Tag Archives: Hotel Safety

by | February 18, 2014 · 8:43 am

Hospitality Industry Liability Risk: “Carbon Monoxide Leak At Westin Sends 9 To Hospital”

“…A total of 20 guests and employees were evaluated by paramedics, resulting in the transport of nine people to the hospital.  Four employees who worked in the area of the hotel’s laundry roomImage were transported by paramedic unit to the Hyperbaric Chamber at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.  Five additional patients, four employees and one guest, were transported to local hospitals…”

For the second time in as many months, Anne Arundel County paramedics were alerted to the presence of dangerous levels of carbon monoxide on the scene of a call by carbon monoxide detectors carried on their medical equipment.  On Sunday February 16th just after 1:30 p.m., paramedics responded to the Westin Hotel, located at 1110 Old Elkridge Landing Road in North Linthicum to assist an employee who felt faint.  While assessing and treating the patient, the paramedics were alerted to the possible presence of carbon monoxide by their CO alarm.  They immediately requested additional assistance to the scene and began to evacuate the patient and others in the area.

Additional responding units checked other areas of the hotel and found excessive levels of carbon monoxide in various locations in the hotel.  Some levels were in excess of 700 parts per million- levels capable of causing serious injury with just two hours of exposure.  The seven story hotel was evacuated by firefighters going room to room on each floor to ensure all employees and guests had been evacuated.

For more: http://www.eyeonannapolis.net/2014/02/17/carbon-monoxide-leak-at-westin-sends-9-to-hospital/

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by | February 12, 2014 · 8:30 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Safety Update: “Placing Guests at the Heart of Safety”

“…Risk, along with return, is perhaps the most important part of any business calculation. Risk has to be managed correctly and one way of doing this is to have a risk strategy. A risk strategy helps everyone understand the importance of risk awareness.  It is useful because it sets down in black and white the kind of things you will and won’t do. It’s always difficult to look away when there is an opportunity to make more money and in the heat of the moment one can throw caution to the wind…”

When one purchases a high-priced item, it is natural and reasonable to expect a high-quality of performance. For most people, cars and holidays count as the two highest priced items of regular expenditure. People save money to take their annual holiday and also put aside money to be able to purchase a newer car.
During the past two to three decades, the automobile industry has made vast strides towards improving the quality of their products to the extent that faults on new cars are now a rarity. Yes, occasionally, manufactures ‘recall’ certain models owing to production defects, but the percentage of recalled cars is a tiny fraction to that of the thousands of cars that are globally sold daily.

For more: http://www.dailymirror.lk/business/features/43010-placing-guests-at-the-heart-of-safety.html

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by | February 10, 2014 · 8:45 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Safety Update: “Florida Police Ask for Tourist Tax Dollars to Fight Crime”

“…The move is likely to face resistance from Florida’s influential tourism industry which has fought similar plans in the past Imageto use tourism tax dollars for anything other than marketing expenses in driving more business to the Sunshine State…”

“…Jim Preston, president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Florida said police, fire and ambulance services invest lots of money and resources protecting tourist areas. ‘I think it’s reasonable that some of those tourist-tax dollars should be going to those agencies to help offset those costs,’ he said…”

Following a spate of robberies in hotels in Orlando’s tourist district in recent weeks, a law-enforcement group proposed extra spending on public safety, directly financed by the local hotel tax.

The Fraternal Order of Police wants the Florida Legislature to let local councils use some of their tourist tax dollars to fund public safety improvements in tourist areas.

There has been over a dozen robberies targeting hotels and restaurants in the Orlando area, thought to have been carried out by the same armed gang.

For more: http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=2010156&c=setreg&region=3

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by | February 5, 2014 · 8:30 am

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Mission Valley Travelodge Owners Agree to Increase Security Measures to Thwart Prostitution”

“…Tourism is one of San Diego’s largest industries, guests to our city should feel safe and secure during their stay,” said City Attorney Jan Goldsmith.Image “Our office will continue to combat illegal activity such as prostitution and will work diligently to hold business owners accountable and clean up neighborhoods…” 

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – The owners of the Travelodge motel in Mission Valley have agreed to increase security measures to thwart prostitution activity, the San Diego City Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

Mission Valley Travelodge Joint Venture and WW Lodging Ltd. are to hire onsite security guards and reimburse the city of San Diego more than $18,000 in investigative costs, according to the deal reached last week.

The partnership that owns and manages the motel at 1201 Hotel Circle S. already have installed more security cameras, posted signs to deter criminal activity and improved registration policies to include the photocopying of all guest and visitor identification cards and registering of all guest and visitor vehicles, the City Attorney’s Office said.

For more: http://www.sandiego6.com/story/owners-of-mission-valley-travelodge-agree-to-increase-security-measures-to-thwart-prostitution-activity-20140203

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by | February 4, 2014 · 9:00 am

Hospitality Industry Liability Risk: “Legally Speaking: Avoiding Bath Fall Liability”

“…But knowing that shower areas present risks is not a trade secret shared only among guests. Hoteliers are also in the know. That fact imposes on inns a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable bathroom mishaps. bathThose steps include installation and ongoing maintenance of any of the following: non-skid strips on the tub or shower floor, a bathmat, handrails along the walls of the tub for gripping and/or like devices designed to reduce the dangers. Failure to provide, and keep in good form, these simple apparatus deprives the guest of protection against falling, and in many states opens the door, to a founded lawsuit…”

Some issues in hotel law come and go. Falls in slippery bathtubs have a sticking quality. Liability in this type of lawsuit can be avoided but it takes some attention to those porcelain bastions of cleanliness.

In the typical case a guest is showering, loses his balance and falls. Because floors and walls surrounding showers are customarily rock-hard, injuries are likely to occur and be substantial.

So, who’s at fault? The answer is: it depends. Yes, guests should know that tubs and shower stalls are, by their very nature, slippery and potentially dangerous. And, yes, guests should therefore use caution to protect themselves from injury.

For more: http://hlconverge.com/index.php/component/k2/item/781-legally-speaking-avoiding-bath-fall-liability

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by | January 24, 2014 · 9:27 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: “Slaying the Silent Killer, Carbon Monoxide”

“…Fireplaces, boilers, water heaters, pool-heating equipment, gas-powered tools, barbecues and cooking equipment are the most common types of fossil-fuel-burning equipment found in hotels,” said Todd Seiders, director of risk management at Petra Risk Solutions….” 20140123_carbonmonoxide_feature

“…Carbon monoxide is a gas, so it’s going to penetrate solids and seep into any open spaces just like cigarette smoke does,” said Stephen Barth, professor of hotel law at the University of Houston and the founder of HospitalityLawyer.com. “The problem is it’s deadly because you can’t see it, taste it or smell it. They call it the silent killer….”

REPORT FROM THE U.S.—Three deaths linked to a faulty pipe that allegedly exposed guests to a lethal dose of carbon monoxide at a Best Western in Boone, North Carolina, have hoteliers stressing the importance of carbon-monoxide safety.

With rare exceptions, hotels all have sources of carbon monoxide, sources said, and without proper installation, maintenance and inspection, hotel owners and managers could be putting their guests at risk.

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by | · 8:33 am

Hospitality Industry Employee Update: “Police Arrest Two of Weld County’s Most Wanted After Hotel Employee Recognized Duo From Photos Aired on News”

“…When the couple tried to check into the Best Western Brighton Inn, 15151 Brighton Road near U.S. 85, an employee recognized them from the photos and immediately called the Brighton Police Department…”Image

“…Montiel and Ureste — who also go by Destiny Lucero and Danny Montiel, respectively — were wanted in Weld County for multiple cases of identity theft, criminal mischief and failure to appear for court dates…”

Police on Wednesday arrested two of Weld County’s most wanted after a vigilant hotel employee recognized the pair from a news broadcast earlier in the evening.

Bianca Montiel, 24, and Christopher Ureste, 25, were arrested on suspicion of entering unlocked vehicles that were parked at day care facilities, stealing credit cards and racking up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges, said Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur.

The pair would wait in the parking lot of the centers early in the morning while parents dropped their children off. When parents took the kids inside, the suspects would enter the unlocked vehicles, steal purses and then use credit cards at local retailers.

For more: http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/9875062-113/police-satur-weld-arrest

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Hospitality Industry Legal Risk: “Parents File Lawsuit on Behalf of Teenage Girl Critically Injured in Panama City Parasailing Accident”

“…This lack of oversight means no one is keeping tabs on parasailing operators to make sure ropes that are damaged by sun and saltwater are replaced,” said Chalik who has spent years pushing for reform. “Parasailing should be a fun and safe activity, but parasailing companies that cut corners or disregard the safety of their customers can turn the popular beachside pastime into a dangerous and even deadly trip…”

PANAMA CITY, FL and ROANOKE, IN–(Marketwired – January 23, 2014) - The family of an Indiana teenage girl critically injured in a horrific parasailing accident last summer in Panama City, Fla. has filed a negligence lawsuit against the parasailing company, its owner and the hotel that operated the excursions.

On July 1, 2013, 17-year-old Alexis Fairchild of Huntington, Ind., and her friend Sidney Good of Roanoke, Ind., went up in tandem when strong winds snapped their parasail free from its boat below. Witnesses watched in horror as the girls were flung across the shoreline, smashed into a nearby condo rooftop and were dragged into a power line, before plunging into cars parked below.

“Aquatic Adventures Management Group, which operated Why Knot Parasail, not only ignored the fact that weather conditions had deteriorated, but failed to operate the boat a safe distance from shore,” said attorney Deborah Chalik, partner at The Law Offices of Chalik and Chalik, who filed the suit on in Bay County, Fla. on behalf of Alexis’ parents Michael and Angelia Fairchild. Chalik and Chalik has successfully represented a number of cases regarding parasailing accidents.

For more: http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/parents-file-lawsuit-on-behalf-teenage-girl-critically-injured-panama-city-parasailing-1871901.htm

For the original article: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/florida-parasailing-victim-sidney-good-breaks-silence-article-1.1587594

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by | January 23, 2014 · 8:41 am
by | January 13, 2014 · 8:40 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: “Kari’s Law: Murder Victim’s Family Campaigns To Change Hotel Policy”

“When we do this we want to do it right so people can feel comfortable when they have to dial 911 and they get an emergency dispatcher,” ImageGohmert told local TV station KETK. “Even adults when they’re witnessing something terribly traumatic will not be thinking about ‘what do I dial to get an outside line?’ They’d be running and dialing 911.”

“We are attempting to ensure that any person needing police, EMS or the Fire Department at any hotel or motel location may be able to dial the numbers 911 and receive emergency response,”

It was Dec. 1, 2013, and Kari Rene Hunt lie on the brink of death in a hotel room in East Texas. The eldest of her three children, a 9-year-old daughter, attempted to call 911 for help, but because she had no idea that she would have to dial 9 first to get an outside line, the call never went through and her mother succumbed to her wounds. Now, Hunt’s father Hank is out to ensure that hotels across the nation do away with systems that require dialing anything before 911 to make certain that the same scenario doesn’t happen again.

“We are attempting to ensure that any person needing police, EMS or the Fire Department at any hotel or motel location may be able to dial the numbers 911 and receive emergency response,” Hank said in a petition on Change.org. “In a panic, any underage child — or for that matter, anyone in an emergency situation — should be able to depend on dialing 911 from any phone in the United States and receiving assistance.”

For more: http://www.ibtimes.com/karis-law-murder-victims-family-campaigns-change-hotel-policy-1536166

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by | October 17, 2013 · 6:08 am

Hospitality Industry Safety Solutions: Texas Hotel “Fire Safety Audit” Results In Installation Of $100,000 “State-Of-The-Art Alarm System”, Self-Closing Doors & Removal Of Combustible Items

“…There will be a brand new, state-of-the-art fire alarm system installed by the end of the year and will Hotel Fire Safetycost $99,950…the lack of self-closing devices installed in the doors may lead to a potential fire to jump to the other building, the audit noted…One of the problems that State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy reported was that there was a large quantity of combustible items stored in the unfinished basement area of the hotel (which) may overwhelm a fire sprinkler system if a fire occurs placing occupant safety and structural stability at risk…”

The Sam Houston State University Hotel has fixed several fire hazards and are in the process of tending to the rest after they were discovered in a State Fire Marshal audit in February, according to Steve Shields, Director of Environmental Health, Safety, and Risk Management.

The University Hotel had nine fire safety problems that needed to be addressed, according to physical plant. Five of them have been fixed and the last two have been scheduled and funded. One problem that has yet to be fixed is the fire alarm system. According to the report, the fire alarm system in the hotel is inadequate and does not have the required detection devices and alarm placement.

The current alarm can’t be heard in all of the rooms, and there is no visual notification devices for the hearing impaired in the public areas. Also, the sprinkler system will not activate the building fire alarm upon activation.

For more:  http://www.houstonianonline.com/news/shsu-university-hotel-making-adjustments-after-alarming-fire-report-1.2841696#.Ul_mvknn-M8

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