Category Archives: Guest Issues

by | March 13, 2012 · 9:18 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Hotel Management Must Comply With Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Revisions Concerning Recreational Areas; Exercise Rooms, Saunas And Benches Are Areas Of Concern

New revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act are bringing hotel recreational areas under the watchful eye of the U.S. Department of Justice for the first time. And unlike other guidelines covered by the 1991 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, recreation areas do not qualify for safe harbor.

Exercise rooms:

  •  The key issue in exercise rooms is clearance space, the moderators said.
  • “At least one of each type of equipment is required to be on an accessible route and have clear floor space adjacent to the equipment so that somebody is able to park their mobility device there and then get out of that device and transfer or may be able to walk and get on to this piece of equipment,” Salmen said.
  • More than one piece of equipment can share the same clear floor space, he said.
  • “This is going to have implications on how your fitness rooms are laid out, and (in) a lot of small fitness rooms you will have to do rearranging or potentially may even have to lose a piece of equipment in order to try to provide these clear floor areas,” Anderson added.

Saunas and steam rooms:

  •  Hotels must have accessible routes into saunas and steam rooms. Further, they must have enough space within the rooms so guests with disabilities can turn around and get out, Salmen said.
  • “So doors have to be compliant as per the door criteria with 32 inches of minimum clear opening width. The pressure on that door can’t be more than five pounds. The thresholds for those doors have to be compliant,” he said.

Benches:

  •  Benches in hotel locker rooms and steam rooms can be as little as 42 inches with a depth of 20 inches to 24 inches, Salmen said.
  • “But in these new rules we are now required to have a maneuvering space in front of the bench and at one end of the bench so that it is (easier to slide over) from the wheelchair seat onto the seat of the bench,” he said.
  • Benches must be attached to a wall or provide a back rest so users will have something to lean against, Salmen added.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/7732/ADA-standards-call-recreation-areas-into-focus

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by | March 11, 2012 · 1:10 am

Hospitality Industry Fire Risk: Ohio Hotel Fire Likely Caused By Electrical Problem In Ceiling Area Of Indoor Pool; Damage Exceeds $1 Million

“…The fire originated in the ceiling area of the indoor pool, it was likely an electrical problem, according to the release…”

“…Flames traveled from the overhang above the indoor pool to other walls in the hotel… Winds forced the smoke and fire up to the third floor and fanned the flames…”  

Holiday Inn Express employees stood huddled in thin blankets near Frisch’s Big Boy as firefighters from 10 departments attacked the building with axes and water. Smoke billowed from windows with punched-out screens on the southwest corner of the building at 773 Hebron Road. The three-alarm fire was fueled by a strong wind, up to 30 mph, from the northwest.

Firefighters tore into the building and tossed debris from open windows. Between fire truck sirens, the hotel fire alarm and radio calls of several chiefs, communication was challenging but achieved, Huggins said.

Investigators determined the damage exceeded $1 million, according to the release. Inspectors at the scene said the hotel’s fire alarm system and sprinkler system functioned properly during the blaze, according to the release.

For more:  http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20120309/NEWS01/120309003/Everyone-out-Holiday-Inn-Express-fire-continues

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by | March 10, 2012 · 8:24 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Jury Awards Maryland Woman $225,000 In Nation's Largest "Bed Bug Liability Judgment"

On Thursday, a jury ordered Calidad Furniture & Linen Inc., the store that sold Jackson a pair of wood-frame beds, to pay Jackson and her sons $225,000 for the ordeal. It is one of the largest bedbug liability judgments in the country.

Multimillion-dollar lawsuits over bedbugs have become increasingly common as infestations have spread across the country and victims seek to hold landlords, hotels and retailers responsible for their exterminator bills and mental anguish.

But a public judgment is rare in bedbug liability cases. Lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages have received publicity in recent years, such as several filed against the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. But most fade away with confidential settlements.

In July 2010, Adarien Jackson’s 6-year-old son, Kaden, began complaining of itchy bumps on his ankles. They soon turned into a rash and spread to his back, behind his ear, and on his eyelid.

The child’s pediatrician and dermatologists tried allergy drugs, diet changes, oils and oatmeal baths. But it wasn’t until months later that Jackson discovered the cause of the problem. Kaden’s twin brother, Kyler, began waking in the middle of the night, crying out, “Bugs are crawling on me!”

Jackson realized her sons’ beds — which she had recently purchased from a furniture store in Elkridge — were teeming with bedbugs, according to a lawsuit she filed in Anne Arundel County in December 2010.

 

For more:  http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-03-09/news/bs-md-bed-bug-verdict-20120309_1_bedbug-infestation-bunk-beds-bed-wetting

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by | March 6, 2012 · 1:22 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: New York Hotel Suffers Thousands Of Dollars In Damage From Group At Guest Room Party; Surveillance Video Critical To Finding Vandals

 “…a group at a party in a room at the Towne Plaza Suites on Holland Avenue is suspected of ripping off wall lights, breaking ceiling tiles and ceiling lights, discharging fire extinguishers and spraying a can of Mace in the third floor hallway…”

Vandals caused several thousand dollars worth of damage to an Albany hotel early Sunday morning. Mace got into the hotel’s ventilation system so the second and third floors had to be evacuated and ventilated, police said in a news release.

Hotel staff members believe the vandals are associated with an Albany man who rented a third fl oor room at the hotel. Police received a call from hotel staff about the incident at 1:15 a.m. Sunday, but when they arrived at the hotel all of the partygoers had already left through the back door.

Surveillance video will be examined to see if any of the vandals can be identified.

For more:  http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2012/mar/05/0305_vanals/

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by | March 1, 2012 · 1:24 am

Hospitality Industry Information Risks: Hotel's Store "Enormous Amounts Of Data" That Is Never Used; 100% At Risk And 0% Value

“…companies can go a long way toward reducing their exposure to significant losses resulting from a security breach by putting themselves on a “data diet…There is an enormous amount of information that we never use, but we never get rid of. It’s 100% risk and 0% value. As a risk manager, that’s the scariest equation you’re ever going to hear…”

While there is no way for companies to completely eliminate the risk of data breaches and cyber attacks, there are several steps they can take to reduce their potential financial and reputational losses, a panel of experts said Thursday at the third annual Business Insurance Risk Management Summit®in New York.

“The fact is that you’re going to be attacked. That’s the reality,” said Alan Brill, senior managing director of secure information services for New York-based Kroll Inc. A well-crafted cyber risk management program need not be wildly expensive or complex, Mr Kroll said, but should at least strive for “commercially reasonable levels” based on company size and industry.

For more:  http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20120229/NEWS06/120229881?tags=|338|299|302|342|303|335

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by | February 28, 2012 · 1:17 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: New York Hotel's "Fatal Elevator Accident" Caused By Service Company's "Maintenance Errors"

Maintenance workers failed to enable a door safety circuit on an elevator moments before an advertising executive was killed after stepping into the elevator in an office tower in Midtown Manhattan, according to officials from the city’s Department of Buildings and the Department of Investigations.

According to officials, the workers did three things wrong:

  • They never re-enabled the safety circuit after performing the upgrade and restoring the elevator to normal service.
  • They did not post a warning that work was being performed, as required under the city’s building code.
  • They did not call the Buildings Department for an inspection, as legally required, before putting the elevator back into service.

If the circuit had been working properly, officials said, it would most likely have prevented the elevator from moving abruptly and pinning the executive, Suzanne Hart, inside an elevator shaft. As a result, the Buildings Department is suspending the license of the owner of the maintenance company, Transel Elevator, that performed the work and will seek to have the license revoked.

For more:  http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/27/city-blames-fatal-elevator-accident-on-poor-maintenance-work/

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by | February 27, 2012 · 9:28 am

Hospitality Industry Terrorism Risks: FBI And Bureau Of Justice Assistance (BJA) Release List Of "Suspicious Activities" Hotels Should Be Aware Of

The FBI and the BJA set up a joint regional intelligence center, a hotline, and published a Release with some tips specifically for hotels and motels:

  • Request specific room assignments or locations.
  • Use cash for large transactions or a credit card in someone else’s name.
  • Arrive with unusual amounts of luggage.
  • Make unusual inquiries about local sites, including government, military, police, communications, and power facilities.
  • Refuse cleaning service over an extended time.
  • Use entrances and exits that avoid the lobby.
  • Abandon a room and leave behind clothing and toiletry items.
  • Do not leave their room.
  • Change their appearance.
  • Leave the property for several days and then return.
  • Thefts of official vehicles, uniforms, identification, and access cards.

    Reports of guest rooms with:
  • Burn marks or discoloration on the walls or door.
  • Unusual odors or liquids seeping from a guest room.
  • Unusual amounts of traffic.

Discovery of unusual items in guest rooms or facility dumpsters:

  • Fertilizer or agricultural products.
  • Chemicals or chemical containers.
  • Fuel or fuel containers.
  • Weapons, ammunition, and explosives.
  • Extremist training manuals or literature.
  • Fraudulent credit cards or documents.

Parked vehicles in isolated areas.


For more:  http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=6658

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by | February 17, 2012 · 7:37 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Privacy Risks: Minnesota Hotel Employee, A Registered Sex Offender, Installed A Recording Device In Guest Room

 Marg is a registered sex offender and was convicted in 2002 of showing sexually-natured material to juvenile females in Wisconsin. Police are now searching Marg’s computer to see if it contains recordings of other hotel guests.

Honeymooners celebrating their wedding are recorded having sex at a St. Paul hotel. The couple had been hearing noises while staying at The 340 Hotel recently. Initially, the honeymooners thought they heard a noise near the hot tub. Later they learned the scary truth.

After noticing a large gap between their door and the floor the couple noticed a recording device. Police say the device contained a recording of the couple having sex.

Police say the device belongs to a 28 year old hotel desk clerk, Jeremiah Marg.

For more:  http://kstp.com/news/stories/S2488883.shtml?cat=1&loc=interstitialskip

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by | February 16, 2012 · 1:55 am

Hospitality Industry Crime Risks: Thieves Target Florida Hotel Guest Rooms While Housekeepers Are Inside Cleaning

“They’re going up to the floors where housekeeping is, and while the housekeepers are inside the rooms cleaning, the suspects are going in and they’re rummaging through personal belongings left behind,”

“…One suspect allegedly distracted the maid … while it is alleged that the other suspect may have been looking around the room for items of value,”

High-security airport badges and a laptop computer were among items reported missing in one of three incidents at St. Lucie West hotels thought to be the work of people who distract cleaning staff to try to steal things, according to a Port St. Lucie police spokesman Wednesday and reports.

In a Feb. 4 case at a SpringHill Suites on Northwest Courtyard Circle near Interstate 95, a man said he noticed several things missing from his room after he returned from having breakfast. The 48-year-old man said “several FAA and FCC high-security clearance airport ID badges” were stolen, along with a computer, camera, binoculars, curling iron, cash and other items.

For more:  http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/feb/15/thieves-target-hotel-rooms-while-housekeepers-in/

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by | February 15, 2012 · 8:32 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: California Hotel Employees Taken To Hospitals After Chlorine Gas Release; Worker Accidently Mixed Bleach And Fluorosilic Acid

The accident happened when a worker accidentally mixed bleach and fluorosilicic acid.

Thirty Portola Hotel and Spa employees, mostly housekeepers, were back on the job Tuesday after being taken to three area hospitals Monday because of a chlorine gas release, said Janine Chicourrat, the hotel’s general manager.

“We’re having a better day today than we did yesterday,” she said.

Chicourrat said she has met with Cal-OSHA about the incident. “We’re just looking at all of our procedures together,” she said.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney stayed overnight Sunday at the Monterey hotel but left before the evacuation of guests and workers.

Romney’s swift visit to the Peninsula was confirmed by local Republican Party spokesman Paul Bruno after the former Massachusetts governor’s campaign staff also confirmed it to local media.

For more:  http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_19965777/monterey-hotel-workers-back-job-after-chlorine-gas

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