Category Archives: Management And Ownership

by | March 29, 2012 · 8:38 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: New York Elevator Mechanic Dies When Electrocuted During Maintenance Work Near Control Panel

“…(He) was performing maintenance in the engine room on the ninth floor of  the Axa Equitable building …when he was electrocuted just  after 9:30 p.m…”  

Con Edison was called to the scene for safety reasons, an  agency spokesman said, but it was unclear how the man came into contact with  live wires in the room that houses a control panel and a riser that works to  operate the building’s 34 elevators.

A 39-year-old elevator mechanic died when he was electrocuted at work in a  44-story midtown office building Wednesday night, fire and police officials  said.  Emergency responders found  the repairman unconscious and in cardiac arrest, a fire official said.  But  he died less than 30 minutes later, according to a police source.
“He’s  dead,” a fire source at the scene said. “He was lying on live  wires.”
Building workers said the man had been employed for the past five  years by the Schindler Group – a company that develops, installs and services  elevators and escalators, according to its website – which contracts with the  building to supply in-house mechanics to keep up with repairs.
“He has  three kids, it’s horrible,” said one coworker said. “He was a very nice guy. He  was hardworking and smart,” he said of his fallen friend. “But no one knows what  happened.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mechanic-electrocuted-elevator-manhattan-office-building-article-1.1052532#ixzz1qWQmFsvr

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by | March 28, 2012 · 1:11 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Risks: Alabama Hotel Clerk, With Prior Arrest Record, Arrested For Stealing Guest Credit Card Informatiom

Rains says Niles got the guests information from the hotels computer database and used it for more than just their rooms.

A Mobile hotel clerk is behind bars. The Mobile Police Department says he was doing more than checking guests in, he was using their credit card information.

“While working as a front desk clerk at a local hotel he actually stole credit card information from one victim who had previously stayed at the hotel,” said Rains.

“He used this information to book hotels for him and his friends and we were actually able to catch him,” said Rains.

This wasn’t Niles first time. He has been arrested several times for charges like identity theft and possession of a forged instrument.

“He was on probation for the same crimes when he committed these,” said Rains.

Police say Niles charged a significant amount of money. Thankfully the victim was monitoring the transactions.

“As a safeguard just to make sure that your credit cards aren’t being used fraudulently the best thing you can do is check your accounts and alert your credit card provider if you’d see anything fraudulent,” said Rains.

For more:  http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/mpd-hotel-clerk-using-guest-credit-card

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by | March 27, 2012 · 2:14 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: California Hotel Evacuated Due To "Abandoned Suitcase" Bomb Threat

The suitcase was ruled harmless by bomb squad personnel after an X-ray determined that clothes and other personal items were inside. They would later destroy it with a high-powered water canon.

An abandoned suitcase that forced the evacuation of the Georgian Hotel and nearby buildings for nearly four hours on Monday was determined to be harmless, Santa Monica police said.  The suitcase was left in the Ocean Avenue hotel at approximately 9:30 a.m. by a man who said he was leaving it for a person staying at the establishment.

Hotel employees said that no name matching that person was on the hotel’s registry, prompting the man to flee. Alarmed by the incident, staff members called the police who ultimately called in the L.A. County Sheriff’s bomb squad to investigate the situation, SMPD spokesman Sgt. Richard Lewis said.

The evacuations came just as the Senior Center was preparing to serve free lunch, forcing nearly 55 seniors and five staff members to flee the building, employees said.

For more:  http://www.smdp.com/Articles-local-news-c-2012-03-26-73724.113116-Police-Suspicious-suitcase-had-no-explosives.html

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by | · 2:14 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: California Hotel Evacuated Due To "Abandoned Suitcase" Bomb Threat

The suitcase was ruled harmless by bomb squad personnel after an X-ray determined that clothes and other personal items were inside. They would later destroy it with a high-powered water canon.

An abandoned suitcase that forced the evacuation of the Georgian Hotel and nearby buildings for nearly four hours on Monday was determined to be harmless, Santa Monica police said.  The suitcase was left in the Ocean Avenue hotel at approximately 9:30 a.m. by a man who said he was leaving it for a person staying at the establishment.

Hotel employees said that no name matching that person was on the hotel’s registry, prompting the man to flee. Alarmed by the incident, staff members called the police who ultimately called in the L.A. County Sheriff’s bomb squad to investigate the situation, SMPD spokesman Sgt. Richard Lewis said.

The evacuations came just as the Senior Center was preparing to serve free lunch, forcing nearly 55 seniors and five staff members to flee the building, employees said.

For more:  http://www.smdp.com/Articles-local-news-c-2012-03-26-73724.113116-Police-Suspicious-suitcase-had-no-explosives.html

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by | March 26, 2012 · 6:10 pm

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: ADA "Pool Lift" Product And Installation Demonstration Video

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d42mLPaPZBk]

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by | · 6:10 pm

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: ADA "Pool Lift" Product And Installation Demonstration Video

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d42mLPaPZBk]

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by | March 25, 2012 · 9:43 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Minnesota Hotel Kitchen "Oil Fryer Fire" Causes $100,000 In Damage

“The oil in the fryer reached its ignition temperature; the employees tried to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher, which was ineffective against the burning oil.”  

A fire in a Pannekoeken restaurant fryer at the Days Inn Hotel in downtown Rochester on Saturday morning caused an estimated $100,000 in damage.  Firefighters were called to the hotel, located at 6 First Ave. N.W., at 6:17 a.m., said Rochester Deputy Fire Chief Steve Belau. Employees had been opening the kitchen for the day, and had started the fryer when the mishap happened.
“After a time the fryer was noted to be boiling excessively (and) efforts by employees to shut down the fryer were unsuccessful,” Belau said.

The built-in fire extinguisher system slowed the fire, but was overcome when the fire became too large, Belau said. When firefighters arrived, there was smoke in the main floor and fire in the exhaust hood area of the kitchen. Fire was coming out of the exhaust vent on the outside.
Firefighters used two large portable fire extinguishers. At first, each time they knocked it down, it came back, Belau said. Also, it was unusually hot and smoky inside the kitchen. “Oil fires are very difficult to extinguish due to the unusually high temperatures associated with them,” he said.

For more:  http://www.postbulletin.com/news/stories/display.php?id=1491004

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by | March 24, 2012 · 7:41 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Arizona Restaurant Chain Found Guilty Of "Pregnancy Discrimination" In Suit Brought By EEOC

“The EEOC would like to remind employers that pregnancy discrimination has been illegal for decades, and violations of the law will be met with rigorous enforcement by our agency.”

 The manager admitted in sworn testimony that he had made that statement, having been told by a company official that he could not hire pregnant women.

An Arizona federal jury returned a verdict against High Speed Enterprise, Inc., a corporation that owns five Phoenix-area Subway restaurants. The jury awarded damages to Belinda Murillo, a job applicant who claimed she was refused a position solely because she was pregnant. The suit was brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the lawsuit, EEOC v. High Speed Enterprise, Inc. dba Subway, Murillo applied for a job at a central Phoenix Subway in May 2006. Later that month she met with the general manager who asked if she was pregnant. She said yes.

EEOC says that the manager told the applicant, “We can’t hire you because you’re pregnant.” She also reminded pregnant women that it is against the law for employers to fire them or treat them differently because they are expecting.

For more:  http://safety.blr.com/workplace-safety-news/safety-administration/Disabilities-ADA/Jury-Decides-Against-Restaurant-Owner-in-Discrimin/

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by | March 23, 2012 · 8:30 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Maryland Hotel Suffers $50,000 In Water Damage As Guest Is "Tricked Into Breaking Off Fire Sprinkler"

“…Fire officials said a female guest was contacted by someone at the  website pranku.net and told that a gas leak had occurred in the hotel.  The  guest was then tricked into breaking off the sprinkler head in her room with a  toilet bowl cover, which then caused water to flow into eight rooms and the  floor below…”

The state fire marshal’s office is investigating an incident at a hotel in  Aberdeen in which a guest was pranked into breaking the sprinkler system with a  toilet bowl lid, which subsequently caused several rooms to flood.

Firefighters were called to the second floor of the Holiday Inn Express  in the 1000 block of Beards Hill Road about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

Officials said there was about $50,000 worth of damage to the hotel. No  charges have been filed at this point.
Read more: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/30746462/detail.html#ixzz1pxPycGH5

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by | March 22, 2012 · 11:57 am

Hospitality Industry Theft Risks: International Jewelry Theft Ring Targeted "Jewelry Sales Representatives And Couriers" After Returning To Their Hotel Rooms

“…an international criminal organization that committed 17 robberies, primarily by attacking sales representatives and couriers after they had returned to their homes or hotel rooms. He said the group used prolonged, sophisticated surveillance methods to identify vulnerable salesmen, who were targeted throughout Virginia as well as in New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland, California and Tennessee over the past two years. Sometimes the robbed salesmen would be followed for hundreds of miles and across state lines.  

Seven people have been charged with operating a jewelry-theft ring based in Richmond, Va. that authorities say stole more than $4.6 million in merchandise from traveling salesmen in Virginia and several other states.

“This is a group that allegedly did their homework,” MacBride said in a conference call with reporters.

Court documents say the group of Colombians has ties to South American theft groups, which federal authorities say are transnational criminal groups that work in teams to steal jewelry, gems and precious metals from those who carry hundreds of thousands of dollars in merchandise at one time.

Prosecutors say that after a successful robbery, members of the ring would travel to New York to sell the merchandise to “fences” who would either resell it or melt it down for later use. MacBride said the group didn’t target any one particular type of jewelry, saying it included gold and gems, among other things.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/03/21/4356163/7-arrested-in-multi-state-jewelry.html#storylink=cpy

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