[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQJVtyo1i0c&feature=youtu.be&hd=1]
Petra Risk Solutions’ Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders , offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Report – ‘Special Packages’.Â
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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Filed under Claims, Guest Issues, Injuries, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
The family of a man who met a bizarre and tragic end by being sucked into a jacuzzi at a Bahamian resort is suing the hotel for negligence, emotional distress and false imprisonment.
There was no emergency shut off button nearby and other guests tried in vain to save him.
‘No Sandals employees were either trained or willing to provide CPR for the 45 minutes or more that transpired before an ambulance arrived.’
John Van Hoy Jr, 33, died on December 28, 2010 after he was sucked into the drain of the hotel’s whirlpool and drowned while workers allegedly ignored his fiancée’s cries for help. His family are suing the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort, its American-based marketing firm, and the companies that built or supplied parts for the whirlpool.
According to Courthouse News Service, Mr Van Hoy was ‘in excellent shape, and could bench press over 300 pounds’, but when he dunked his body underwater he got caught in the whirlpool’s suction drain and could not free himself. His fiancée was said to be relaxing nearby when she noticed he did not come up for air.
She screamed for help, then jumped into the pool to try and save him herself after she claims that staff ignored her, but she was unsuccessful. The suit says: ‘Nicole Cleaveland then sought the help of a Royal Bahamian employee who ignored her pleas for help and walked away.’
When he was finally freed, the suit says that it took an ambulance 45 minutes to arrive and there was no one on site to administer CPR on Mr Van Hoy.
He was pronounced dead when he arrived at hospital. According to Miami New Times, the complaint also alleges that after the death, the phone was removed from Miss Cleaveland’s room, and that she was interrogated by hotel staffers who tried to get her to admit that either she or Mr Van Hoy was responsible for his death.
The complaint says: ‘In the final moments of his life, John Van Hoy Jr experienced unimaginable conscious terror and utter foreboding doom – all of which was exacerbated by him knowing that his [fiancée’s] efforts to save him had failed.’
The family are seeking damages for negligence, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and product liability.
Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Liability, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management, Training
Scores from annual inspections of more than 70 Northern Kentucky hotels and motels can now be found online.
Information on the inspection process, along with the scores, can be viewed on the Northern Kentucky Health Department’s website.
CLICK ON "INSPECTIONS" TO VIEW ONLINE INSPECTION REPORTS
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Training
“…Supporters of the bill argue it will reduce worker injuries by eliminating the need for workers to repetitively lift extremely heavy mattresses when making beds…”
“… They contend that flat sheets cause workers to strain their backs, shoulders and wrists, and are often responsible for repetitive motion injuries…”Â
“..But the California Hotel and Lodging Association says replacing existing sheets to comply with the bill could cost between $30 million and $50 million…”
“…Hotel operators argue they will need to purchase new equipment in order to launder the fitted sheets. They also say fitted sheets will have to be replaced more often, that the elastic in fitted sheets breaks down faster than fabric, and that fitted sheets cost more to iron, fold and store…”
The California Legislature is considering a bill that would regulate what type of sheets can be used on hotel bed mattresses across the state. State Bill 432, sponsored by Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), also calls for the use of long-handled tools like mops and dusters so housekeepers do not have to get down on their hands and knees to clean bathroom floors.
“Just by using fitted sheets you could cut the number of lifts in half, and we think that would go a long way in preventing worker injury,†said Leigh Shelton, a spokesperson for UNITE HERE, a union that represents California hospitality workers.
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Filed under Health, Injuries, Labor Issues, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Training
“…it’s important that pool operators and owners of public pools in this state know that there is someone looking over their shoulder, however benign that eye may be…”
The lone state inspector, Tim Wilson, also reviews construction plans and educating operators, builders and others in the industry on the federal law, intended to prevent injury and death from improperly installed drains.
“…South Carolina considered shutting down its program several years ago because of budget problems, but the hotel and motel industry pushed to keep it to avoid increased insurance costs…The state implemented fees to support the program..”
Resort owner Peter Spanos doesn’t support big government regulations but fears a proposal to eliminate New Hampshire’s public pool and spa inspection program will mean more pool-related illnesses in a state that receives 34 million visits annually. Spanos, owner of the Shalimar Resort on Lake Winnisquam in Tilton, said that wouldn’t be good for New Hampshire’s image or his business.
The House budget cut would save $139,000. Environmental Services Commissioner Thomas Burack said without the program, people would be at greater risk of gastric illnesses and lung, skin and eye infections. New Hampshire appears to be unique in using this budget-cutting measure, and some question whether it would tarnish the state’s reputation and hurt its $4 billion tourism industry.
New Hampshire inspects nearly 1,400 public pools and spas. In the last five years, the state reported 2,211 water quality violations; 313 bacterial and 725 safety, with 224 immediate closures. Manchester, Nashua, Bedford and Merrimack do their own inspections.
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Filed under Guest Issues, Health, Management And Ownership, Pool And Spa, Risk Management, Training
“If someone has a couple of articles of clothes on the bed we will move them to make the bed…if they have expensive things on the bed – purses, electronics, cameras – we will not touch that bed.”
“…if there is something sensitive, like a closed wallet or laptop, a supervisor or manager will stand at the door for the employee’s safety…”
“…keep a log on what keys have been used on the room’s electronic doors…”
“…hotels’ insurance providers require police statements for incidents…have everyone write a written statement and sign and date it…”
While every chain hotel has a set corporate policy, each individual hotel may be less stringent and abiding for the guest’s benefit.
“According to Iowa law, we can enter a room anytime we want,” Jepsen said. Generally, hotel staff won’t enter a room if they don’t suspect something may be wrong in the room, Jepsen said. With extended-stay guests, who are staying 30-40 days, they are required to enter the room a minimum of twice a week. They mainly change the sheets and make sure garbage isn’t piling up, but also they make sure their equipment isn’t damaged. By the end of 30 days, a mattress could be ruined or the guest could be smoking in the room, Jepsen said.
There are other reasons for entering a guest’s room. “There have been instances where guests put their ‘do not disturb’ sign up but they may have a medical issue,” said King. “It could go unnoticed for long periods of time.”
“In the back of our mind, we always know what our rights are and what the rights of our guests are,” she said. “You can’t always have rules written in stone.”
Protection exists for both the hotel and the guests. Country Inn & Suites and AmericInn, like most hotels, have video surveillance systems. Both also keep a log on what keys have been used on the room’s electronic doors.
With any serious crime, such as theft, the police are immediately contacted, Jepsen said. “If a guest reports a theft, it’s investigated to its fullest extent,” she said. This is also done because the hotels’ insurance providers require police statements for incidents.
“What I always do is I have everyone write a written statement and sign and date it,” Jepsen said.
Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Training
“…the Louisiana Technology Council says …many hotels make little or no attempt to protect your private information on their public PCs…in business centers…”
“That information will live on that computer until such time that it’s deleted,” said Lewis. “You and I both know that it’s really never deleted. It can be recovered and if someone comes in with software, they may be able to get that data off the PC.”
Eyewitness News sent an intern into about a dozen New Orleans area hotels to search for documents and other information left on public computers after the user logged off. Among the things we found: invoices; insurance papers; tickets to a show at the Lakefront Arena; a certificate from the Texas Department of Insurance and even someone’s monthly pay statement.
Most of the documents contained people’s names, addresses and other sensitive information about the user. “I was amazed that you were able to print out some very confidential and private information from a business center location,” said Lewis.
“If somebody wants to open up a new credit card and in this day and age of identity theft, having that kind of information out there is real frightening,” said attorney Daren Sarphie.
He says in March, the client got a disturbing phone call from a guest at the International House Hotel in downtown New Orleans. The guest told him all of the his private information, including Social Security number, birth date, home address and phone number was contained on a document stored on the hotel computer for all to see.
“The person that accessed, that found this file had just gone to hotel to book plane reservations to go back home to Dallas and in the process, he’s just playing around on the computer and he accessed this directory and is able to pull up all kinds of stuff, said Sarphie.
“You’d think that the hotels at least would have a system in place that they would erase the hard drive on a weekly basis or a daily basis to make sure there are no temporary files saved on that computer,” said Sarphie.
The information we found was easy to access on the computers. Most of it was stored in the PC’s temporary Internet files, saved in the documents folder or waiting to be deleted in the computer’s recycle bin.
The owner of the International House Hotel says it is his hotel policy to purge the public computer’s desk top of any documents and public files every 24-hours. But, he says it is a public computer and people need to be mindful to log out of personal accounts and delete personal documents before leaving the computer.
For more:Â http://www.wwltv.com/news/Keeping-It-Safe-On-Hotel-Computers-121350324.html
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Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Technology
“…The Surfside Beach Resort has been undergoing major renovations to the 160-room building since October, when a fire broke out in a dry-storage area in the resort’s restaurant…”
“…The fire caused smoke and structural damage, prompting hotel management to move forward with not only restoration of the smoke-damaged areas, but an entire facelift of the building…structural repair and insurance issues were worked out before proceeding with the makeover…”
Renovations are kicking into full gear at one Surfside Beach hotel, in hopes of re-opening its doors to guests by mid-May. Joel Coker, general manager for the Surfside Beach Resort, said Thursday the bulk of renovations to the hotel only began 24 days ago. He says structural repair and insurance issues were worked out before proceeding with the makeover.
Rooms damaged by the October fire have been completely renovated, while undamaged rooms received upgrades. Improvements to the rooms include new beds and bedding, bathrooms, furniture and carpet.
Coker says he believes guests already have rooms booked starting May 17. “Bike Week is extremely busy now,” Coker mentioned. “Of course, it’s affected us with the decisions in Myrtle Beach a few years back. We could lose $100,000 easy that week – or more.”
The Surfside Beach Resort estimates it lost $1 million in guest revenue as a result of renovation efforts. The resort must undergo a handful of inspections – including building, fire and health – before it is allowed to re-open.
For more:Â http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/14583174/hotel-damaged-by-october-eyes-may-re-opening
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Filed under Fire, Insurance, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training
“…A man is accused of staying at a Midtown hotel for a week and not paying his bill….and has been charged with theft of service…”
“…The owner of La Maison told investigators that Aragon gave her a credit card that was declined…”
 According to court documents, Aragon stayed at the La Maison in Midtown bed and breakfast from March 14 through March 21 and did not pay for his hotel room. The owner of La Maison told investigators that Aragon gave her a credit card that was declined. When the owner questioned Aragon, he told her that he was having a house built and that the builder would be taking care of the bill. The owner alleges Aragon left the hotel without paying the $1,675 bill.
Investigators say Aragon told them the builder was supposed to pay the bill and that there was some misunderstanding about the bill. Aragon said he had placed a money order in the mail and that the owner should have received it in the mail. The owner told investigators that she never received payment.
For more:Â http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8111479
Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Theft, Training
“…In just one example of how Illinois’ system is abused, a hotel maid recently was awarded a $42,500 claim for carpal tunnel after working less than 30 days and 180 hours at a Springfield hotel…”
The workplace should be the primary cause of the injury or aggravation of the previously existing conditionRead more: http://www.bnd.com/2011/05/01/1690712/guest-view-its-time-to-get-workers.html#ixzz1LJ1LGtpZ
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Filed under Claims, Health, Injuries, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Training
