Tag Archives: Hotel Safety

by | May 8, 2014 · 9:00 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risk: “Environmental Heat Solutions Warns That Bed Bug Cases Could Rise Due to Increase in Travel and Lack of Awareness”

“…One of the most important places to check for bed bugs, according to experts, is in hotel rooms. This is because of the amount of movement through them. Bed bugs can ‘hitchhike’ on clothing and take up residence in mattresses. Image From there, they can attach to new hosts and ‘hitchhike’ out...Individuals who are dealing with bug infestations should consider methods like bed bug heat treatment and canine bed bug detection to remedy the problem...”

Environmental Heat Solutions is spreading awareness about the rise of bed bug infestations and the reasons behind them.

There’s a silent epidemic that is sweeping the United States, and that epidemic is bed bugs. Due to a number of circumstances and a lack of proper education, more and more businesses and families are struggling with getting rid of bed bugs.

For more: http://bit.ly/1gbWqIR

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by | May 2, 2014 · 8:46 am

Hospitality Risk Solutions Technology Update: “A Child’s Efforts To Save Her Mother Lead To Changes In Hotel 911 Calls”

“…According to a survey conducted by the American Hotel and Lodging Association, which found that guests can’t simply dial 911 for help in 55 percent of all franchised hotels…But Imagethe good news here is it seems like the majority of hotels who do not have direct-dial 911, those changes can be made by reprogramming the equipment rather than replacing it…”

As her mother was being attacked, a 9-year-old girl frantically dialed 911 for help from inside an East Texas hotel room. She dialed once, twice… four times that December day, but the call never went through.

Her mother took her last breath.

What the girl did not know was that the hotel’s phone system requires a “9″ first to reach an outside line. “She told us she did what she was supposed to do,” said her grandfather, Henry Hunt. “And it didn’t work.”

For more: http://cbsloc.al/1oa8Vtw

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by | April 29, 2014 · 8:40 am

Hospitality Industry Liability Update: ” Hotel Horrors, Avoiding the Silent Killer”

“…The organization issued a statement about the deadly gas saying  in part: proper installation andImage maintenance of fuel-fired equipment including adhering to the manufacturers  product warnings are the best measures to ensure no adverse carbon monoxide exposure occurs…”

South Carolina hotels will become a home away from home for many across the nation this summer. But a nice relaxing vacation and time by the pool could turn deadly.

“It depends how much you breath in,” says Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins. Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins is talking about Carbon Monoxide. It’s often called the “silent killer.” That’s because you can’t smell the gas or see it.

For more: http://www.wach.com/news/story.aspx?id=1036737#.U1_CNK1dXnw

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by | April 25, 2014 · 8:21 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Woman Suing Syracuse Hotel for $1 million After Falling Off Bar Stool, Injuring Wrist”

“…The lawsuit alleges that the bar stool was too high off the ground, built to ‘coordinate with the height of the bar top.’ Image The hotel management knew of other problems with the height of the stools, the lawsuit claims…”

An Ohio woman is suing Syracuse’s Crowne Plaza Hotel after falling off a bar stool in the public lounge.

Antoinette Allison, of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, is seeking up to $1 million for her injuries after falling off the “defective” bar stool on April 14, 2011, according to her lawsuit.

The wooden, high-back bar stool landed on her wrist after the fall, which caused multiple fractures, her lawsuit claims. The injury required surgery.

For more: http://bit.ly/QFlDFo

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by | April 24, 2014 · 8:57 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Update: “Safety Concerns About Legal Marijuana Edibles”

“…Friends say he ate the recommended dose of one-sixth of a marijuana-infused cookie on March 11. Image When he felt no effects he ate the entire cookie: six times the recommended dose. He later became irrational and jumped off a hotel balcony to his death…”

Two recent deaths and increased emergency room visits in Colorado have highlighted concerns about the safety of legal marijuana edibles.

Dr. George Sam Wang of Children’s Hospital Colorado says part of the problem is that the effects of edible marijuana begin more slowly than smokeable pot, though they tend to last longer.

“One of the dangers that we’ve been seeing with adult recreational retail use is they’ll take the recommended dose, wait, feel no effects and then continue to stack doses. Then before they know it they have a pretty large amount in their system and then they get potentially pretty severe effects,” he said.

For more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/04/23/safety-concerns-about-legal-marijuana-edibles/

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by | April 23, 2014 · 8:42 am

Hospitality Industry News Update: “Restaurant And Hospitality News For VARs”

This week the news includes a warning that hackers are using third-parties to gain access to data through vulnerable systems. Also, hotels and other retailers are adopting new mobile technology for check-in. Image And finally, in an interview with Forest Key of Buuteeq, we find out why hotel marketing is flying to the cloud.

Hackers Lurking In Vents And Soda Machines

This article from The New York Times discusses how your clients could be vulnerable to cyberattacks through solutions and devices be tied to a leaky third party, such as online menus, or even heating and cooling providers who now monitor and adjust office temperatures remotely, and vending machine suppliers who can see when their clients are out of Diet Cokes and Cheetos. Vendors are tempting targets for hackers because they tend to run older systems, and once hackers have found a way in, the devices offer them a place to hide in plain sight.

For more: http://www.bsminfo.com/doc/restaurant-and-hospitality-news-for-vars-april-0001

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by | April 22, 2014 · 9:18 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Hotel Hospitality: How to Stay on the Right Side of the Law”

“…No hotel firm wants to see their guests get hurt or for customer death to occur that they may have contributed to. Tragedies such as these are usually completely avoidable if the hotel Image follows health and safety and hospitality law guidelines for their guests. To keep on the right side of the law make sure you are fully up to date on your legal obligations towards your clients…?

The Hilton chain of hotels and its related businesses are being sued after the death of 27 year old Raul Hernandez Martinez, who was electrocuted after using a swimming pool at the Hilton Houston Westchase Hotel. According to Chron.com, he and his relatives had been using the pool on the evening of August 31st 2013 when the pool lights turned on as it began to get dark.

People began to complain of being shocked by electrical current and a child that was swimming at the deep end began to get into difficulties. On swimming over to him to assist him, Mr. Martinez was shocked and began convulsing.  Although he managed to lift the child out of the water, he was unable to get out. When he was pulled out, he had gone into cardiac arrest. He died six days later in the intensive care unit of the local hospital.

For more: http://hlconverge.com/index.php/component/k2/item/831-hotel-hospitality-how-to-stay-on-the-right-side-of-the-law

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by | April 21, 2014 · 9:02 am

Hospitality Industry Conference Update” Southern California Hotel and Lodging Conference”

Hospitality Industry Conference Update” Southern California Hotel and Lodging Conference”

We just wanted to remind everyone to come check out Petra’s own Director of Risk Management, Todd Seiders, and Loss Control Manager, Marco Johnson, at the Southern California Hotel and Lodging Conference. We hope to see you there!

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by | April 17, 2014 · 9:01 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Update: “Recent Hotel Incidents Serve as Cautionary Tales of Carbon Monoxide Health and Legal Risks”

“…Should a hotel have to contend with the unthinkable, a catastrophic incident, such as carbon monoxide poisoning, it is advisable to immediately conduct a detailed and thorough investigation. Preferably, counsel should be retained at the outset to shepherd the investigation, retain appropriate experts Image and serve as a liaison between the hotel and the investigating authorities. The benefit of counsel conducting the investigation is that everything learned during the course of the investigation falls under attorney client privilege in the likely event that a lawsuit is initiated…”

Recently media exposure regarding the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning in hotels, motels, and resorts has seemed to increase. The issue has garnered attention among such major media outlets as ABC News’ 20/20, USA Today, and CNN. With good reason – a 2013 USA Today Investigation showed that, “eight people have died and at least 170 others have been treated for carbon monoxide poisoning in the past three years in hotels.” A concerning statistic given that according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Comission, approximately 170 people die each year from carbon monoxide produced by non-automotive consumer products overall.

Carbon monoxide, also known as CO, is a colorless, odorless, gas with toxic consequences for people and animals. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a risk that hotel, motel, and resort operators must take seriously, most importantly to ensure the safety and well-being of guests. But also because of the potential legal exposure carbon monoxide poisoning poses, both to business entities and individual owners, should the unthinkable happen in their hotel.

For more: http://hlconverge.com/index.php/component/k2/item/815-recent-hotel-incidents-serve-as-cautionary-tales-of-carbon-monoxide-health-and-legal-risks

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by | April 14, 2014 · 8:27 am

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Hotel Security for the Traveler”

“…There are three questions to ask for selecting a secure hotel: Are there electronic door locks? Is there good key control? And is there a fire alarm and water sprinkler system? Image Generally, the only way to find this out is calling the hotel directly. The number one security issue is controlling who has access to a guest’s hotel room…“

The sad truth is that criminals target travelers, especially in and around hotels. The abundance of literature on the topic of hotel security does not seem to have deterred criminals from using hotels as a target of their trade. An informal survey of hotel security staff reveals old patterns of crime repeated and new tricks (or new variations of old tricks) continue as before. There are, however, some practices which can reduce your risk of being the target of crime or other hazards in a hotel.

For more: http://businessdayonline.com/2014/04/hotel-security-for-the-traveler/#.U0v56q1dXnw

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