Tag Archives: Power Outage

Hospitality Industry Safety Solutions: “Hotel Power Outage Risks” Discussed By Todd Seiders, Director Of Risk Management At Petra Risk Solutions

Hotel Business Newspaper

October 21, 2013 Issue

“Getting Through A Power Outage Is All In The Planning And Prep”

By Nicole Carlino, Associate Editor

For the average household, a prolonged power outage can be a nuisance, but for a hotel, it’s logistically difficult and a potential insurance nightmare.

Todd Seiders Petra Risk SolutionsTodd Seiders, director of risk management, Petra Risk Solutions, a hotel-specific insurance broker, noted that there are three main pitfalls for hotels when it comes to a loss of power: loss of business; guest and employee safety; and food spoilage.

“Policies are cleverly written, and they often don’t cover the first 48 hours of a power outage,” Seiders said, noting that many outages last less than that, which is still long enough for guests to decide to cancel reservations. And, should a guest be hurt, the hotel is the entity they’re going to sue regardless of who is at fault for the outage. As for food spoilage, Seiders said a hotel could lose thousands of dollars if it isn’t properly prepared for power loss.

Preparedness, he said, is the key. Seiders noted that one of the best things a hotel can do is to make sure it has plenty of flashlights on hand for guests and employees.

“If you don’t have some of these basics ready to go, you may never have them during the entire outage,” Seiders said, noting that others often run out to buy the items during the loss.

In addition to making sure necessary items are in-house, hotels need to review their emergency response plan; know what areas of the hotel an emergency generator will power; know the procedure for rescuing guests trapped in elevators; understand how the fire alarm system works in an emergency situation; have a plan for perishable food; and maintain an employee cell phone list. Also, a hotel should know how the key card machine works in an outage.

“You want to be able to get new guests into the rooms,” he said, noting that in many cases, emergency keys have to be prepared prior to a power outage.

“It’s training,” Seiders continued. “Employees have to be trained in things they’re not accustomed to.” He noted this is down to even simple measures, like knowing where the flash- lights are stored. One of the most important things to do, Seiders concluded, is to make sure to power down the building.

“When power comes back on, it surges,” he said. “That can cause all kinds of damage.”

To view this article online: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/icd/hotelbusiness_20131021/#/14

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Filed under Guest Issues, Liability, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training

Hospitality Industry Safety Solutions: Hotel Management Must Regularly “Test Emergency Power Supply System Generators With Load” To Ensure Guest Safety During Power Outage And Loss

“…the most important maintenance issue for emergency power supply systems is the requirement to regularly test the generators with load. Most often it becomes inconvenient to perform the test due to interruptions to delivering guest services. In order that proper testing of the Hotel Emergency Power Systemsemergency power distribution system doesn’t negatively impact hotel operations, modern technology enables a design engineer to develop an automatic power transfer system that provides a seamless transfer between the municipal utility supply and the generator system…”

Proper maintenance includes, but is not limited to, fuel filtration to reduce the possibility of contaminants, battery maintenance and replacement to ensure a successful generator start every time, and periodic load testing to reduce the possibility of failure.

Emergency generators are installed in hotels to prevent hazards associated with loss of municipal electric power supplies. The reliability of electric power supplies for Fire and Life Safety systems is critical. In a hotel, the automatic power transfer switches that transfer the electricity source to the emergency generator, must be timed to provide electric power to fire and life safety loads within 10 seconds and to standby loads within 60 seconds of loss of municipal power supply. The life safety loads include:

  • Illumination of exits from a hotel building leading to an assembly point
  • Emergency exit signs
  • Alarm and alerting systems such as the fire alarm system
  • Controlled emergency communication systems
  • Emergency generator-set room lighting
  • Fire suppression systems
  • Smoke management systems

An emergency power source cannot perform successfully unless each system component functions properly. While attention is often given to protecting the engine-generator set, components such as the fuel system, the age of the fuel (if using a fossil fuel product) and the emergency power transfer panels may not have the same degree of care. As a result, the emergency power source may fail.

For example if the engine-generator set in a hotel is installed on the roof to avoid being flooded, but the automatic power transfer system and emergency power panels are located in the basement, then in the event of a flood the system is likely to fail, regardless of the reliability of the engine-generator.

Hotel developers spend an enormous amount of money on emergency power supply systems so they are assured that in the event of an emergency, the hotel will have the power required to ensure the safety of their guests and associates.

For more:  http://www.hospitalitynet.org/column/global/154000392/4060426.html

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Filed under Guest Issues, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Training