Differentiate the meaning between safety and security.
Emphasize that laws do not hold hotels responsible for everything that happens to guests during their stay as long as the hotel has exhibited a legal standard of “reasonable care” for guest safety.
Explain the meaning of “reasonable care” (a legal concept identifying the amount of care a reasonably prudent person would exercise in a specific situation) and liability (being legally bound to compensate for loss or injury)
Safety and Security Committee is an interdepartmental task force comprising hotel managers, supervisors, and hourly employees charged with monitoring and refining a hotel’s safety and security efforts.
Question 2 in “Issues at Work” (Chapter 9) reinforces that all of the hotel’s employees should share concern for guest safety. This question further asks who should be responsible to ensure whether activities for guest safety are implemented successfully or not, depending on the size of hotel.
* Quality recodable locks consist of electronic door locks that “stand-alone”, meaning that there is no need to wire the locks back to a central computer.
When the E&M department implements a “replace as needed” program, it means a parts or equipment replacement plan that delays installing a new, substitute part until the original part fails or is in near failure; on the other hand, a “total replacement” program involves a parts or equipment replacement plan that involves installing new or substitute parts based on a predetermined schedule.
Question 1 in “Issues at Work” (Chapter 11) asks students to discuss factors influencing the decision between “replace as need” approach and systematic “total replacement”.
When safety and security emergencies occur in the hotel, hotel management and employees must deal with those emergent situations quickly and appropriately. To do so, the G.M. together with appropriate managers need to plan ahead for foreseeable crises such as severe weather storms. The emergency plan can be used to prepare the hotel for a crisis.
Emergency plan is a document describing a hotel’s predetermined, intended response to a safety/security threat.
Question 3 in “Issues at Work” (Chapter 9) asks a student’ opinion on whether he or she would include “fire drill” that involve clearing the hotel of all guests as a way of practicing the final plan’s implementation, if he or she were a G.M.?
* Discuss the first case study at “Managers at Work” relating to the safety issues in swimming pools.
MOD (Manager on Duty) is the individual on the hotel property responsible for making any management decisions required during the period he or she is MOD.
Refer to Figure 9.4 to view the sample of the MOD checklist for parking areas. If wished, extend the discussion by creating one more MOD checklist example in the area of swimming pools and/or spas.
Incident report documents details of an accident, injury, or disturbance, and the hotel’s response to it.
Emphasize that the hotel’s documenting efforts relating to the safety and security of guests can be useful to prove that hotel has exercised reasonable care toward protecting guest safety/security.
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is a written statement describing the potential hazards of, and best ways to handle, a chemical or toxic substance. An MSDS is provided by the manufacturer of the chemical or toxic substance to the buyer of the product and must be posted and made available where it is easily accessible to those who will actually use the product.
Revisit the terms of safety and security here again. Safety-related hotel programs are designed to keep people safe from harm, whereas security-related efforts are directed toward protecting property from theft or damage.
Embezzlement is the theft of a company’s financial assets by an employee.
Bond(ing) means purchasing an insurance policy against the possibility that an employee will steal.
Current technology is available to assist a chief engineer determine what must be maintained and how frequently to schedule preventative maintenance program
* Discrepancy report is a daily comparison between the status of rooms as listed by the PMS at the front office, and the status of rooms as listed by the housekeeping department.
The second case study at “Managers at work” provides a scenario of a guest complaint about theft of her necklace from her room while she was away, and she claims her loss against the hotel. The text presents four possibilities: 1) the guest is mistaken, and the necklace reported stolen has been misplaced, 2) the guest is attempting to defraud the hotel, 3) the theft was committed but by another guest, 4) a hotel employee, in fact, committed the theft. What sort of tools can help to determine such a scenario?