Category Archives: Liability

by | March 6, 2011 · 3:24 pm

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Recession Causing More Laid-Off Workers To File "Wage-And-Hour" Claims Which Is Covered Under "Employment Practices Liability" Insurance

“…industry experts say they have seen an increase in wage-and-hour claims, which has led some insurers to stop writing such defense coverage, which most typically is provided for as a sublimit under employment practices liability insurance policies…”

Laid-off workers can, for example, allege that they were not paid for all hours worked, misclassified or not properly paid overtime, experts say.

As layoffs drive wage-and-hour claims, middle-market employers may find defense coverage more difficult to find and more costly when they do, particularly in California, insurers and brokers say. The market firming for wage-and-hour defense coverage comes after a rise in claims by laid-off workers who allege violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act and other laws, according to brokers and insurers.

“It’s a reflection of how difficult it is for employees to find another job,” said Christian Hamlin, a professional lines producer in the Los Angeles office of wholesaler Burns & Wilcox Ltd.

The U.S. unemployment rate remains high, but has improved from the decade’s peak unemployment rate of 10.1% in October 2009, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. In February, the U.S. unemployment rate was 8.9%, a 0.1% decline from January, according to BLS.

At the same time, Coverage remains available as some insurers continue to provide it, said Michael Mahoney, senior vp at Willis Insurance Services of California Inc. in San Francisco.

For more:  http://www.businessinsurance.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110306/ISSUE01/303069982

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by | March 2, 2011 · 2:14 pm

Hospitality Industry Information Security: British Courts Jail Operators Of World's Largest Internet Crime "Forum" Which Provided "Hacking Software" And Credit Card Theft Instructions

The site contained manuals such as “14 ways of hacking credit cards” and “running cards on eBay” and information on staying anonymous. It sold hacking software and instructions on how to manufacture crystal meth and explosives.

Nicholas Webber, who masterminded the criminal website Ghostmarket.net, has been jailed for five years.

Three teenagers who founded and operated one of the world’s largest English-language internet crime forums, described in court as “Crimebook”, have been sentenced to up to five years in custody. Police estimate that losses from the thousands of credit details traded over the site, Gh0stMarket.net, amount to £16.2m. The web forum, which had 8,000 members worldwide, has been linked to hundreds of thousands of pounds of registered losses on 65,000 bank accounts.

Nicholas Webber, the site’s owner and founder, was arrested in October 2009 with the site’s administrator, Ryan Thomas, after trying to pay a £1,000 hotel bill using stolen card details. They were then 18 and 17. Webber was jailed for five years on Wednesday and Thomas for four years.

After seizing Webber’s laptop, police discovered details of 100,000 stolen credit cards and a trail back to the Gh0stMarket website. Webber and Thomas jumped bail that December, fleeing to Majorca, but were rearrested when they flew back to Gatwick airport on 31 January 2010.

Southwark crown court was told how public-school-educated Webber, the son of a former Guernsey politician, was using an offshore bank account in Costa Rica to process funds from the frauds. After his initial arrest, Webber threatened on a forum to blow up the head of the police e-crimes unit in retaliation, and used his hacking skills to trace officers’ addresses.

For more:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/mar/02/ghostmarket-web-scam-teenagers

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by | February 26, 2011 · 8:09 am

"P3 Hospitality Risk Update": "Title 3 And ADA Law Changes" From Petra Risk Solutions' Risk Manager Joe Fisco (Video)

[vimeo 51945038 w=500 h=279]

Petra Risk Solutions’ Risk Manager, Joe Fisco, offers a P3 Hospitality Risk Update – ‘Title 3 and ADA Law Changes’. 

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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by | February 25, 2011 · 10:48 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Hotel Management Must Make Guest Room "Cleanliness" A Priority As Mattresses, Bed Covers And Bathroom Sink Areas Are Havens For Germs

“…In hotel rooms that aren’t properly disinfected, some of the germiest areas tend to be the faucet and sink areas, the flusher of the toilet, the underside of the toilet seat and the shower floor…”

“The first thing I do when I stay at a hotel is remove the comforter and store it in the closet.”

When it comes to hotel bedding, allergens are the biggest problem for guests, Tierno said. Evidence of bedbugs is an immediate dealbreaker for Tierno, but we’ll leave them out of the picture here since that problem is closely related to the presence of guests, not germs.

You can probably imagine what might be lurking in the mattress, but here’s a sampling for those who hesitated: skin cells (when humans sleep they shed about 1.5 million cells or cell clusters an hour), human hair, bodily secretions, fungi, bacteria, dust, dust mites, lint, insect parts, pollen, cosmetics … and more.

Some of the newer hotels use the type of impervious, waterproof covers Tierno carries with him, but most don’t, he said. While the covers were developed for allergy sufferers, Tierno encourages everyone to use them at home and on the road. Ask when you reserve if the hotel uses allergy barriers on beds.

And definitely ditch the bedspread, Tierno advises.

Hotel bedspreads became a hot topic when one featuring bodily fluids from several sources was introduced in boxer Mike Tyson’s 1992 rape trial. The American Hotel & Lodging Association got so many queries at the time that it came out with a statement saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “has NEVER identified, seen, or classified ANY significant disease outbreak in hotel or motel rooms as a result of hotel bedspreads and blankets.”

While many hotels have followed in the footsteps of Westin Hotels and Resorts, adopting a duvet model of bedding mimicking the brand’s Heavenly Bed, plenty of chains on the lower end still use quilted bedspreads.

For more:  http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/02/25/hotel.hygiene/#

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by | February 23, 2011 · 6:55 pm

Hotel Industry Property Risks: Central Florida Hospitality Industry Working With Law Enforcement To Train Employees To Avoid Acting On "Prank Calls" That Damage Property (Video)

Members of Central Florida’s hotel and hospitality industry said they have trained workers to watch out for these pranksters to avoid property damage.

“We’re glad the [Orange County] Sheriff’s Office has been keeping an eye on these and getting to hotel employees prior to anything happening anywhere,” said Brian Martin, communications director for Visit Orlando, formerly known as Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejj95mIBwU0&feature=player_embedded]

Deputies at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said a clerk at an International Drive-area hotel received an automated call from an unknown caller Feb. 9 saying to pull the fire alarm and activate fire sprinklers because of a blaze in the hotel.

Cpl. Marcus Camacho of the Sheriff’s Office said employees in both incidents immediately disconnected the call and didn’t heed the callers’ warnings — a positive sign the hotel industry is on to these pranksters.

For Central Florida, an area synonymous with tourism and hospitality, the pranks pose a particular danger to travelers, the hotel industry and local law-enforcement officers, who must be pulled from other duties to respond to the bogus incidents.

Similar pranksters in 2009 succeeded in tricking hotel employees and guests — including an Indian River County sheriff’s deputy — to trash hotel rooms, causing thousands of dollars in damage to hotel property and personal belongings.

The sheriff’s corporal has been following these incidents for several years and thinks many of them are possibly linked to a Canadian group called PrankNet or a copycat caller.

The group, also known as Prank University and PrankU, has gained notoriety across the country. Pranks the group orchestrates are often played live over a members-only Internet chat room and have led victims to destroy private property in an effort to save themselves from what they perceive as imminent danger.

For more:  http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-02-23/news/os-hotel-pranknet-calls-20110223_1_pranknet-hotel-room-gas-leak

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by | February 16, 2011 · 4:18 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: The 2012 "Americans With Disabilities Act" (ADA) Update Will Impact Hotel Ballrooms, Gyms, Spas And Employee Areas

“…the changes that are most significant to the hotel industry will affect public spaces, such as ballrooms and assembly areas, gyms, spas and employee areas…”

“…the current standards mandate that if you have six toilet compartments in a restroom, not only does one have to be a large ADA stall, but you have to have a second ADA stall that’s designed for people who have mobility issues. The second stall must be narrower and have rails on both sides…”

The new requirements take effect on 15 March 2012. Because the new rules will not be requirements for more than a year, any new development or remodeling completed before the new law goes into effect will be considered compliant.

The new standard is triggered by six fixtures, not compartments, in any combination of toilets or urinals. If the bathroom has only two stalls, one has to be the big ADA stall and the other has to be for those with mobility problems.

Other changes, according to sources:

  • The amount of counter space provided in the bathrooms of accessible rooms must be equivalent to the space provided in non-accessible rooms.
  • There is more explicit information about the acceptable depth of counters, which would apply to registration counters and counters in retail areas.
  • Swimming areas and spas are subject to expanded rules on accessible routes. Depending on the size of the pool, there may be a requirement for more than one access route into the pool, such as a ramp and stairs with handrails.
  • If there are multiple elevators that respond to the same call button, all elevators must be compliant instead of just one so that someone in a wheelchair doesn’t have to wait for the accessible one.
  • The disabled must be able to make reservations for guestrooms in the same manner as anyone else; if a hotel has an online system, they have to be able to reserve an accessible room online.
  • There are increased requirements for accessible routes within buildings.

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by | February 15, 2011 · 8:49 am

Hospitality Industry Data Security: Hotel And Restaurant Management Should Consider "Tokenization" For Credit Cards And Sensitive Data

“…tokenization is a data security model that generates surrogate values, called tokens, to replace sensitive data—credit card numbers, for example—in applications and database fields. The sensitive data is simultaneously encrypted and stored in a central data vault, where it can be unlocked only with proper authorization credentials...”

In 2011…expect to see many more mid-sized to large enterprises adopt tokenization more broadly to protect many other types of sensitive information, including electronic health records (EHR).

It does this by removing sensitive data from applications and databases, which has the added benefit of reducing scope for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) compliance audits.  Over the past couple of years, the tokenization data security model has taken its rightful place alongside data encryption, and it is well on its way to becoming a commonplace solution for credit card protection.

What’s more, a particular version of tokenization—Format Preserving Tokenization™—is equally adept at protecting personally identifiable information (PII) and electronic health records (EHR) to help organizations comply with data privacy laws like the EU Data Privacy Directive and HIPAA.

For more:  http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/201107/6818/RSAC-2011-Data-Security-Wunderkind-Tokenization

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by | February 13, 2011 · 1:56 pm

Hotel Industry Pool Safety: Two Small Boys Nearly Drown In "Extremely Crowded" Pool Conditions At New York Hotel Pool

“They were both breathing when they left the pool,” said Cheektowaga Sgt. Brian Gould. “I know the one kid was coughing up water. The other was a little more serious.”

Two boys were rushed to the hospital late Saturday night after nearly drowning at a hotel pool in Cheektowaga. The boys, ages 9 and 10, were taken to Women and Children’s Hospital after the incident in the Millennium Hotel pool on Walden Avenue. Both are expected to live, according to Cheektowaga police.

Police and emergency crews were called to the hotel at 2040 Walden Ave., near the Walden Galleria, at about 9:45 p. m. Saturday for the report of a possible drowning, police officials said. The hotel pool was “extremely crowded” when, at some point, the two boys went under water, Gould said.

Police are still trying to determine what happened and what the boys were doing at the time they went under. Gould credited some of the people at the pool for their quick action, which probably saved the lives of the two boys.

For more:  http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/cheektowaga/article340606.ece

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by | February 12, 2011 · 9:05 am

Hotel Industry Guest Issues: Hotel's Must Establish Overnight "Pet" Policies Including Fees, Deposits, Allowable Dog Breeds And Size, Vaccination Requirements, And Damage Liability (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO5Fqc5kuQc]

Consumer Reports magazine finds more hotels are making their rooms pet friendly.

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by | February 10, 2011 · 10:40 am

Hotel Industry Risks: Sprinkler System Extinguishes Fire In A Tennessee Hotel Room Caused By Criminal "Meth Lab" Operation

“…Clarksville Fire Rescue and Emergency Medical Services responded to a fire alarm at the Value Place Inn… By the time emergency crews arrived, the sprinkler system had extinguished the fire…”

“The temperature in that room had to reach at least 155 degrees for the sprinkler system to come on,” Williams said. “We suspected that it was things used to cook meth.”

 

“…This is the second meth lab bust in a hotel in the past few months…”

A search of his room uncovered a burned bathtub, a one-gallon can of camp fuel and the burned remains of a plastic Coke bottle. There was also a strong odor of camp fuel coming from the room, Williams said. The man had second- and third-degree burns on his face, neck, chest and both arms, Williams said. The man was sedated and transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s burn unit. He man has not been identified, and his condition is unknown at this time.

The Drug Task Force was called in and blocked off an entire wing of the hotel. “We found what was left of a meth lab that caught fire, and it had also injured the subject that was in the room,” said Lt. Jesse Reynolds, director of the 19th Judicial District Drug Task Force. “We removed the evidence, and a cleanup crew was called out to pick up the components.”

For more:  http://www.theleafchronicle.com/article/20110210/NEWS01/102100309

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