to potentially contaminated food or people, cost them wages and medical expenses, and caused fear and physical pain…a $375,000 fund has been set up by the restaurant’s parent company… to settle a class-action lawsuit…”

A lawsuit has been settled involving hundreds of people who had to be vaccinated after eating at a Fayetteville restaurant last year. The Fayetteville Observer reported those who were immunized after eating at the Olive Garden restaurant are eligible for payments of up to $250.

Hundreds of people got vaccinations after learning that one of the restaurant’s workers had tested positive for the virus, which causes liver inflammation.

Florida-based GMRI denied any wrongdoing but said it wanted to settle to end the litigation.

For more:  http://www.northjersey.com/news/health/174592761.html

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by | October 17, 2012 · 5:58 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: North Carolina Hotel Fire Caused By "Electrical Short In Air Conditioner"; 18 Rooms And $15,000 In Damage

“…Officials said 18 rooms were destroyed after an electrical short in an air conditioner unit caused a fire in a room on the third floor…about $15,000 in property damage and about $30,000 in content damage was reported…”

Fire officials said 18 adults were displaced and one injury was reported after a hotel fire Tuesday night in Winston-Salem. Authorities said 24 firefighters from various units had the situation under control within about 30 minutes.

Authorities said the Red Cross responded and the victims were moved to the Quality Inn in Winston-Salem and the Village Inn in Clemmons. Details on the reported injury were not released.

For more:  http://myfox8.com/2012/10/17/officials-18-adults-displaced-in-winston-salem-hotel-fire/

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by | October 16, 2012 · 6:02 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Texas Hotel Sued For "Negligence" After Man Slips And Falls Down Flight Of Stairs; Failure To Post Warning Of Wet Carpet

“…According to the lawsuit, the hotel had washed, shampooed or cleaned its carpets prior to Steele’s arrival and left them in a wet and slippery condition without any warning to Steele…”

The defendant is accused of negligence for failing to inspect its premises to be sure that they were free of unreasonably dangerous conditions, dry its floors after cleaning, limit access to areas in which the floors were not yet dry, warn its invitees of the existence of the wet floors, select and hire competent contractors in such a way as to ensure that they were not creating an unreasonable risk of harm to invitees.

A Louisiana man has filed a lawsuit against the owners of a Comfort Inn claiming that they failed to warn him that the carpet was wet, which caused him to fall down an entire flight of stairs. Walter Steele filed suit against Laxmi Lodging Inc. on Oct. 12 in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division.

The incident occurred on Sept. 9, 2012 as Steele was attempting to exit a Comfort Inn in Palestine, Texas, owned by the defendant by the way of the staircase when his foot slipped on the wet flooring causing him to fall down an entire flight of stairs and onto the concrete floor.  The fall caused Steele serious and permanent disabling injuries to his back and spine.

The plaintiff is seeking damages for medical expenses, lost earnings, physical impairment, pain, suffering, mental anguish, and lost earning capacity.

For more:  http://setexasrecord.com/news/275705-hotel-owner-sued-after-patron-falls-down-flight-of-stairs

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by | October 15, 2012 · 6:04 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: New York Restaurant "Broiler" Fire Spreads Through Walls Into Third Floor Attic

“…the building did sustain serious damage but it won’t be a total loss. The restaurant will remain closed while the repairs are underway, but the hotel next door will remain open…”

Several customers and employees were inside Fred’s Inn Sunday afternoon as a fire broke out inside the broiler. But for a short time, no one knew. “It was really only a few minutes probably by the time they discovered it, but it had gone up through a wall into an attic,” said A. Wesley Jones, the Public Information Officer for the Norwich Fire Department.

Staff immediately cleared the restaurant. No one was injured. Meanwhile the flames were quickly spreading through the historic building, built in 1933.

“There’s a full attic in there, a third floor of the structure, the fire had kinda gotten up into there, there’s also a couple additions onto the structure, which made it difficult to fight,” said Jones.

That’s why it took nearly an hour and a half to get the flames under control. The restaurant is an local landmark. As news of the fire spread, customers began gathering at the scene, like Bill Strong.

“I’m a life long resident of the area, it’s always been a staple of the area, and we were just here recently and we were very impressed with the service and the food…and we had to come check it out,” said Strong.

Now firefighters say this could have been a lot worse. “An evening, even this evening this place would have been packed with dozens if not a couple hundred people in here dining and it certainly could’ve caused a problem,” said Jones.

For more:  http://centralny.ynn.com/content/top_stories/604375/fire-damages-historic-chenango-county-restaurant/

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by | October 14, 2012 · 7:07 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Washington Restaurant Closed Down By Health Department After Confirmation Of Salmonella Poisoning

“…(the Health Department) closed the restaurant this morning as a further precaution to reduce the risk of Salmonella spreading to others. Our staff is interviewing employees and patrons to learn more about the possible source of this outbreak, such as a contaminated food source.”

The Clark County Public Health Department is closing the On the Border Mexican restaurant in Vancouver, Washington after an outbreak of Salmonellaamong patrons. The restaurant is located at 1505 SE 164th Avenue. So far, there are 11 confirmed cases and 5 probable cases associated with this outbreak. Public health officials are asking that anyone who ate at the restaurant between September 20 and October 8, 2012 and experiencing symptoms of salmonellosis contact a health care provider.

The symptoms of Salmonella food poisoning include diarrhea, which may be bloody, fever, chills, abdominal cramps, and vomiting. People usually become ill one to three days after infection. Attorney Elliot Olsen said, “facilities that sell food are supposed to ensure that their product is safe. Food contaminated with pathogenic bacteria is not fit to eat.”

Since Salmonella infections can spread person-to-person, government officials are stressing the need for thorough hand-washing after using the bathroom, and before and during food preparation. Anyone who is ill should stay home and not prepare food until their symptoms have disappeared.

For more:  http://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2012/vancouver-wa-mexican-restaurant-on-the-border-closed-after-salmonella-outbreak/

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by | October 13, 2012 · 6:17 am

Hospitality Industry Fire Safety Risks: South Carolina Hotels Implement "Preventative Maintenance" Program Including Housekeeping Checking Smoke Detectors After Guests Depart

“…the resort says it follows a detailed preventative maintenance program with a 300 item checklist, ensuring that everything from electric outlets to appliances inside guest rooms are safe to use…upon the departure of each guest, housekeeping is instructed to check the smoke detector for safety to make sure it’s still in working condition…”

Studies show that working smoke detectors cut your chance of dying in a fire by half.

When it comes to hotel fire safety, Springmaid Beach Resort on Ocean Blvd learned just how important smoke detectors are, after a small electrical fire broke out in the boiler room this past summer.

“We had to clear all those rooms out of people that were right around it and move them to a different property,” says Donald Hovis, the marketing manager for the establishment.

It’s a safety measure more hotels are starting to do. In Georgetown, the fire department has teamed up with hotels requiring cleaning staff to check smoke detectors after each guest checks out of the room. The staff also leaves a card stating the test has been done for the next occupant to see.

While Myrtle Beach doesn’t require it, the fire department says it’s been working with hotels for years on getting housekeeping to check the devices, and the fire marshal says he’s confident Grand Strand hotels are ensuring guests’ safety.

Several hotels we checked with along Ocean Boulevard say they check them regularly. Hovis says following this summer’s small fire, they learned another valuable lesson.

For more:  http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/19806893/grand-strand-hotels-reveal-fire-safety-plan

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by | October 12, 2012 · 6:13 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Restaurant Settles "Disability Discrimination" Lawsuit For $41,500 And Agrees To Train Managers On Use Of "Hearing-Impaired Communication Systems"

“…the EEOC alleged that the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 by denying job applicant Michael Harrison employment at its Wendy’s franchise in Killeen, Texas, after learning of his hearing impairment…In addition to paying $41,500 to Mr. Harrison, Wendy’s agreed to provide all managers and supervisory employees training on the ADA and specific training on the use of hearing-impaired communication systems…”

A franchisee of The Wendy’s Co. fast-food restaurant chain has agreed to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, paying $41,500 to resolve the case and implement employee training.

After successfully interviewing with the Wendy’s shift manager for a cooker position, Mr. Harrison was interviewed by the general manager through a telephonic system for the hearing-impaired. During the course of the interview, the EEOC alleged that the general manager told Mr. Harrison that “there is really no place for someone we cannot communicate with,” the EEOC said in the statement.

After failing to reach a prelitigation settlement, the EEOC filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Waco.

For more:  http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20121011/NEWS07/121019971?tags=|70|75|305|303

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