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Webinar Outline

This webinar will focus on verbal and nonverbal tools to handle confrontational exchanges with agitated people. We will review the stages of how a confrontational situation typically progresses and how they can be averted. Attendees will learn ways to prevent the incident from becoming personal and getting emotionally charged. This will enhance one’s ability to de-escalate hostility when faced with it. This includes practical measures regarding environment, demeanor, attitude, speech, and body position and setting limitations when dealing with these types of situations. These tools can help one feel more self-confident when handling such situations and prevent them from getting out of control.

This webinar will be done in an interview format, covering the following content:
• Dynamics of a Confrontation
• Underlying Factors Driving Behavior
• Fear and Anxiety
• Non-Verbal De-escalation Techniques
• Verbal De-escalation Techniques
• Typical Progression of a Confrontation
• Recovery Considerations

Space is Limited

Reserve your webinar seat now at:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8074969900026024707

Since the courts do make a distinction between the two even when hospitality managers do not, it is important to establish and state those differences as clearly as possible.  A transient guest, for example, who checks into a hotel for a one-night stay but does not pay for the room by the posted check-out time the next morning may be “locked out.” In other words, in a hotel with an electronic locking system, the Front Desk Manager could deactivate the guest’s key, thus preventing readmittance to the room until such time that the account was settled.  On the other hand, a tenant with a lease enjoys greater protection under the law, and could not be locked out so easily.  In most states, this individual establishes a property right in the leased premises, and a judicial eviction (also known as a forcible entry and detainer) is usually required to remove a tenant from the leased premises.  A transient guest, on the other hand, does not establish a property right, and although he enjoys a right to privacy as a guest, this is superseded by the right of the innkeeper to enter at reasonable times for housekeeping, maintenance, and security purposes, with or without the guest’s permission.  From the innkeeper’s perspective, the differences are important in a number of other areas.  

Most state limited-liability statutes apply to the innkeeper/guest relationship, but not to the landlord/tenant relationship.  Many statutes and ordinances–particularly those regarding locks on doors and windows, and swimming pool parameters–are often more burdensome for landlords than they are for innkeepers.  To comply with the applicable law, it is important for an innkeeper to know whether his occupants are transient guests or tenants.  This information allows him to ensure his right of entry, and leaving limited liability protections, and lock-out capabilities intact.  

It is sometimes a matter for the courts to decide whether an individual is a transient guest or tenant, but the following characteristics can help in making that determination:

• Billing format. Transient guests tend to be charged a daily rate for their stay; tenants are more likely to be billed on a weekly or monthly basis.
• Tax payment. Transient guests must pay local occupancy taxes; tenants are ordinarily exempt from such payment.
• Address use. Transient guests generally list another location as their permanent address; tenants generally use the facilities’ address as their permanent address for such things as mail, driver’s license, voter registration, and the like.
• Contract format. Transient guests generally enter into a rooming agreement via a registration card; tenants normally have a lease agreement or a specific contract separate from, or in addition to, their registration card.
• Existence of deposit. Transient guests generally do not put up a deposit. This is true even if the hotel requires a transient guest to present a credit card upon checking into the hotel. Tenants are almost always required to give their landlord a deposit. Often this deposit is equal to a specified number of months of rent.
• Length of stay. While it is widely believed that any guest who occupies a room in excess of 30 days becomes a tenant, the fact remains that length of stay is usually not the sole criterion on which the transient guest/tenant determination is made.  Most guests who occupy the same hotel room for over 30 days may do so without affecting their transient status. It is true, however, that the length of stay for a tenant does tend to be longer than that of a transient guest.
• Existence of a permanent residence.  The question whether the occupant owns or leases a residence at a location other than the lodging property remains a pertinent one.  Transient guests usually have “permanent” residences at other locations; tenants intending to establish a permanent primary residence at your property ordinarily do not.

For a statement which can be added to a hotel registration card and helps to demonstrate the intent to maintain an innkeeper/guest relationship, log on to: www.HospitalityLawyer.com and click on “Find A Form” under the Solutions Menu.

For further information on this topic check out Long Term Hotel Guests Might Not Be So Easy to Remove by Sandy Garfinkel and Eric J. Zagrocki of Eckert Seamans.

The bottom line: If you own and/or operate a hotel and you cut corners on wireless internet service for guests, you’re probably losing a significant amount of business. This article will help you understand both the basics and the finer points of providing your guests with excellent Wi-Fi.

Components: Avoid Modem/Router Combos

Whether you have DSL or cable—and, with today’s technology, either will work for your purposes—you will need both a modem and a router to operate your wireless network. The modem will connect to the outside cable/DSL line via a wall outlet, and the router will connect to your modem via an Ethernet cable. The modem reformats incoming electrical data on the cable/DSL line into digital data that a computer can process, and the router broadcasts that data to the wireless receiver inside your computer or mobile device.

Some brands offer devices that include the functionality of a modem and a router. You should avoid such devices for two reasons: (a) Dedicated routers typically broadcast a more powerful signal and (b) if a component fails, you will probably have to replace just the modemor the router (either of which will be more cost-effective than replacing a modem/router combo).

Speed: How Much Is Enough?

Your service provider likely offers a number of internet packages; pay more each month, and the provider will allocate more network resources to your line, which translates to faster Internet browsing speed on your end. The typical yardstick for the performance of an Internet connection is download speed; that is, the amount of data a given connection can push to your device in the span of one second.

For home use, most providers start with a package that features 10 Mbps (megabits per second), which provides a generally decent browsing experience for one or two casual users. People who work at home or play heavy-duty computer games often select a package with a more robust speed, somewhere between 25 Mbps and 50 Mbps.

As a hotel owner and/or operator, you face a challenge that home users do not: Your network may be used by dozens (if not hundreds) of users at once. This is important because end users share the data speed coming down the line with each other. In other words, while the cable company may be delivering the 50 Mbps connection speed it promised to your doorstep, the dozens of hotel guests simultaneously mobbing your network to watch Hulu videos at 9:00 PM are each crawling along at less than 5 Mbps (to say nothing of the dedicated few who are tearing their hair out because they can’t send a work email with an attachment). Your situation also differs from that of a small business owner because your number of users will vary inside a much greater range; as such, if you select a service package with an insufficient connection speed, you may not see the consequences until sometime after the fact (especially during the off-season in your particular region).

In summary, the speed your cable provider promised you, and the speed you’re enjoying on your (wired) computers in the office, is probably not the speed your guests are experiencing. Mitigate this obstacle by realistically tailoring your connection speed to the amount of guests your hotel typically sleeps, and considering how many guests will attempt to get online during peak usage hours; while a 25 Mbps package will likely prove insufficient for a hotel with one hundred rooms, a 100 Mbps package should keep your Internet-surfing guests happy (even during prime time).

Routers: Don’t Cut Corners Here, Either

Your cable/DSL line might be sizzling with 100 Mbps of speed, but if that data funnels into a subpar router (or series of subpar routers) to be broadcasted out to your users, you may find your Internet crawling along at a fist-clenching 5 Mbps or less well outside of peak usage hours. Simply put, many low-end routers do not contain the requisite technology to broadcast faster connections over a sufficient area. Investing in high-end routers will (a) ensure you get the most out of a lightning-fast data connection and (b) mitigate the signal interference that results from certain building materials and other electronic devices.

Signal Strength: Location, Location, Location

Okay, you’ve bought a blazing fast connection speed from your service provider and spent plenty of money installing high-end routers in every hallway of your hotel. Have you covered all of your bases? It’s possible, but chances are you still have some work to do.

Depending on the location(s) of the router(s), the construction materials and layout of your hotel, and other devices that may be interfering with the signal in certain areas, you might still have guest rooms with a weak Wi-Fi signal. Unfortunately, the best way to find out is to have your staff test the signal in each and every room. This involves moving around the room and testing devices from various locations (e.g. the window, the bed, even the bathroom). Testing the signal in one room and extrapolating the results to the entire hallway will be much quicker, but also prove far less thorough and accurate.

You can mitigate a weak Wi-Fi signal in certain guest rooms by shifting the location of your current router(s) and/or installing additional routers. You can also install range extenders, which boost the signal of an existing router and typically cost less.

Why Go Through All This Trouble?

If fifty percent of business travelers—let alone two-thirds—choose their hotel based on the strength and reliability of the hotel’s wireless internet, you can’t afford to offer anything less than stellar Wi-Fi. That involves (a) arranging for a fast connection speed to be dropped off at your outlet, (b) getting that signal into high-end routers that won’t degrade the speed, and (c) making sure every guest can sit on his/her bed and use the Internet without screaming or throwing anything across the room.

Not worried about a few rooms with weak signals? Those will be the one-star Yelp reviews attached to your hotel that everyone online reads for the next two years. Invest in the technology, take your wireless internet service seriously, and reap the benefits.

Wi-Fi Resources

• SpeedTest.net

• Best Practices for High Density Wireless Network Design

Originally published on Thursday, July 10, 2014
1091 views at time of republishing

1. Post a clearly-visible sign in each guest room that advises readers of the smoking policy and associated fine, including the method(s) by which the hotel will collect the fine.
2. Maintain a log of custody for each guest room that notes the precise times that your housekeeping staff interacted with the room.
3. Before collecting a smoking policy violation fee, ensure you have acquired reliable evidence of a policy violation. This can include witnesses (preferably several), used cigarettes in guest room waste receptacles, and/or tobacco residue in the room (accompanied by a cleaning record that dates the residue).
4. Require all guests to sign a document (or include text on existing registration/check-in documents your guests sign) that specifically prohibits (a) smoking in any guest room or anywhere inside the hotel and (b) disposing of used cigarettes in guest room waste receptacles. We recommend using the following text in this document:

This hotel is a completely non-smoking facility. By my initials below, I confirm that I fully understand and agree that if hotel staff find any evidence that I or someone visiting me at the hotel was smoking or utilizing a”smokeless” cigarette device anywhere in the building, including the sleeping room, I will be subject to a $250 higher nightly room rate, which I agree to have charged to my credit card that was used to secure the reservation or pay the higher room rate in cash at the time of checkout.

Originally published on Friday August, 15, 2014
1595 views at time of republishing

1. Has the hotel identified bed bugs on the premises in the last twenty-four months?
2. If so, what steps did the hotel take to eliminate the infestation?
3. What types of preventative training occur at the hotel?
4. How frequently does the training occur?
5. How often are the rooms and common areas inspected for bed bugs?
6. How frequently is the property proactively treated for bed bugs?
7. Who is the bed bug treatment provider?

The business of housing travelers carries with it the inevitable risk of acquiring a bed bug infestation. Realize that even the most luxurious hotels can’t reliably guarantee that you won’t encounter bed bugs during your stay. However, the hotel must still provide reasonable care to its customers; asking these questions will help you ascertain the level of care being provided and how diligently the hotel maintains it.

We don’t know much about the Alaskan incident yet, except that it emphasizes along with the crash in San Francisco that air travel can prove perilous. The pilot behind the controls of the Asiana flight, while a veteran commercial aviator, had just forty-three hours of Boeing 777 flight time under his belt. His co-pilot, however, had over 3,200 hours of flight time with the aircraft. The pilot was undertaking a routine “familiarization flight” to become more experienced with the 777.

We may have difficulty extracting a lesson from that aspect of the incident until officials conduct a thorough investigation. What we do know is that 291 passengers and sixteen crew members evacuated the burning Flight 214 inabout ninety seconds, which represents a resounding success for commercial airline safety procedures. Even with fire and smoke in the cabin—as well as two malfunctioning evacuation slides pinning passengers in their seats—flight attendants and level-headed passengers managed to get everyone outside and avoid additional injuries and/or deaths.

In light of incidents like these, we recommend travel managers make every effort possible to put their employees on airlines with the best safety records in the industry. Not all air travel providers are made equal when it comes to safety; some have a spotted past, marked with reports of negligence and failure to comply with regulations. A number of government agencies and private organizations provide excellent online resources for this type of research:

Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre
National Transportation Safety Board
Federal Aviation Administration

Owners and operators should implement effective measures to mitigate intoxication, thereby protecting their patrons, their establishments, and the general public on our roads and highways. A good alcohol policy involves developing practical countermeasures and then ingraining the motivation to enforce these measures into your bartenders and wait staff.

As part of a strong policy on safe alcohol service, we recommend you avoid the following common practices:

•  Pouring alcohol directly into the mouth of a patron

•  Lighting alcohol to create a flaming drink

•  Serving and/or mixing alcohol with energy drinks

Remember: Just because something makes money doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do. Additionally, the practices listed above put your business at substantially increased risk for liability. Smart owners implement and enforce smart alcohol policies.

How do the US 50 states’ workers’ compensation laws protect US businesses and their global and domestic travelers at home and abroad?

INTRODUCTION:

Business Travel by United States companies has grown exponentially over the past years.  As a result, both the foreseen and unforeseen liabilities for businesses and their traveling employees raise viable concerns for all involved.  Employers yearn to know how duty of care, if any, state law, interstate law, federal law or international law impacts their businesses, employees domestically and overseas, and their potential liability.  At the same time, individual employees undertaking the inherent risks of domestic and international travel need to be aware of their potential remedies in dire circumstances.  The employee cannot naively assume their company’s policies, state laws or even federal laws protect them in any given circumstance.  Many different factors come in to play when routine business trips take a turn for the worse.  These factors include the differing business policies, state workers’ compensation laws, insurance, federal law, international law and choice of law between states and nation states.  After a full analysis, both business and employee may benefit by exploring optional additional insurance for greater security.  As business travel proves to be a core component of a successful business strategy and increased profits, a clear understanding of the aforementioned issues proves to be vital.

According to a recent Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) report, U.S. business travel should continue its steady rise.  Business travel spending for 2013 is expected to reach $273.3 billion according to the GBTA BTI Outlook.  This would be a 4.3% increase from 2012.  The GBTA report further finds that the increase in travel spending after accounting for travel price inflation is projected to hit 1.3% this year in contrast to .3% in 2012.  Further, international outbound business travel spending is expected to grow 3.0% in 2013 to $33.1 billion.  Group travel spending is also expected to continue to grow in 2013 by 5.3% to $117.1 billion.  (Rebecca Carriero, Latest GBTA Report Finds that U.S. Business Travel Should Continue Its Steady Rise, (July 9, 2013),http://www.gbta.org/foundation/pressreleases/Pages/rls_070913.aspx.)  It has been reported that industries increasing spending on travel increase profits, nearly tripling their return on profits for each dollar spent on business travel.  (New Research Shows the Effect of Sustained Investment in Business Travel, Business Travel ROI (May 2013),http://www.ustravel.org/news/business-travel-roi.)

The travel industry has, on average, created more than 12,000 jobs a month thus far in 2013 which is 50 percent more than the average gain of 8,000 travel jobs per month in 2012. Travel jobs have made up more than six percent of total jobs added in 2013.  “Since early 2010, the travel industry has been a significant source of employment growth for the economy by adding almost half a million jobs. Moreover, the increase in travel industry jobs has outpaced that of the rest of the economy, making up 92 percent of the jobs lost during the recession compared to 77 percent of jobs for the rest of the economy.” (David Huether, Travel Industry Adds Jobs At Faster Rate in 2013, U.S. Travel Association (Aug. 2, 2013), http://www.ustravel.org/news/press-releases/travel-industry-adds-jobs-faster-rate-2013.)  Of the estimated 27,351,000 U.S. citizens traveling internationally in 2004, 28.2% indicated that business was a reason for their trip. (Clare E. Guse MS, Fatal Injuries of US Citizens Abroad, Journal of Travel Medicine (Sept. 19, 2007)).

As United States’ businesses continue to expand across state and international borders, potential risks for both the business and the business traveler increase.  Some of these risks include roadway accidents, disease, civil unrest, terrorism, kidnapping, natural disasters, air travel risks and many more.   The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Summary for 2012 showed a preliminary total of 4,383 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor (Aug. 22, 2013), http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cfoi.pdf.)   Of these fatalities 17% were in transportation and 24% roadway related.  Id.  Although these statistics do not specify types of jobs for the fatal injuries, the indication remains that roadway travel increases risk of injury.  The National Safety Council estimates that motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of unintentional workplace deaths in the United States. (Employer Traffic Safety Program, National Safety Council,http://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Employer%20Traffic%20Safety/Pages/NationalHome.aspx.)   Furthermore, the World Health Organization report on driving in developing countries explains that one in seven countries fails to have adequate road traffic laws to deal with major hazards.  An estimated one million people die on the roads worldwide every year.  (Jim Atkins, Killer Roads Are A Major Risk For Expats, iExpats (Aug.14, 2013),http://www.iexpats.com/killer-roads-are-a-major-risk-for-expats/ .)

Regarding international business travel, since 2001, 3,357 civilian contractor deaths have been reported as well as 94,727 civilian contractors injured.  At least 55 civilian contractor deaths were reported in the second quarter of 2013 and at least 44 civilian contractor deaths were reported in the first quarter of 2013.  (Defense Base Act Workers’ Compensation, http://dbacomp.com/defensebaseactcomp/2012/12/31/civilian-contractor-casualty-count/ (Dec. 31, 2012).  Each year, more than a million people become sick or injured outside their home country. Traveling overseas on business presents many unique risks arising from language barriers, jet lag, endemic disease and driving hazards.  (Protecting Your Employees Traveling Internationally, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, (Dec. 9, 2013),http://www.chubb.com/businesses/cci/chubb2613.html.) These statistics exemplify the inherent risks business travel poses to both employer and employee.  Navigating and preparing for these risks proves to be crucial for businesses and their traveling employees.

Currently, the United States law provides no one definitive legal precedent holding employers liable for negligence resulting in injuries to employees traveling abroad. (Mark Pestronk, Dispelling Notions of Legal Duty to Employees Injured Abroad, Travel Weekly (Nov. 3, 2011), http://www.travelweekly.com/mark-pestronk/dispelling-notions-of-legal-duty-to-employees-injured-abroad/.) However, United States laws regulating freedoms from discrimination do extend to United States citizens extraterritorially.  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protections extend to any United States citizen employed by United States companies and their sites overseas.  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.  These protections extend extraterritorially; however, there is a provision in Title VII stating:

This section means Title VII allows discrimination in employment based on religion, sex or national origin “in those certain instances where religion, sex or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise.” (42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(e) (2000)).  Therefore, it is not a violation of U.S. law for an employer to engage in conduct that ordinarily would constitute illegal behavior if such behavior were required by law where the conduct took place.  (Paul Frantz, International Employment: Antidiscrimination Law Should Follow Employees Abroad, 14 Minn. J. Global Trade 227 (2005).)  However, interpretation of this section weighs heavily on the particular facts of each case as exceptions to employment discrimination prohibitions are extremely unusual.

Download the Full whitepaper including the Cases and Statutory Reference Appendix

Some, or even many, mobile employees operate in Condition White while overseas:  They’re generally ignoring their surroundings, probably focused on work and secure in the knowledge that private contractors are nearby (or on call) to protect them. We must prevent this mindset; while companies and private contractors have professional responsibility for the safety of mobile employees, people can easily find themselves in situations where they must play a role in their own safety.

We should train employees to go about their daily business in Condition Yellow:  They need to wake up in the morning considering the possibility that today could be the day they have to evade or otherwise survive a dangerous situation. They can accomplish this while still being generally relaxed and focused on work by making it a part of their daily routine; as the idea becomes more familiar, the fear and uncertainty associated with such a threat will lessen. Employees must mentally prepare themselves to react effectively to a wide variety of threats. You can help by encouraging this mindset and identifying likely threats to consider.

Additionally, mobile employees must truly understand their environment, and showing them maps of dangerous neighborhoods via PowerPoint isn’t enough. Every region has key political and social attributes that make a huge difference when it comes to safety. For example, in Pakistan especially, you should avoid churches and the mosques of minority Muslim sects; these are typical targets for Taliban militants. Always avoid popular events in crowded places, but especially in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, where such gatherings are common targets for local terrorist groups like al-Shabaab (for example, the shopping mall attack in Nairobi). However, crowds can serve as an excellent shield against muggings in European and South American countries.

Travel managers and other personnel responsible for mobile employee training must emphasize this type of alert, knowledgeable, proactive mindset whenever people travel abroad on the job (and ideally 24/7). Being in Condition Yellow instead of Condition White may very well mean the difference between serious injury/death and survival.

Right off the bat, as a restaurant or hotel owner/operator, you must deal with state legislation. Some states allow open carry, while others only allow concealed carry. In some states, private firms have the right to ban licensed concealed carry on their property with the appropriate signage. In others, CHL holders can carry anywhere—even in bars and other establishments that serve alcohol.

Once you know where your establishment stands legally with regard to firearms, you can begin formulating your own policy. Some owners/operators look at gun-related homicide numbers in the U.S. and move to make their establishment as gun-free as possible, while others consider statistics that indicate CHL-saturated areas experience less crime and craft a gun-friendly policy.

HospitalityLawyer.com and our partners have experience with this issue. At last year’s Hospitality Law Conference, David B. Moseley Jr., partner at Glast, Phillips, & Murray P.C. and former infantry officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, delivered a powerful and comprehensive presentation on concealed firearms in the hospitality industry. After setting the stage with a strong body of evidence and in-depth analysis, David concluded that “it is unlikely that we will experience an intentional shooting by a person with a CHL in our place of business, although the potential for unintentional discharges is a slightly greater likelihood than it has been previously. We can generally ban handguns in our premises and CHL carriers will comply, but common criminals, terrorists and the mentally ill will not pay any attention to our signs or our rules. The signage has risks of its own, from both marketing and liability standpoints.”