New safety standards are being enacted across the hospitality industry. Legislation is expanding at the local, state, and federal levels in response to escalating situations that endanger guests, hotel staff, and the general public. Hotels are responding with a renewed focus on hotel security, involving better systems to ensure guest and employee safety on-site.

Hotels rely on people. On the employees who maintain them and the guests who stay at them. This industry is one that is contingent on the happiness and satisfaction of those who are a part of it. In a manner of trust, workers and guests depend on executives and leaders to ensure proper treatment, accountability, and safety and vice versa, executives and leaders need their employees to be reliable and cooperative.

Occupational Safety and Health Act Compliance Following the passing of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, commonly referred to as OSHA. This was done in an effort to ensure safe and healthy working conditions for men and women by setting and enforcing certain quantitative standards and by providing appropriate training, outreach, education and assistance.

Like OSHA, ADA compliance is of the utmost importance for hotels. Keeping up to date on the latest ADA regulations and laws can protect hotels from wasting thousands of dollars on lawsuits and fines. In addition, it serves to help maintain a healthy, reputable, and profitable working environment.

Services that made minimal human contact with humans existed even in the pre-pandemic era. But the importance and need for these services were understood after experiencing the COVID era. This period was revolutionary and transformative for not just one particular business or industry but also the world. With a large number of people locked in their houses, avoiding coming in contact with the virus, travel is at a complete standstill.

The coronavirus pandemic has left the hospitality industry in shambles with more than 5,000 hotels closing down in the U.S. alone in March and April. According to the fact sheet by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), this is the biggest drop in occupancy levels that the US hospitality industry has seen in decades. The numbers are devastatingly low and will take over a year or two for the industry to overcome and return to pre-pandemic levels.

Labor expense is a costly affair for the hospitality industry, accounting for a large chunk of the total operating costs. Hotel owners and managers need to consider all aspects that contribute to or affect the needs of their labor. Changes in labor laws or challenges the employees face should be observed, noted, and resolved at the earliest. Such prompt actions ensure that the employees are happy and satisfied, resulting in a decrease in employee turnover.

Hospitality is a service industry that needs to be in its best form 24x7 to provide its guests with a comfortable stay. A stay that lets the guest depart with satisfaction so that they not only willingly return to the hotel but also recommend the place to their acquaintances. For a memorable stay, everything within the hotel premises must run like a well-oiled machine so that guests do not face issues at any time during their visit.

An article in the New York Law Journal speaks of the Seyfarth Report for 2019, the findings of which state that yet another year created a record for ADA Title III lawsuits. The ADA Title III prohibits disability-based discrimination in places of public accommodation such as restaurants, movie theatres and schools, etc. New York, alone contributed 2,635 of the total reports filed nationwide. With rules and regulations provided by the American Disabilities Act (ADA), the numbers ought to have...

Imagine this: you are a housekeeper at a five-star hotel. One day while you are on duty, a guest asks you to enter their room and give them a massage to earn some extra money. That is an incident that happened to an employee at a hotel in Seattle. Such instances are a regular occurrence in the hospitality sector for people working tirelessly in 12-14-hour shifts every day. Some of the staff at hotels face leering and inappropriate groping by guests or are simply cornered in the hallways. All...