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Hospitality Industry Safety Risks: Hotel And Resort Pool Drain Covers Must Comply With Federal Laws (Video)
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Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Missouri Hotel Roof Fire Results In "Severe Smoke Damage"; Costs Estimated At $20,000
“…(there was a) significant amount of smoke throughout the building…and damage in the lobby…estimated 
preliminary damage costs to be $20,000, according to the news release…”
A roof fire caused severe smoke damage at the Quality Inn in north Columbia on Tuesday afternoon. Kasey Ryan, a general manager and director of sales at the Quality Inn, said she thought the fire started between noon and 1 p.m.
“We noticed smoke in the lobby,†Ryan said. Guests lingering after a lunch meeting in the motel were asked to evacuate. Columbia Fire Department personnel arrived at the scene shortly after. Firefighters requested a second alarm roughly 20 minutes after their initial arrival, according to a news release. A dozen firefighters, five fire trucks, one ambulance and four police vehicles were present about 2:30 p.m.
Everyone safely evacuated and no injuries were reported. “We’re just going to go through the process of cleaning up,†Ryan said. Ryan said she hopes the motel will be open in 24 hours, but a reopening date has not been set.
For more:Â http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2012/08/21/fire-department-responds-fire-quality-inn/
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Filed under Claims, Fire, Insurance, Maintenance, Management And Ownership
Hospitality Industry Property Risks: "Tornado-Damaged" Missouri Hotel Reopens After Spending Millions Of Dollars Repairing Windows And Structure
The tornado caused millions of dollars in damage, but no one was seriously injured…even the landscaping was dug up because of fallen glass.
The Hilton Hotel at Branson Landing will officially reopen September 15, more than six months after it was damaged by the Leap Day tornado. Since the February 29 EF-2 twister, 3,400 energy-efficient replacement windows have been installed at the hotel.
Nearly every piece of furniture and nearly all the carpet in the 12-story hotel will be new. The outside of the hotel will have a new look, too.
The Hiltons of Branson say new thermostats in all the guest rooms have a motion-detector system, allowing the room temperature to return to a pre-set level when the room is not occupied.
The temporary closure cost some team members their jobs. There are plans to rehire staff once the hotel reopens this fall. The Branson Convention Center, which sustained less damage than the adjacent hotel, reopened in the late spring.
For more: http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext?nxd_id=691972
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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Wisconsin Restaurant Owners Sued For $550,000 For "Negligence" In Alcohol-Related Shooting Death Of Patron
“… the defendants (are accused) of violating the Illinois Wrongful Death Act… were negligent for failing to take reasonable actions to protect customers, allowing a patron with weapons to be on the premises and allowing 
people inside the restaurant who were “quarrelsome, disorderly, hostile and vicious.”
The family says they have lost their means of support while also suffering a loss of society, consortium, guidance and companionship. The Ortizes ask to be awarded more than $550,000 in damages plus courts costs.
A Pontoon Beach restaurant is accused of causing the death of a Granite City man who was shot and killed there last year. Brenda Ortiz, as special administrator of the estate of Jesus Ortiz-Flores, and Luis F. Ortiz filed a lawsuit Aug. 15 in Madison County Circuit Court against La Mexicana Inc., also known as La Mexicana Restaurant Inc., Orlando Gudino, Berzain Gudino and Oscar Guidno. Choteau Properties Inc. is also listed as a defendant.
The 37-page lawsuit stems from a shooting that happened at La Mexicana on Chouteau Trace Parkway in Pontoon Beach on August 19, 2011, the suit states. According to statements made by police to media immediately following the incident, Jesus Ortiz-Flores, 20, was shot once in the head in the parking lot of the La Mexicaca restaurant and died immediately. Plaintiff Luis Ortiz, who was 18 at the time, was allegedly shot multiple times during the incident but survived.
Brenda Ortiz and Luis Ortiz accuse La Mexicana restauraunt, the owners and managers and Choteau Properties, the owner of the building, of directly contributing to the shootings. The Ortizes contend the restaurant served alcohol to the alleged shooter, Fernando Gallegos, 17, allowing him to become intoxicated and then attack Ortiz-Flores, causing his death. They say the defendants’ actions constitute a violation of the Illinois Dram Shop Act.
For more: Â http://www.madisonrecord.com/news/246266-la-mexicana-restaurant-in-pontoon-beach-sued-over-shooting-death
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Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Chicago Hotel Is Confirmed As Source For Three Cases Of Legionnaires' Disease
The city and the hotel are notifying the 8,500 guests who stayed there from July 16 through Aug. 15. Authorities 
say they’ve identified the source of the bacteria and there’s no ongoing health risk.
Health officials say they are investigating three confirmed cases of Legionnaires’ (LEE’-juh-nares) disease among people who stayed at a Chicago hotel. The Chicago Department of Public Health and the JW Marriott Chicago Hotel issued an advisory Tuesday. They say guests with symptoms who stayed at the Adams Street hotel should contact their doctors.
Symptoms include headache, high fever, chills, cough, chest pain and shortness of breath.
The bacteria that cause Legionnaires’ disease grow in water and can spread through vapor in air-conditioning ducts or mist from a whirlpool spa.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/21/4745192/legionnaires-disease-linked-to.html#storylink=cpy
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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Illinois Hotel Sued For "Failing To Recognize Signs Of, Inspect And Exterminate Bed Bugs In Guest Rooms"
“…(the lawsuit) is against…Marriott and the former Hickory Ridge Marriott Conference Hotel for failing to 
provide guests with a sanitary rooms, failing to inspect and exterminate rooms and failing to recognize signs of bed bug attacks, among other claims…”
Two women filed a lawsuit Monday in Cook County Circuit Court againstMarriott International Inc.and a now-closed Lisle Marriott Conference Center after claiming they and their respective children received numerous bed bug bites while staying at the hotel last August. April, Safford and the two children stayed at the suburban hotel from Aug. 6 to Aug. 15, 2011, according to the lawsuit.
During her stay at the hotel, April noticed bumps and bites all over her child’s “arms, hands, back, legs and scalp†while helping him get dressed, according to the lawsuit. She brought this to the attention of the manager, who asked if April had made a request for clean sheets, the lawsuit says.
The two women and both children were diagnosed as having “numerous bed bug bites from a significant infestation,†according to the lawsuit.
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Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Delaware Restaurant Fire Caused By Electrical Failure; Unoccupied Building Suffers Significant Damage
 “… investigators determined the blaze was caused by an electrical failure in a storage room…causing approximately $100,000 in property damage to the unoccupied building…”
The Delaware fire marshal’s office says an early morning blaze that damaged a New Castle restaurant was accidental. The fire was reported shortly after 5 a.m. Sunday at the Casablanca restaurant on North DuPont Highway near Minquadale.
No injuries were reported in connection with the fire, which occurred while the building was closed and unoccupied. The fire caused an estimated $100,000 in damages.
For more:Â http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/df9c669c4360469dbde60f932c9cdff2/DE–New-Castle-Fire
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Hospitality Industry Health Risks: California Hotels And Restaurants Must Establish Procedures And Provide Training For "Heat Illness Prevention" For All Outdoor Workers
 “…the California Department of Industrial Relations’ (DIR) Division of Occupational Safety and Health(commonly referred to as Cal/OSHA) is urging employers to protect outdoor workers from heat illness and allow 
for new workers to adjust to changes in weather (also known as acclimatization)…”
Cal/OSHA’s website provides employers with a Heat Illness Prevention e-tool for reference.
Under California’s first-in-the-nation heat illness prevention standard, employers with outdoor workers are required to establish and implement emergency procedures, and provide training on heat illness prevention to all workers. Every outdoor workplace must have drinking water for workers – at least one quart per hour per employee – and shade for recovery and rest periods. Shade must be provided when temperatures are above 85 degrees, and be available at employee request at any temperature. Employers are also required to train employees to properly identify heat illness symptoms.
The heat illness prevention standard was strengthened two years ago to include a high heat provision that must be implemented by five different industries when temperatures reach 95 degrees. These procedures include observing employees, closely supervising new employees, and reminding all employees throughout the shift to drink water. The specified industries include agriculture, construction, landscaping, oil and gas extraction and transportation or delivery of agricultural products, construction material or other heavy material. However, all employers are advised to take additional precautions during periods of high heat.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/15/4729437/calosha-reminds-employers-to-stay.html#storylink=cpy
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Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Washington DC Restaurants Damaged In 2011 Flood "Reinvent Themselves" By Rebuilding With "New Concepts"
“…The establishment was hit hard by the flood…the owners used some insurance money to rebuild. But they also took the opportunity to come up with a new concept for their establishment…”
“…(the owners) renegotiated the lease and worked with Washington Harbour so insurance covered 85 percent of the about $5 million needed to rebuild the restaurants…”
Three restaurants at Washington Harbour are preparing to reopen after the spring 2011 flood that covered parts of the K Street complex in 10-plus feet of water. Tony and Joe’s Seafood Palace and Nick’s Riverside Grill are expected to fully open at the end of this week, and Farmers and Fishers plans to reopen as Farmers Fishers Bakers at the end of October. All three closed after an April 2011 storm during which MRP Realty, the company that manages the complex, raised only three-quarters of the floodgates that block the establishments from the Potomac River.
Nick Cibel, whose family owns both Tony and Joe’s and Nick’s Riverside Grill, said the flood was devastating, but he and his relatives have made the best of the situation.
“It was complete destruction at both restaurants, and everything had to be thrown away and rebuilt,†he said. “We are taking full advantage of that by reinventing ourselves. We want to be known by our food, not just the waterfront.â€
Both Joe’s and Nick’s have been operating with outside seating and a reduced menu since about a month after the flood, while the interiors have undergone renovations. Tony and Joe’s has an updated design that allows for a wider, unobstructed view of the river. Nick’s Riverside Grill’s square footage has increased by 25 percent, and the restaurant will carry more international cuisine.
For more:Â http://www.thegeorgetowndish.com/thedish/flood-damaged-restaurants-set-reopen
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Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: California Hotel Owner Found Guilty Of Violating "Unruh Civil Rights Act" For Discrimination Against Religious Group; $1.2 Million Statutory Damages And $440,000 In Punitive Damages Awarded By Jury To Plaintiffs
“…The jury decided on Wednesday that the hotel and Adaya violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which bars hotels and other business from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color or religion…the hotel and owner were also ordered to pay approximately $440,000 in additional punitive damages to the plaintiffs…”
A Muslim hotel owner discriminated against a Jewish group during a Southern California poolside charity event by ordering removal of banners and ousting them from the pool and spa, a jury decided in awarding $1.2 million statutory damages. The suit was filed by Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, whose members had gathered two years ago at Santa Monica’s ocean-view Hotel Shangri-LA, which is owned by Tehmina Adaya. The owner is a Muslim of Pakistani descent.
The event was organized by Platinum Events, a marketing firm that had organized other gatherings at the Shangri-La after a $30-million renovation three years ago.
Workers and security guards at the Art Deco hotel were acting on Adaya’s orders when they told members of the group to get out of the pool and spa and remove banners and literature, according to trial testimony.
In her testimony, Adaya denied ordering a halt to the event for fear that her family would cut off her financing. Adaya inherited control of the hotel from her father, Ahmad Adaya, a real estate tycoon and philanthropist who died in 2006.
For more: Â http://www.jewishjournal.com/thenon-prophet/item/additional_440000_in_punitive_damages_imposed_on_hotel_shangri-la_20120816/
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