Category Archives: Guest Issues

by | December 26, 2010 · 12:06 pm

Hospitality Industry Guest Health And Safety: Hotel And Spa Owners Must Maintain Clean Workout Facilities, Pools And Spas

Gym Equipment Spreads Skin Infections

  • Staph infections, including those caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, can spread through shared gym equipment, mats and towels.
  • Infections tend to occur near a cut or scrape, and on certain body parts (the armpits, buttocks, groin and neck).
  • They start off looking like a large pimple but can swell, become painful and produce pus.
  • If they spread to your bloodstream, they can be life-threatening.
  • Many clear up on their own, but seek medical attention if a fever develops or if the area becomes enlarged, red, tender or warm.

Prevention:

  • Use the alcohol spray or wipes that most gyms provide to wipe off equipment before and after use.
  • Place a clean towel over mats used for doing sit-ups, stretching or yoga.
  •  Don’t share towels with others.
  • Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, or use an alcohol-based sanitizer.
  • Shower after working out. If you have a cut or scrape, keep it covered with a clean adhesive bandage and don’t use hot tubs or whirlpools.

Dirty Pools Teaming With Bacteria

  • Poorly maintained swimming pools are common, allowing bacteria and viruses to cause outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness.
  • Inspections at 3,666 health clubs in 13 states found serious lapses requiring the immediate closing of 10 percent of the pools (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
  • Improperly maintained circulation and filtering systems and skimpy disinfection were among the most common problems.

Prevention:

  • Require showers with soap before swimming and wash your hands after using the toilet or changing a baby’s diaper.
  • Don’t use the pool if the water has a strong chemical smell or appears cloudy.
  • Pool water should have little odor and be clear enough that you can easily see the bottom.
  • Chlorine and pH levels should be checked at least twice a day, and the pool’s latest inspection score should be recorded.
  • Chlorine should be 1 to 3 parts per million (4 to 6 ppm for hot tubs), and pH should be 7.2 to 7.8.

For more:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/20/AR2010122004711.html?wprss=rss_health

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by | December 23, 2010 · 7:59 am

Hospitality Industry Technology: Hotel Management Must Look To Increase Service To Improve Guest Satisfaction Via Cell Phone Applications Such As “E-Butler”

The E-Butler program is actually a mobile app that is available from the iTunes app store for free.

  • Guests can download it prior to arriving at the hotel and then once they arrive
  • They can start communicating electronically with their butler.
  • The app also features an “Insider’s Guide” from New York’s various personalities such as Vogue’s André Leon Talley, fashion designer Jason Wu, chef Alain Ducasse, architect David Rockwell and the Village Voice’s Michael Musto.
  • They comment their favorite shops, restaurants and city landmarks
  • If the guest wants to book one of these recommendations, they can do so directly through the E-Butler.

While the app is available to all to download, there are some restrictions accessing the butler–namely the app prompts all guests to enter their passcode, name, email and room number.

For more:  http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/12/21/17165/533/hotels/ButlerLeaks_Messages_from_the_St_Regis_New_York_s_E_Butler

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by | December 21, 2010 · 5:23 pm

Hospitality Industry Information Security Risk: Study Finds Indentity Fraud Increased by 12% In 2009 To $54 Billion

Javelin Strategy & Research, a group that does studies on identity theft and fraud, released its 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report toward the beginning of the year. It found that the top two types of personal identification being compromised in a data breach were:
  • Victim’s full name (63%)
  • Physical address (37 percent).
  • Social Security numbers being compromised in data breaches decreased from 38 percent in 2008 to 32 percent in 2009.

It also reported that the number of identity fraud victims in the United States had increased by 12 percent to 11.1 million adults in 2009, the annual fraud amount increased by 12.5 percent to $54 billion.

But the study also found that an increasing number of consumers are fighting back against identity theft and taking necessary precautions to preserve their personal information.

The average fraud resolution time dropped 30 percent to 21 hours, and nearly half of all victims were reported to have filed police reports that ended up doubling the reported arrests, tripling the prosecutions, and doubling the percentage of convictions in 2009.

“The 2010 Identity Fraud Survey Report shows that fraud increased for the second straight year and is at the highest rate since Javelin began this report in 2003,” said James Van Dyke, president and founder of Javelin Strategy & Research.

“The good news is consumers are getting more aggressive in monitoring, detecting and preventing fraud with the help of technology and partnerships with financial institutions, government agencies and resolution services.”

Javelin researchers believe the increase in fraud is due in part to the economic downturn, when historically fraud increases.

Robert Siciliano, a researcher with McAfee Inc., identified the top 10 riskiest places for people to lose their Social Security numbers, with colleges and universities coming in at number one. Banking and financial institutions were second and hospitals were third.

According to identitytheftlabs.com, younger adults and small business owners tend to be the victims of identity theft because they often engage in “risky activities” that can lead to them being victimized more frequently.

Read more: The Daily Home – Fight back against identity theft

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by | December 20, 2010 · 6:24 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Room Security: Hotels Are Deploying New Technology For In-Room Guest Security And Satisfaction (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s1EOY8P__4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL]

David Heckaman, VP of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, walks us through some of the cool features built into their new Hotel in Las Vegas. the technology is by Control4, Guestlink, Saflok and Axxess. The system adds security, huge Energy savings and provides Guests with the best in-Room experience they can possibly have.

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by | December 18, 2010 · 3:22 am

Hospitality Technology: New Hotel Sensors Reduce Energy Consumption While Increasing Guest Safety And Comfort

The Westin Resort & Spa Whistler is continuing their quest to become one of Whistler’s most sustainable properties with the recent addition of new environmentally sustainable operations and programs.

  • The Westin Resort & Spa is the first resort in Whistler to install the Energex sensors, greatly increasing the green options for guests during their stay. The infrared-based technology can detect the presence of a guest in a suite, and when vacant, automatically adjust the temperature to a more moderate, energy-efficient level.
  • A centralized building automation system also allows real time control of the temperature of every suite simultaneously to conserve energy during periods of lower occupancy.  The system is expected to reduce the property’s carbon footprint by more than 54 tons of greenhouse gasses annually.
  • Housekeeping and engineering staff can detect when a suite is occupied before having to knock. Service to a suite can be discretely scheduled without ever disturbing a guest. 
  • The system also aids in guest safety by providing important information to expedite a building evacuation.
  • Guests can decline housekeeping service for stays over one night to conserve laundry, energy and cleaning chemicals, and in return carbon-offset credits are purchased on their behalf.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article50999.html

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by | December 15, 2010 · 10:01 am

Hospitality Industry Identity Theft: Las Vegas Hotel Industry Is Target Of Cybercriminals Who “Skim Wireless Transmissions” And Intercept Credit Card Data And PIN Numbers On Low-Cost/High Tech Devices

Law enforcement officers learned last week how easy it is to have one’s identity stolen when a cybercrimes expert powered a $30 machine and intercepted some of the wireless transmissions coming from their smart phones as they sat in a UNLV conference room.

“It’s absolutely an arms race,” said Feffer, who also investigates cybercrime for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. “You see vulnerabilities in software exploited by criminals. Then you see the software companies patch those vulnerabilities and then the criminals develop new ones. That’s why you have to make sure everything is up-to-date and currently patched. What was good last year is by no means safe this year.”

As cybercriminals seek new ways to outsmart police and the public, crime-fighting agencies are increasingly turning to cyber-experts to show them the latest high-tech equipment used in identity theft scams.

One of those experts is Justin Feffer, who conducts seminars for identity theft detectives nationwide on behalf of the FBI and LifeLock, an Arizona company that specializes in identity theft protection.

“It’s absolutely an arms race,” said Feffer, who also investigates cybercrime for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. “You see vulnerabilities in software exploited by criminals. Then you see the software companies patch those vulnerabilities and then the criminals develop new ones. That’s why you have to make sure everything is up-to-date and currently patched. What was good last year is by no means safe this year.”

That’s the reason nearly 100 officers from Metro Police, North Las Vegas, Henderson, the state Gaming Control Board and other agencies attended the conference.

It included a demonstration of skimming devices that criminals use to steal credit and debit card information, including PIN numbers, from card-swiping machines that have become increasingly present at Las Vegas restaurants and retail outlets.

Speaking outside the conference room, LifeLock spokesman Mike Prusinski emphasized the importance of training. “Most of the individuals in that room have absolutely no idea what a skimming device looks like or what the wiring looks like. We’re opening their eyes to these things.”

The interview took place outside the room because the FBI and LifeLock don’t want the public — including the media — to know what law enforcement is learning about the tricks of identity thieves.

Nevada has been a hotbed of identity theft for years. The state last year ranked fifth in the nation with 106 complaints per 100,000 residents — 2,802 complaints total — that were fielded by the Federal Trade Commission. That’s down from 130.2 complaints per 100,000 residents in 2005, when Nevada ranked second. The agency did not explain why the numbers for Nevada are down.

The FTC data paint only a partial picture of the problem because many victims file complaints only with police instead of also with the commission. But the number of identity theft crime reports filed with Metro from January through Nov. 13 — 2,063 — is down from the 2,440 filed during the same period in 2009.

For more:  http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/dec/15/pickpockets-strike-through-ether/

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by | December 12, 2010 · 8:19 am

Hotel Pool Safety: Hotel Owners Should Review Designs Of Fountains, Drains And Water Troughs To Prevent Drownings

Hyatt spokesman Pete Hillan says the hotel has emptied the fountain and erected a barrier around the 29-inch-deep trough where the boy was found.

The barrier will serve as a temporary solution, as hotel officials look to permanently change the fountain’s design.

A toddler found floating in a fountain at a downtown hotel suffered life-threatening injuries.

The unidentified boy remains hospitalized, a day after officers pulled him from a decorative fountain at the  Hyatt Regency Hotel and revived him using CPR.

The officers went to the hotel after the 18-month-old boy’s mother reported him missing. Fire officials tell the San Francisco Chronicle the incident appeared to be an accident.

Hyatt spokesman Pete Hillan says the hotel has emptied the fountain and erected a barrier around the 29-inch-deep trough where the boy was found. The trough serves as the fountain’s drain.

For more:  http://www.wsbt.com/news/ktla-fountain-toddler,0,1847787.story

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by | December 9, 2010 · 6:37 am

Hotel Industry Technology Issues: Successful Hotels Of Future Must Invest In Mobile Phone And In-Room Technology To Earn Sophisticated Guest Loyalty

To be successful, hotel companies need to spend more on initiatives such as mobile phone booking technology, smart cards, social networking and product innovation in rooms, Deloitte said yesterday at the launch in Dubai of its Hospitality 2015 five-year report on the future of the hotel industry.

  • By 2015 hotel rooms could have floors with built-in sensors that light the way for guests
  • Doors that can be unlocked through mobile phones
  • Alarm clocks that wake guests by increasing the amount of light in their rooms.
  • Guests should be able to text or e-mail their preferences so their rooms are set up to meet their requirements.

 “As an industry we are dreadful at technology,” said Alex Kyriakidis, the global managing partner at Deloitte’s tourism, hospitality and leisure division.

Technology spending in the sector is predicted to rise by just 0.9 per cent a year between 2008 and 2013 in terms of the compound annual growth rate.

“In our industry, of course, the airline is leading,” said Mr Kyriakidis.

“Now the airline has converged the entire experience on to your PDA [personal digital assistant]. With some carriers today you can do everything on your mobile phone from your booking, to your check-in, to boarding at the gate by scanning your mobile phone, all the way through on to your chosen seat on the aircraft.

For more:  http://www.thenational.ae/business/travel-tourism/hotel-industry-urged-to-get-technology-up-to-speed

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by | December 7, 2010 · 6:22 am

Hotel Industry Security Risks: Connecticut Hotel Pays Damages To Settle Civil Suit Brought By Woman Assaulted In Hotel Garage By A “Drifter” Who “Roamed The Garage For Hours”

The Tresser Boulevard hotel was accused of failing to prevent the 2006 assault in which a drifter roamed the garage for hours

Surveillance cameras in hotels.

before sexually assaulting a woman named in court papers as “Jane Doe.”

The victim claimed Fricker had been in the hotel and garage and acted suspiciously for days leading up to the sexual assault. The lawsuit alleged the hotel security staff failed to notice him or make him leave.

A woman raped at gunpoint in front of her children four years ago in the Stamford Marriott parking garage has settled a civil lawsuit filed against the hotel for an undisclosed amount of money.

Attorneys involved in the lawsuits would not comment about details in the case, which was withdrawn this September and resolved using a private alternative dispute resolution firm.

“It’s been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties and no further comment will be made,” said Donald Derrico, a lawyer representing the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa. The Tresser Boulevard hotel was accused of failing to prevent the 2006 assault in which a drifter roamed the garage for hours before sexually assaulting a woman named in court papers as “Jane Doe.”

Gary Fricker, a Danbury native and transient carpenter, was arrested three days after the October 2006 assault and was sentenced a year later to 20 years in prison. Wanted in Florida on arson charges, Fricker roamed the Marriott parking garage looking for victims before targeting a then-40-year-old mother, an arrest affidavit said.

One woman called police after the assault and said a man matching Fricker’s description was following her around the garage about an hour before the attack. A second woman reported her ATM card stolen from the garage that afternoon. Fricker tried to use it later that day, police said.

Authorities say Fricker put a gun to the back of the victim and forced her young children into their minivan, where he raped the woman after trying to rob her. He fled when the woman screamed and a car passed by. He was arrested in White Plains, N.Y., and immediately confessed to the attack.

The civil lawsuit was filed in March 2008, six month after Fricker was sentenced. The victim claimed Fricker had been in the hotel and garage and acted suspiciously for days leading up to the sexual assault. The lawsuit alleged the hotel security staff failed to notice him or make him leave.

The hotel had no security director or internal security policies at the time of the assault, according to a deposition in the case.

More than a year after the lawsuit was filed, controversy erupted over special defenses filed by lawyers hired by the Marriott that claimed the woman was careless, negligent and failed to “exercise due care” for her own safety and for the safety of her children. Attorneys said if the defense wasn’t raised they might have lost a chance to bring it up again in the future.

For more:  http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Settlement-reached-in-Marriott-rape-case-860707.php

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by | December 6, 2010 · 7:15 am

Hospitality Industry Credit Card Risks: Hotel Owners And Management Must Store “Credit Card And Guest Receipts” In Secure Locations To Prevent Identity Theft

“… (the defendents) found boxes of monthly credit card receipts from previous hotel guests. Box by box, they and others lifted them from the hotel, officials allege…”

The receipts, officials say, helped the men manufacture counterfeit credit cards in document “boiler rooms” and card “chop shops,” which they then used to buy $300,000 worth of merchandise in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

The merchandise, which included tow trailers, televisions, all-terrain vehicles and tires, then was resold or pawned.

The hotel didn’t learn of the thefts until August 2008, and since then, federal investigators have learned at least 17,000 receipts were stolen in what they say is San Antonio’s largest identity theft case.

Details had remained sketchy until the ringleader, Ruben “Hollywood” Costello, 36, recently pleaded guilty to ID theft fraud conspiracy, access device fraud, and conspiracy to launder money, and documents in the case were unsealed.

They identify Jones, 34, as his partner in the crimes and name him and Flaharty, 31, as two people who helped take the records from the Emily Morgan.

They also reveal Costello used a network of associates, methamphetamine addicts and others to maintain the scheme, and used an Elmendorf trucking company he ran, RD&N Hauling, to launder the money.

The cardholders never realized their credit card accounts had been compromised until months, even years, after they stayed at the hotel. But the damage made it hard for some of them to get loans and left lingering headaches in trying to straight things out, officials said.“When you look at these types of crimes, you may think the victim is the vendor or the credit card companies,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom McHugh said. “What we see is that the person whose identity is stolen, his problems may go on for years.”

For more:  http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Ringleader-pleads-in-S-A-s-largest-ID-theft-case-859510.php

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