Blog Post:
Model Innkeeper Statute Posted

Each of the 50 states has a different innkeeper statute – a statute that governs an innkeeper’s liability for the loss of a guest’s property. 

To that end, we have drafted a model statute.

What do you think?

Firm Highlight

The Merlin Law Group publishes a Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog, covering insurance issues.

Visit the firm's National Law Library for more insurance resources for hotels and restaurants.

Edited by the Loss Prevention Management Institute
An Affiliate of HospitalityLawyer.com

 

August 2010 • Vol V, Issue 4

In this edition:

• Theft in the Workplace: Practical Tips for Preventing Disaster
  
• Heat Illness
• New Scam
• What's New at HospitalityLawyer.com - Resources for the BP Oil Spill
• Industry Resources
• Nominations for the Thomas G. Davis Loss Prevention Lifetime Achievement Award
• Message from Professor Ray Ellis

Hotel Law Operations

Theft in the Workplace: Practical Tips for Preventing Disaster
by Spencer Hamer, Michelman & Robinson

An employee of an aerospace company charged with 16 counts of computer trespass for the theft of 320,000 files.  A former DuPont employee sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted for theft of trade secrets. Eighteen employees of an electronics company accused of stealing technology and leaking it to the competition.

These real-life examples are sobering. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that 75% of employees steal from the workplace, and that half of these offenders do so repeatedly. The Chamber also reports that one out of three corporate bankruptcies is the direct result of employee theft. These staggering statistics will likely increase as technology facilitates ever more sophisticated methods of theft.

At some point, most employers, both small and large alike, face an incident of employee theft. Employees are often inadequately supervised, and employers lack internal controls to prevent theft. Fortunately, employers have a variety of tools at their disposal to take a proactive approach to theft.

Read more

Heat Illness
by Jesse Denton

We are now well into the hottest part of the year. It is also the time many of us are spending more time outside working and playing. Those who are not acclimated to the heat are especially vulnerable to the negative effects of heat, although everyone should be aware that they can suffer the effects of too much of a good thing.

Read more in Denton's July Risk Bulletin, including articles on Summer Hazards and Best Practices for Exposure to Body Fluids

New Scam

We received the scam below, which has affected a few Houston hotels:

Persons who are selling expensive items on Craig's List are contacted via email by a person who is wanting to buy the item (mostly expensive jewelry).  The seller is then instructed to ship the item to a Houston address which is a local hotel.  The seller is also told that the item will be paid for upon delivery (COD) with a cashier's check.

The criminal makes a reservation at the hotel for some future date prior to instructing the victim to ship the item to the hotel.  The criminal then sends a letter to the hotel instructing the hotel personnel to accept a COD package on his behalf and pay for it with the check that is included in the letter, which is counterfeit.  Once the package is received, the criminal has a courier service pick up the package.  He never shows up at the hotel.

It is suggested that a few policies be put in place to help avoid becoming involved in this scam. Packages delivered for a guest that is not at the hotel should be held until the guest arrives and only released to the guest in person. If the guest cancels the reservation and never shows up, the package should then be sent back directly to the person who sent it.

What's New at HospitalityLawyer.com!

HospitalityLawyer.com offers the following upcoming live legal, safety, and security webinars, including:

• August 25, Insurance Recovery Challenges Raised By The BP Oil Spill presented by Bob Glasser, BDO Consulting, and David Wood, Anderson Kill Wood & Bender
  
  The BP Spill is having a severe impact on hospitality companies doing business in the Gulf of Mexico, eating into operating income in the short and long terms.  These companies face challenges in proving and recovering business income losses under their property insurance policies and from the BP Fund.  They also face significant obstacles in recovering insurance proceeds from culpable defendants to mitigate their longer-term business losses.  This webinar will help hospitality companies prove their business income claims and evaluate strategies for transferring financial consequences of the Spill to culpable parties.

Register now! Visit our on-demand library of webinars by clicking here.

In case you missed it, and you are affected by the Gulf Oil Spill:

HospitalityLawyer.com distributed an announcement on "How to Capture Hotel Lost Profits Today Due to the Gulf Oil Spill in Order to be Reimbursed by the Responsible Party."

Industry Resources

HospitalityLawyer.com Safety & Security Library

Visit the Safety & Security Library for articles on hotel safety, fire protection, hotel security, crisis management or disaster preparedness, mitigation and recovery, crisis communications management, insurance, violence in the workplace, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) initiatives, and those requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that directly affect hotels and restaurants.

Fire Protection Management Tips - The U.S. Fire Administration publishes Coffee Break Training Bulletins, providing technical training and administrative tips. Below are links to the archived Bulletins:

• Fire Protection Series Archive
• Fire Investigation Archive

CPSC Recalls

• CPSC Announces Recall to Repair Child Craft Brand Stationary-Side Cribs with Dowel Due to Entrapment and Strangulation Hazards
• Child Craft Drop-Side Cribs Recalled Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards
• Delta Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards
• Evenflo Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards
• Jardine Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards
• LaJobi Recalls to Repair Bonavita, Babi Italia and ISSI Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards
• Bexco Recalls to Repair Million Dollar Baby, Baby Mod and Da Vinci Brand Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards
• Simmons Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards
• Pottery Barn Kids Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards

Accepting Nominations for the Thomas G. Davis Loss Prevention Lifetime Achievement Award

HopsitalityLawyer.com is now accepting nominations for the Thomas G. Davis Loss Prevention Lifetime Achievement Award. Nominations will be accepted through October 15, 2010.  To nominate an individual, send an email to Diana Singson at diana@hospitalitylawyer.com with the following information:

• Nominee
• Brief biography of nominee
• Contact information of submitter and nominee

The Award recognizes a person who has committed his or her career to improving safety and security in the hospitality industry. In presenting the award, the selection board seeks to recognize someone who exemplifies Thom Davis’ commitment to improving safety and security in the industry.

The recipient will be announced at the 2011 Hospitality Law Conference, scheduled for February 9-11, 2011, in Houston, Texas. Mark your calendars to not miss this one-of-a-kind conference!

Message from Professor Ray Ellis

MANY THANKS FOR THE SPECIAL MEMORIES IN THE JUNE EDITION!

I especially enjoyed the unique experience of reading my eulogies.

Blessings to ALL!

Ray 

HospitalityLawyer.com
P.O. Box 22888
Houston, Texas 77227
HospitalityLawyer@HospitalityLawyer.com