Tag Archives: Hotel Safety

by | April 23, 2012 · 10:50 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued By Man For "Negligence" After Breaking Ankle In Hotel Lobby

“…(Plaintiff) fell on a slippery marble floor near the lobby area of the hotel…(he) is seeking damages and court costs…”

A native of the Netherlands is suing after he broke his ankle at a Memorial-area hotel.  Harry Kanters filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, April 17 in the Harris County District Court against American Liberty Hospitality and Hilton Garden Inn/Houston Galleria in Memorial, citing negligence.

Kanters says on April 18, 2010, he broke his ankle while staying as a guest at the Hilton Garden Inn Galleria, located at 3201 Sage Road in Memorial.

He is being represented in the case by Southlake attorney Gregory Jones.

For more: http://www.ultimatememorial.com/stories/354485-courts-memorial-hotel-blamed-for-broken-ankle

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by | March 19, 2012 · 8:26 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Texas Hotel Evacuated After Guests Exposed To Carbon Monoxide; Boiler Room Thought To Be Source

“…several people from the hotel went to a hospital on their own and nobody was seriously hurt. He says the individuals apparently had similar symptoms, such as nausea and headaches, leading hospital personnel to contact the fire department…”

Part of a Dallas-area hotel has been evacuated after some people got sick from possible carbon monoxide exposure.

Wilson says carbon monoxide possibly was detected in a hotel boiler room. A clerk who answered the phone said the front desk area had been declared safe. Warning alarms could be heard in the background.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/19/3819780/part-of-irving-hotel-evacuated.html#storylink=cpy

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by | March 11, 2012 · 1:10 am

Hospitality Industry Fire Risk: Ohio Hotel Fire Likely Caused By Electrical Problem In Ceiling Area Of Indoor Pool; Damage Exceeds $1 Million

“…The fire originated in the ceiling area of the indoor pool, it was likely an electrical problem, according to the release…”

“…Flames traveled from the overhang above the indoor pool to other walls in the hotel… Winds forced the smoke and fire up to the third floor and fanned the flames…”  

Holiday Inn Express employees stood huddled in thin blankets near Frisch’s Big Boy as firefighters from 10 departments attacked the building with axes and water. Smoke billowed from windows with punched-out screens on the southwest corner of the building at 773 Hebron Road. The three-alarm fire was fueled by a strong wind, up to 30 mph, from the northwest.

Firefighters tore into the building and tossed debris from open windows. Between fire truck sirens, the hotel fire alarm and radio calls of several chiefs, communication was challenging but achieved, Huggins said.

Investigators determined the damage exceeded $1 million, according to the release. Inspectors at the scene said the hotel’s fire alarm system and sprinkler system functioned properly during the blaze, according to the release.

For more:  http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20120309/NEWS01/120309003/Everyone-out-Holiday-Inn-Express-fire-continues

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by | March 6, 2012 · 1:22 am

Hospitality Industry Security Risks: New York Hotel Suffers Thousands Of Dollars In Damage From Group At Guest Room Party; Surveillance Video Critical To Finding Vandals

 “…a group at a party in a room at the Towne Plaza Suites on Holland Avenue is suspected of ripping off wall lights, breaking ceiling tiles and ceiling lights, discharging fire extinguishers and spraying a can of Mace in the third floor hallway…”

Vandals caused several thousand dollars worth of damage to an Albany hotel early Sunday morning. Mace got into the hotel’s ventilation system so the second and third floors had to be evacuated and ventilated, police said in a news release.

Hotel staff members believe the vandals are associated with an Albany man who rented a third fl oor room at the hotel. Police received a call from hotel staff about the incident at 1:15 a.m. Sunday, but when they arrived at the hotel all of the partygoers had already left through the back door.

Surveillance video will be examined to see if any of the vandals can be identified.

For more:  http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2012/mar/05/0305_vanals/

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by | February 3, 2012 · 6:33 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: New York Hotel's Water System Is "Source" Of Six Reported Cases Of Legionnaire's Disease In 2011

“…New York state health officials say six cases of Legionnaire’s disease contracted last year have been linked to an upstate hotel…Legionnaires can cause deadly pneumonia…the germs spread through mist or vapor from contaminated water or air conditioning systems…”

A Department of Health spokesman tells local media outlets that tests confirmed earlier this week that higher than normal levels of legionnella bacteria were present in the water system at the Best Western Sovereign Hotel in Albany.

Officials say the guests who became ill stayed at the hotel between September and December.

The Times Union of Albany reports that Phoenix-based Best Western International said in a statement that the company is working with health officials and has taken steps to eliminate the bacteria. The company says current guests aren’t at risk.

For more:  http://online.wsj.com/article/APc99086b2afa94c57a72e593a6a15e400.html

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by | January 26, 2012 · 11:53 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: "High-End New York Hotels" Found To Have Bed Bugs

The Ritz is just the latest swanky hotel to report finding the blood-suckers in one of its rooms. Guests have previously complained about bedbugs at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Bedbugs have been spotted at the luxury Ritz-Carlton New York, reports The New York Times. A guest reported the pesky discovery to the front desk Sunday, and hotel management subsequently called an exterminator to rid the room of the creepy crawlers.

Guests in rooms next to the infested area, as well as those above and below it, were transferred to other accommodations and hotel workers received bedbug training, reports the Times.

Scott Geraghty, the hotel’s general manager, told the paper the problem had been remedied.

“Bedbugs are inevitable,” Geraghty said. “They’re brought in by guests and come in on luggage or things of that matter.”

For more:  http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Bedbug-Ritz-Carlton-Hotel-New-York-City-Infest-138120308.html

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by | January 23, 2012 · 8:06 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Texas Hotel Completes Installation Of "Shatter-Resistant" Window Panes That Can Withstand "Hurricane-Force Winds And Even Bomb Blasts"

Glass panels were removed from balconies on the 37-story, $300 million building in mid-2011 after eight panels shattered on three separate occasions in June, raining glass into the hotel´s pool area and onto adjacent streets.

Final repairs will soon begin on balconies at the W Austin Hotel and Residences, with workers set to install about 1,000 panes of specially engineered glass that can withstand hurricane-force winds and even bomb blasts, according to its manufacturer.

  • SentryGlas, a product from DuPont, was determined to be the right choice, Armstrong told the American-Statesman.
  • The contractors, not Stratus, will pick up the tab for the $2.5 million project, Armstrong said. About $500,000 has already been spent removing the original glass, as well as providing security guards and protective walkways while that work was under way.
  • SentryGlas has an interlayer that holds together shattered panes, according to Harvey. But, he said, its interlayer is much, much tougher than typical laminated glass — 100 times stiffer and five times stronger.
  • Instead of brackets on the sides, the glass will now be inset with stainless steel mounts at the top and bottom of each panel.

For more: http://www.glassonweb.com/news/index/14953/

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by | January 15, 2012 · 1:05 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Texas Hotel Sued By Family Of Housekeeper Who Died Falling Down Service Elevator Shaft; State Required Inspection Two-Weeks Overdue

“…Gloria Rodriguez, 65, had been an employee at the Crockett Hotel for 12 years when she fell six stories down the service elevator shaft Dec. 28. The elevator’s state-required annual inspection was more than two weeks overdue at the time…”

The family of a Crockett Hotel housekeeper who plunged to her death down an open elevator shaft last month has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

Named in the suit are New Jersey-based Otis Elevator Company and 1859-Historic Hotels Ltd., a Galveston-based company that owns the Crockett Hotel and the nearby Menger Hotel in downtown San Antonio.

“Based upon current information, it is believed that she attempted to get on the elevator but when the doors opened there was no elevator, causing her to fall,” Houston-based attorney James Hada wrote in the suit, filed Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Wrongful-death-suit-filed-for-fatal-elevator-2519149.php#ixzz1jSJFD4KN

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by | December 10, 2011 · 8:18 am

Hospitality Industry Pool Risks: Hotel Pools And Spas Are Not Considered Safe If "Drain Covers Are Broken, Missing Or Cracked" (Video)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRLG0iICT4w]

 

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by | December 5, 2011 · 7:00 am

Hospitality Industry Property Risks: Arizona Hotel's Elevator "Free-Falls" Several Floors Injuring Female Guest

“…Right after the second-floor button lit up, she heard a loud noise and the elevator went into a free-fall mode…The elevator hit the ground. The woman broke her right ankle, and possibly her left ankle, too…”  

A woman suffered broken bones after the elevator she was riding in fell several floors at a Phoenix hotel Saturday night, fire officials said. The woman, who was not identified, was riding up to the third floor at the Embassy Suites at I-17 and Greenway, according to Capt. Scott McDonald of the Phoenix Fire Department.

It was not immediately known what caused the elevator to fall.

For more:  http://www.kpho.com/story/16185739/woman-hurt-in-falling-elevator

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