Category Archives: Guest Issues

by | November 19, 2010 · 1:05 pm

Hotel Industry Legal Issues: Dept. Of Justice (DOJ), In Settlement Of A Complaint Against Hilton Hotels Over The “Americans With Disabilities Act” (ADA), Now Mandates That Hotel Owners Provide Required Number And Categories Of Accessible Rooms And Ability To Reserve Those Rooms Online

“…the settlement represents the first time the Department of Justice has required a franchisor to require all franchised or managed hotels that enter into a new franchise or management agreement, experience a change in ownership, or renew or extend a franchise agreement, to conduct a survey of its facilities and to certify that the hotel complies with the ADA…”

“..It is also the first time that an agreement under the ADA has specifically detailed how a hotel reservations system should be made accessible. The agreement also represents the first time that a hotel chain has been required to make its online reservations system accessible and to provide on its website current data about accessible features in guest rooms throughout the chain…”

Allegations in the department’s complaint include:

  • Failure to provide the required number of accessible rooms
  • Failure to disperse accessible rooms among the various categories of available accommodations
  • Failure to provide individuals with disabilities the ability to reserve accessible rooms through Hilton’s central reservations system on-line or by telephone
  • Failure to provide individuals with disabilities with the accessible sleeping accommodations that they reserved.

For more on the Justice Dept. Complaint and Findings:  http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/November/10-crt-1268.html

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by | November 18, 2010 · 6:06 pm

Hospitality Industry Profile: “Growth Of Loyalty Programs” Is Central To Hotel Websites Ability To Improve Brand

“The growth in loyalty program membership has had a more positive impact than many hospitality brands would have imagined in a mature market,” said Claude Guay, President and CEO of iPerceptions. “Loyalty programs have taken on a life of their own, not only stimulating visitor’s intent to return to the website, but in also keeping brands at the top of mind when making travel plans.”

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/11/18/prweb8007565.DTL#ixzz15gpY2Z5u

CLICK ON "HOSPITALITY" TO VIEW ENTIRE REPORT

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by | November 17, 2010 · 10:35 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Service Issues: Hotels Are Under Pressure To Deliver High-Speed, Cost-Effective Wireless To Guests Who Want To Access It Everywhere (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdGJ4uIIEp4]

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by | November 16, 2010 · 8:48 pm

Hospitality Industry Technology Issues: Hotel Management Needs To Integrate Mobile Technology Into Operations To Increase Productivity And Reduce Costs

“Hoteliers are looking to educate themselves and learn to better market to travelers on the go,” said Kim, whose study included dozens of directors and GMs. She found that hoteliers support using mobile technology to increase employee productivity and cost reduction.

Kim’s study also found that hoteliers expect a mobile device to be at least iPhone-sized with a touch screen and the ability to interface with a hotel’s property-management system.

Specific operational applications of technology included allowing engineers to remotely keep track of hotel systems, control energy use remotely and support employee multitasking while reminding them of pending tasks.

After Kim showed her survey, a panel discussion took place discussing the merits and limitations of hoteliers relying on mobile technology.

“Mobility is death by a thousand cuts,” said Alan Dabbiere of Airwatch, which manages guest wireless for more than ten thousand locations, referring to the complexity of upgrading a hotel’s infrastructure to utilize the latest mobile technology. “I think we have Steve Jobs to thank or blame for some of this. It wasn’t until he consumerized it and made it sexy, and now people are becoming very personal about their mobility.”

Sukhvinder Singh, VP of IT for Host Hotels, talked at length about the difficulties hoteliers face in updated outdated hotel infrastructure in hotels with older builds.

“There’s been a paradigm shift in hospitality–we lag behind in technology, we do walls twice and carpets four times before we do technology,” said Singh. “People should appreciate we are now looking at next wave of technology since hotels have not paid attention to infrastructure for last 20 years.

For more:  http://www.hotelworldnetwork.com/wireless/hoteliers-talk-infrastructure-upgrades-mobile-technology-seminar

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by | November 15, 2010 · 7:22 pm

Hotel Industry Security Risks: Department Of Homeland Security (DHS) Launches Initiative To Raise Hotel Employees Awareness Of Potential Terrorism

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have joined forces on an initiative to encourage and educate lodging employees to recognize, report, and react to suspicious and crisis situations that occur on property. 

It is a simple and effective program to raise public awareness of indicators of terrorism, crime, and other threats, and emphasize the importance of employees reporting suspicious activity to their supervisors and in turn, security or law enforcement authorities. 

In May DHS launched their “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign, which was originally implemented by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and funded, in part, by $13 million from DHS’s Transit Security Grant Program.  It has since been customized and expanded for surface transportation (Amtrak), general aviation, several cities and states around the country, and now the lodging industry.  With the assistance of AH&LA’s Loss Prevention Committee, DHS has created public education materials for industry employees, including posters, table circulars and paystub inserts. 

Last month, AH&LA, via its Loss Prevention Committee, teamed with DHS to create a guide, video and threat assessment document specifically to help hoteliers plan and manage security at their facilities.  The Protective Measures Guide for the U.S. Lodging Industry provides an overview of threat, vulnerability, and protective measures designed to assist hotel owners and operators in planning and managing security at their facilities.  The No Reservations: Suspicious Behavior in Hotels video is designed to provide information to help hotel employees identify and report suspicious activities and threats in a timely manner.  The video is approximately 10 minutes in length and intended for use by all hotel employees. A Spanish version will be available in the near future.  All three items are available in the members only section of the AH&LA Website.

The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) is working with the AH&LA Loss Prevention Committee, DHS, and other agencies to update its current security certifications and to develop new programs designed to provide hospitality security personnel and other employees with information on terrorism awareness and anti-terrorism preparedness.

For more:  http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=18760

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by | November 13, 2010 · 6:43 pm

Hotel Industry Health And Safety Issues: New Ways To Eliminate “Bed Bug Infestations” Include “Baking” Hotel Rooms At Temperatures Of 130 Degrees”

If the pests are carried into a hotel, the company is prepared to bake them to death at 130 degrees or higher for two hours, a time and temperature that is overkill. Bedbugs die

State inspectors have the authority to shut down an establishment that poses an "imminent health hazard" involving fire, flood, sewage backup, rodent infestation, bed bug infestation or "any other condition that could endanger the health and safety of guests, employees and the general public."

after 20 minutes at 113 degrees, Dunkelberger said.

“… the company places heaters, fans and an air scrubber in the hotel room to warm the air, circulate it and eliminate impurities. Probes are used to determine the temperature in at least six areas of the room — under the carpet, between the mattresses and inside the credenza — until it reaches at least 130 degrees. Then, the room bakes for two hours.”

ISIS Hospitality, a local leader in the hotel industry, has found a new method for exterminating bedbugs: heat. The pests cannot stand it, which is why ISIS Hospitality is baking rooms in its six hotels to eliminate them.

Bedbugs are a persistent problem that plague everyone in the hospitality industry, and they did not skip over any hotel in the Black Hills, said Rich Dunkelberger, chief executive officer of ISIS Hospitality.

“Bedbugs don’t discriminate. They like Ritz-Carltons as much as they like Motel 6s,” said Dunkelberger, whose company started using the new method about two weeks ago. “We’re excited about this because we found something we know works and we’re doing it now.”

The company manages The Hotel Alex Johnson, AmericInn Lodge & Suites, Country Inn & Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites and LaQuinta Inn & Suites in Rapid City, and Cadillac Jack’s Gaming Resort in Deadwood.

“We have no active infestations in any of our six motels,” Dunkelberger said.

If the pests are carried into a hotel, the company is prepared to bake them to death at 130 degrees or higher for two hours, a time and temperature that is overkill. Bedbugs die after 20 minutes at 113 degrees, Dunkelberger said.

Using the ThermaPure method, the company places heaters, fans and an air scrubber in the hotel room to warm the air, circulate it and eliminate impurities. Probes are used to determine the temperature in at least six areas of the room — under the carpet, between the mattresses and inside the credenza — until it reaches at least

130 degrees. Then, the room bakes for two hours.

“It turns into a super-heated convection oven,” said Bob Almond, director of maintenance for ISIS Hospitality. Almond attended a weeklong training session to learn the method.

Although it is beyond the kill stage temperature, the company keeps the room around 130 to 140 degrees to ensure the demise of the pests; higher temperatures cause damage to items in the room.

Almond and the maintenance crew are heating all rooms that were previously treated by other extermination methods in the past three years to ensure all bugs and eggs are dead, Dunkelberger said.

“Then, we can feel confident that we have sterile hotels,” Dunkelberger said.

The extermination method comes with a $70,000 price tag, which includes the equipment and the weeklong training course in California.

“I’m more than willing to make the investment. It’s well worth it so we can rest assured our guests are safe,” Dunkelberger said. “We’ve done everything we possibly can to kill the bedbugs. There is nothing else more that we could do. If there was, I’d do it, but there is nothing more we can do.”

For more:  http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/article_5f3347be-efa5-11df-baab-001cc4c03286.html

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by | November 8, 2010 · 5:56 am

Hotel Industry Guest Security Management: Hotel In Sweden Launches First Pilot Of Mobile Phone-Enabled “Keyless Entry And Check-In/Check-Out” Technology Using “Near Field Communication (NFC)” (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqeCNEvs4Xg&feature=player_embedded]

 NFC, Near Field Communication, is a short-range wireless communication technology standard that enables the exchange of data between devices over up to a 10 cm distance. Applications include contactless transactions such as payment and transit ticketing, keys, data transfers including electronic business cards, and access to online digital content.

A world’s first pilot is starting at the Clarion Hotel Stockholm in Sweden. ASSA ABLOY, Choice Hotels Scandinavia, TeliaSonera, VingCard Elsafe and Venyon, a fully owned subsidiary of Giesecke & Devrient, have joined forces to replace hotel room keys with NFC-enabled mobile phones. The technology makes it possible for hotel guests to check-in and out using their mobile phones. 

The goal of the pilot is to get feedback from guests and employees using the NFC phones for a variety of services. Guests will be able to check in to the hotel and receive the hotel room key directly onto their mobile phones before arriving at the hotel. Guests can also access other services via their mobile, and on departure, the check-out process using the phone promises to be easy and stress-free.

The technology also increases security. If a mobile phone is lost, the access credentials can be revoked remotely and then reissued. This makes it impossible for unauthorized people to use a lost or stolen NFC mobile phone.

For more:  http://www.hoteltechresource.com/article49844.html

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by | November 7, 2010 · 10:45 am

Hotel Industry Health And Safety Issues: Bedbug Infestations Eradication Efforts Are Complicated And Expensive (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA8z4IVEG-0]

They are not even five millimeters long and cannot fly or jump. Yet bedbugs strike fear in homeowners and business owners. Well, not all business owners. Some see money in these little bloodsuckers.

Missy Henriksen speaks for the National Pest Management Association. She says they are now seeing bedbugs in unusual places: schools and hospitals, store and movie theaters. So, as the numbers have grown, those bed bugs are spreading out and traveling along with people. New York and other cities have outbreaks. But the United States is not the only country affected. Jeff White is an insect expert who hosts Bed Bug TV on the website BedBug Central. He says the lack of public awareness has caused this rapid expansion of bedbug infestations. Mr. White says bedbugs nearly disappeared from the United States for fifty or sixty years. Now researchers are looking for faster, safer ways to control them without the kinds of poisons used in the past. The name is misleading. Bedbugs do not just live in beds. Mr. White says they can survive for a year without food — that is, blood. In September, an industry event called BedBug University’s North American Summit 2010 took place near Chicago, Illinois. More than three hundred sixty people attended the two-day meeting.The industry says bedbugs are the most difficult pest to control. Treatments can cost from several hundred dollars to thousands of dollars in a hotel or apartment building.

Missy Henriksen says Americans spent almost two hundred sixty million dollars on bedbug treatments last year. That was only five percent of total spending on pest control but that number does not include other costs. She says the total economic effect is much greater. Businesses that have bedbugs often must close to solve the problem. Bedbugs have not been shown to spread disease. But they can leave itchy bite marks and cause allergic reactions in some people. Lately, however, another bug has caught America’s attention. The National Pest Management Association is now getting the most questions about stink bugs. Outbreaks have invaded homes and offices in many states. Stink bugs are harmless except to farms and gardens. And they smell bad only if you smash them.

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by | November 5, 2010 · 6:27 am

Hotel Industry Guest Health Issues: Hotels Are Increasingly Adding “Hypo-Allergenic Rooms” That Eliminate Up To “98% Of Airborne Viruses And Other Irritants”

Designed for all travelers but especially suited to guests with asthma, allergies and other respiratory sensitivities, the Respire by Hyatt ─ Hypo-Allergenic Rooms, powered by PURE Solutions NA, are designed to eliminate up to 98 percent of airborne viruses and bacteria, as well as pollen and other irritants commonly found in indoor environments.

Hyatt has promised to have Respire by Hyatt rooms in all of their U.S., Canada and Caribbean hotels by the end of 2010. Currently, more than 60 Hyatts already have these super clean rooms. In total, Hyatt wants approximately 2,000 Respire rooms at 125 of their full-service properties.

For more:   http://www.hotelchatter.com/tag/Hypo-Allergenic%20Hotels

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by | October 29, 2010 · 5:45 am

Hotel Industry Security Risk Management: “Fingerprint Entry Systems” Are Starting To Become More Common As A “Reliable” Guest Security Option

If you want to get into your room at New York’s SoHo Loft, you’re going to have to lift a finger. The seven-room hotel has a fingerprint entry system. Guests touch the door pad then enter a code for extra security. Kimpton’s 190-room Nine Zero Hotel in Boston was the first hotel to install a biometric iris scanner back in 2004, but only guests of the 1,065-square-foot Cloud Nine penthouse suite have to bat their eyelashes.

Those plastic key cards that once seemed so innovative will soon go the way of the actual key. The new thing is contact less Smartcards and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) cards that need just be waved to allow room access.

Much like the cruise world’s one card system, these cards may soon make hotel stays easier by allowing guests to pay for services, as well as to check-in and check-out, through a single device. Travelers may even be able to save preferences on the cards, from pillow type to floor choice. RFID cards are already in use at New York’s Plaza Hotel, and Starwood Hotels are considering introducing them into their hip Aloft and Element properties.

But travelers worried they will constantly have to traipse back to reception every time they lose their card need not despair. Security systems in some hotels do away with cards altogether.

 “In addition to Radio Frequency Identification, there are also systems that use a smartphone, such as an iPhone,” says Frank Wolfe, CEO of Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals. “When a guest checks into a hotel and provides their phone number, they get an encrypted sound code via text message.” You can then play back the code to unlock your room door.

Yet more card-free security systems are on the way. They may still be minor blips on the greater hotel horizon, but biometric systems that seem right out of Mission Impossible have been introduced in the U.S. If you want to get into your room at New York’s SoHo Loft, you’re going to have to lift a finger. The seven-room hotel has a fingerprint entry system. Guests touch the door pad then enter a code for extra security. Kimpton’s 190-room Nine Zero Hotel in Boston was the first hotel to install a biometric iris scanner back in 2004, but only guests of the 1,065-square-foot Cloud Nine penthouse suite have to bat their eyelashes. The uses for biometrics don’t have to stop at the guestroom door, either. The Nine Zero also uses the technology to make the property safer all round, as it has installed the LG IrisAccess 3000 at the employee and delivery entries to the hotel, as well, meaning that non-staff members and intruders can’t access the property.

For more:  http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/10/29/the-future-of-hotel-security/

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