PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE, RISK MANAGEMENT

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SAFETY FOR BACKPACKERS, BUDGET ACCOMMODATION, HOTELS & RESORTS

Please refer to our Liability Information, Hazard Alerts, Security and Checklists pages for detailed information and useful resources for hotel risk management.

Hotel/Motel Operators Risk Assessment Tool for Housekeepers Tasks - Workcover NSW

Comprehensive Hotel-Resort Risk Management Checklist

Preventing Slips & Falls at Hotels

Hotel & Resort Risk Management Services

Is a hotel owner or operator responsible for the safety of its guests?

Healthy Tourism and Resort Facilities

Managing your Aquatic (pool, beach etc) risk.

Queensland Health - Know Your Food Business - Checklists and self assessment guide to the Food Safety Standards

Preventing Slips and Falls at Hotels

The slip, trip and fall accident problem is serious, causing painful and costly injuries to millions of people each year. Nearly 12 million people fall each year in the United States and are injured seriously enough to be hospitalized. According to the National Safety Council, falls are the leading cause of injury-related emergency department visits in the United States. They are the second leading cause of accidental deaths, behind only motor vehicle accidents.

Slips and falls are especially a concern in the hospitality industry, accounting for 40-50% of the costs for guest accidents at hotels. In addition, according to population experts, the US population is aging rapidly. Travelers over 50 years old purchase 80% of all luxury travel. As the market age continues to increase, the liability risk for slips and falls will also increase. Considering today’s upward trends in litigation and health care costs, it is not surprising that you need to pay closer attention to slips, trips and falls. Even with adequate insurance coverage, your out-of-pocket expenses, due to the many hidden costs associated with accidents, can be substantial.

This article discusses some common areas where slips and falls may occur, and how to minimize the risk of these types of accidents.

Slip and Fall Prevention Program

Most of the 12 million people who are injured by falls each year in the United States fall during common, everyday activities. The following loss control steps could help you reduce the risk of slip and fall accidents at your hotel:

· Develop a slip and fall prevention policy.

· Analyze losses to observe trends and to measure your program’s effectiveness.

· Design and maintain your property to reduce potential slip and fall hazards.

· Maintain good housekeeping practices.

· Conduct periodic walkthrough inspections to help identify and correct slip and fall hazards.

· Educate employees on slip and fall hazards.

· Conduct thorough accident investigations.

Policy Statement

The first step in an effective slip and fall prevention program is to develop a slip and fall prevention policy. Address the following items in your policy:

· Management Commitment

· Responsibilities

· Accountabilities

· Authority

Loss Analysis

The next step is to analyze the slip and fall accidents and incidents that have occurred at your hotel. Analyzing your losses can serve several purposes. First, you can determine if there are any trends with your losses, and use that information to prioritize your prevention efforts. Next, you can use this information to communicate with your management staff, safety committee and employees regarding slip and fall hazards, prevention measures,

and accident costs.

Finally, you can use this information to compare your results with other hotels and to measure the ongoing effectiveness of your slip and fall prevention efforts.

Building Design and Maintenance

After you have analyzed your slip and fall losses, you should evaluate your building design and building condition. To the extent possible, you should design and maintain your property to reduce potential slip and fall hazards. In some cases, even simple inexpensive improvements can go a long way in reducing slip and fall hazards. In addition to preventing losses, design improvements could also help in your defence in a loss does occur at your hotel.

Where do Slip and Fall Accidents Occur in Hotels?

According to our loss information, 92% of slip and fall losses for hotels occur in one of these six areas:

· Floors/Walkways - Hard Surface 33%

· Floors/Walkways - Carpeted 22%

· Stairs - 18%

· Parking Lots - 9%

· Bathtubs/Showers - 6%

· Swimming Pools - 4%

Housekeeping

The next element in your slip and fall prevention program is proper housekeeping procedures. This all-important 24-hour process can go a long way toward reducing slips and falls.

Walkthrough Inspections

It is not enough to simply design and maintain your property to prevent slip and fall hazards, as condition will always be changing at your facility. Thus, you also need to conduct regular walkthrough inspection of your premises, to ensure that your premises are kept in safe condition.

Employee Training

Your will need the cooperation and teamwork of your entire staff in order to have a successful slip and fall prevention program. Thus, employee training is critical to the success of your program. Many employees may not realize how easily a slip and fall accident can occur, or how costly the accident can be. You need to educate them on the importance of slip and fall prevention, the factors that can contribute to slip and fall accidents, and the prevention measures that can be done to reduce slip and fall accidents at your hotel.

Train all employees to be on the constant lookout for slip and fall hazards in your hotel and to take immediate steps to correct any potentially dangerous situations.

Accident Investigation

The final element of an effective slip and fall prevention program is thorough accident investigation procedures. A prompt, thorough accident investigation may help prevent future claims and may also help reduce the severity of the current claim. In addition, you can use the knowledge gained from thorough and accurate accident investigations, to detect and correct deficiencies in your slip and fall prevention program. Keep an accident investigation kit on premises. This kit should include accident investigation forms, a camera and film, a pen, and some tape to mark off the area, if necessary.

Is a hotel owner or operator responsible for the safety of its guests?

In many cases, the answer to this question is yes. An innkeeper has the general duty to exercise reasonable care for the safety of its guests. It is not, however, the insurer of the safety of its guests and will therefore only be responsible for injuries that occur as a result of its negligence. The standard of care that an innkeeper must meet is that which a reasonably prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances to avoid a reasonably foreseeable harm. This determination is obviously one that requires an examination of the facts in question. For example, if a hotel patron trips and falls on a piece of carpeting that is not properly secured or laid down, the trier of fact should consider whether the innkeeper acted reasonably in failing to remedy that situation and if the innkeeper was in fact aware of the condition. The trier of fact should also consider the conduct of the plaintiff in determining the liability of the defendant innkeeper. If, for instance, the defendant had posted signs warning of the condition of the carpeting and had a worker remedying the problem at the time the plaintiff, who was reading a magazine while walking down the hallway, tripped and fell, liability may be more questionable.

In some cases, however, a code or regulation may apply, such as a fire code, which specifically sets forth the standards with which the innkeeper must comply. In those situations, the facts need to be examined in light of the particular code, but the court need not consider as closely whether the acts of the innkeeper were reasonable because the code itself often contains the answer to that query.

An innkeeper must also protect guests from personal injury caused by other individuals. For example, the general rule is that an innkeeper must take, at a minimum, reasonable care to protect guests against injuries caused by third parties while the guest is on the premises, or in come cases outside of the premises as well. The term "third parties" includes other guests as well as strangers or intruders who may come upon the property. In many cases, determining whether an innkeeper has taken appropriate steps to protect guests will include the right of a jury to examine the efforts and practices of nearby innkeepers in order to make a comparison. For example, if a hotel guest is robbed in the lobby of a hotel that does not have any security cameras, guards, or other protective systems, evidence of the use of such equipment and personnel in other hotels may be admissible in certain circumstances as indicative of the lack of adequate protections in the defendant hotel.

Guests of inns may also be able to successfully collect damages when they are injured as a result of the inattention to duties of an innkeeper or an innkeeper's employees. For instance, when a bellboy in the course of his employment shuts the lobby door on a patron's fingers, resulting in injury, liability may attach. A similar illustration of innkeeper liability attaching for the acts of an employee is when a housekeeper, in scrubbing the bathtub, fails to rinse off a slippery cleaning agent and a guest thereafter slips and falls while trying to bathe.

FOR HOTEL AND RESORT RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES WE RECOMMEND:

1 Introduction

WSP Risk Solutions have developed an 'all risk" audit and reporting product that is specific for the hotel/resort sector. The risk management protocol comprehensively assesses and reports on all critical Property, Liability, Operational and Financial exposures for hotels and resorts. The program has been delivered with great success for a number of hotel and resort complexes in the South East Asia region and is now available for Australasian hotel groups.

There is a duality in purpose for the risk reviews. The main thrust of the risk management program is to review, benchmark and make any necessary recommendations for improvement on the total operational and asset risks of a hotel/resort establishment. This process also ensures that participant hotels meet appropriate compliance standards and are able to clearly demonstrate the necessary due diligence with regards to life safety issues.

Equally significant, WSP Risk Solutions are able to produce a separate “Risk Profile” report for Insurance Underwriters and/or their representatives – and where appropriate put forward a case for a reduction in Insurance costs and/or an expansion of Insurance coverage - based on the risk management standards of the participating organisation. With the sizable insurance premiums now affecting the hotel/resort industry and the contraction of coverage to exclude such aspects as terrorist incidents and a number of leisure based activities - the cost-benefits and savings involved are potentially significant.

2 Key Risk Management Issues for Hotels & Resorts

WSP Risk Solutions have developed a tailored risk management product that is specific to the international hotel and resort industry. Utilising its broad based experience and expertise in mechanical, electrical, fire, liability and risk engineering – WSP are able to offer a total risk evaluation of a hotel’s facilities and management systems in order to identify, assess and control all insured and uninsured hazards.

WSP Risk Solutions have developed a comprehensive risk audit and reporting tool that is specific to hotel and resort operations. Risk auditing addresses all potential areas of loss exposure for a hotel/resort facility including:

Property and fire risks
Asset Protection
Guest Safety & Public Liability
Security Systems and procedures & threat management
Contractor and Contractual Liabilities
Risk transfer
Environmental Management
Employee Liabilities
Food and Beverage Services
Housekeeping Operations
Car Parking Services & Facilities
Function and Conference Services & Facilities
Plant & Equipment Engineering
Power Generation & Distribution systems & Electrical Safety
Elevators, Escalators & Walkways
Water handling & treatment – including Chillers
Communication Systems
Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems (including Air Handling Units & Exhaust fans)
Refrigeration Equipment
Building Automation Systems
Waste Handling and Treatment
Recreational Facilities (and Services) Risks
Tour Operations
Emergency & Contingency Management
Business Continuity Preparedness
IT & multi media systems and networks
Director and Officer Liabilities
Quality Assurance
Compliance Monitoring

As part of the risk auditing process, WSP will produce a detailed risk register as well as a comprehensive report that will itemise and prioritise all observations and recommendations for improvement. A separate précis report is also able to be provided for an establishment or Group’s Insurers or their authorised representatives - in order to argue for a measurable cost-benefit. This will be in terms of a reduction in premiums and/or an expansion of coverage across the appropriate lines of Insurance.

3 3 WSP Hotel Risk Management Solutions

In addition to the initial base auditing function, it is the aim of the WSP Hotel risk management process to:-

Provide information to Executive Management so that it can make informed decisions on prioritising risks.
Initiate action to mitigate or reduce the adverse effects of risk.
Manage the treatment of risk in a systematic way so that it becomes acceptable to the organisation.
Monitor the actions taken to manage risk.
Identify any problems in implementing the risk management process

It is the goal of WSP Risk Solutions to assist participant organisations to develop strategic Risk Management plans. The driving purpose in developing such strategic plans is to:

Direct operations towards realisation of the organisational mission, vision, goals and objectives;
Provide a standard by which department Managers’ progress can be measured; and
Allow for the effective implementation of Risk management programs that will improve both performance and value.

The Hotel/Resort Risk Management plans that are developed by WSP Risk Solutions are done so in close consultation with their clients. These plans illustrate the means by which the various hotel Departments can achieve the goals that are set – based on an analysis of the implemented programs. Since each plan documents what is expected and from whom, it inevitably provides an invaluable communication and performance measurement tool for both management and staff. The resulting model provides the framework necessary for Hotel Executive management to assess the effectiveness of Departmental Risk management performance and to anticipate future opportunities for improvements.

4 4 A Summary of Cost Benefits for Participant Organisations

The WSP Risk Solutions Hotel Risk Management Product allows for a total review of risk as it impacts upon all aspects of a facility’s operations. These risks range from the potential liabilities attached to injured or ill guests & the damage or loss of their property, to the fire protection of the asset as a whole. Such reviews allow for participating organisations to have all areas of potential exposure identified and addressed – and for necessary corrective action to be taken prior to a loss occurring.

Unlike many other risk management companies, WSP Risk Solutions combine technical engineering know-how with a comprehensive understanding of the loss control expectations of the Insurance Industry. This unique skill set not only allows for the complete identification and assessment of hotel related risks – but also to convey to the relevant Property, Casualty (Liability), Professional Indemnity and Worker’s Compensation Insurers the positive aspect of findings and how effectively such risks are managed.

The process also serves to:

Protect and conserve the human, property, and financial resources of the Hotel or Resort – as well as their brand.
Instill Management confidence that functions under their responsibility are being properly managed, are effective - and are free from ethical lapses, waste, fraud, abuse, and threats to the health & safety of guests and employees
Build credibility with Line Managers as well as data and information to make a case for improvements or the support of additional or reallocation of resources
The better accomplishment of mission objectives. To ensure economy, efficiency and compliance across all front and back of house operations, avoidance of waste and mismanagement - and avoidance of undesirable resource drains

5 4 WSP Risk Solutions Experience in the Industry

WSP Risk Solutions personnel have extensive experience in the Hotel and Resort Industry particularly in Australia and the South East Asia region.

WSP consultants have provided a comprehensive Risk Auditing program for the Starwood Group and audited numerous Sheraton and Westin Hotels and Resorts throughout Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines and Hong Kong.

In addition, they have undertaken a series of Risk Audits and developed tailored Risk management programs for the Century Hotel Group and the Furama Hotel chain in Hong Kong and mainland China, for the Philippine Plaza Holdings Group in Manila, the Promised Land Resort complex in Taiwan,– and for the Four Seasons (Regent) Hotels across their Thailand operations.

We have undertaken Property and Liability Insurance Surveys and Risk Management Reviews for major Hotel and Resort Groups including TOGA (Medina, Travelodge), GPT (Voyagers), Intercontinental Hotels Group (Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn), Hyatt Regency, View Hotels, Brunei Investments and Novotel.

In addition, we have undertaken Property and Liability Insurance surveys of a large number of Australian City and Rural Hotels on behalf of Lloyds of London Underwriters and large portfolio owners such as ALH and Woolworths.

For any additional information about WSP Risk Solutions Hotel Risk management programs, please contact us:

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Healthy Tourism and Resort Facilities

Information extracted from: Health QLD website - Healthy Island Resorts

Healthy Tourism Resorts and Facilities

Occupational Groupings

Tailored information has been developed for each of the following occupational groupings.

Management
Human Resources / Administration
Food and Beverage Services
Nursing and Medical
Engineering and Maintenance
Housekeeping
Security
Recreational Activities
Day Care Centre
Hairdressing Salon

Human Resources / Administration

The human resources and administration areas introduce staff to a resort or facility are a central resource area for comments, queries and problems. Resources should include policies and procedures for public health risk management, such as workplace health and safety information, disaster management and welfare matters.

All the topics on this website are relevant to this department. Human resources can also make use of the Familiarisation Task as a tool to ensure staff are familiar with the site and its contents.

Food and Beverage Services

An important part of a tourism resort or facility is the dining experiences. High standards are expected by guests and good hygiene is integral to providing quality food and beverage services.
Incorrect storage and serving facilities for food and beverages can have very serious health implications for guests and staff and can pose a high risk to public health. In some cases, food-borne illnesses may affect a very large number of people in a short space of time. In some cases, food-borne illness can be fatal. See the noravirus food-borne illness outbreak case study.
The business implications of illness as a result of poor food hygiene can include a high demand on medical resources, very dissatisfied guests, lost staff time and a damaged reputation. Insurance claims can follow.
In addition, there is an also a trend toward good nutrition with many people seeking ‘healthy options’ on the menu. There are also strict legal obligations when serving alcohol and it is important that all staff involved in beverage services are aware of their responsibilities.
Relevant topics for Food and Beverage Staff include:

Alcohol Service, Amenities Hygiene, Burns, Child Safety, Communicable Diseases, Drinking Water Quality, Drug Information, Drugs and Poisons Controls, Effluent Disposal, Emergency Procedures, First Aid, Food Safety, Gastroenteritis - see Norovirus, Hazardous Substances, Insect and Pest Control, Noise Management, Nutrition, Risk Management Process, Staff Welfare and Mental Health, Tobacco Sale and Smoking Areas, Waste Disposal, Workplace Health and Safety.

Nursing and Medical

Medical staff at resorts and tourist facilities in Tropical North Queensland must be aware of tropical diseases and health risks that are unique to the region. These include coral cuts, stingers (jellyfish), dengue fever and Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABL).

Effective medical / first aid records can also assist in identifying trends to inform health and safety policy development and reviews.

Relevant topics include: Australian Bat Lyssavirus ABL, Burns, Child Safety, Communicable Diseases, Coral and Shell Cuts, Drinking Water Quality, Drug Information, Drugs and Poisons Controls, Emergency Procedures, First Aid, Food Safety, Gastroenteritis - see Needles and Syringes – Safe Disposal, Norovirus, Hazardous Substances, Insect and Pest Control, Noise Management, Nutrition, Risk Management Process, Sexual Health, Staff Welfare and Mental Health, Stingers, Sun Safety, Vaccinations, Wildlife and Public Health, Workplace Health and Safety.

The Services Directory contains contact details for private practice websites and health facilities.

Engineering and Maintenance

Civil, structural or marine engineering and maintenance services can involve a range of risk situations in development projects and on-going routine activities and tasks.

Many of the hazards and potential hazards can be eliminated through the use of a risk management process – a structured process that will identify unsafe or potentially dangerous conditions and systems. It is an important prevention process that can directly save lives and prevent injury, and should form part of the established house policies.

Relevant topics include: Air Conditioning and Air Quality (including Legionella), Chemical Spills, Hazardous Substances, Noise Management, Poisons and Drugs, Vehicle Safety, Workcover.

Housekeeping

Clean environments are vital to good health. The control of bacteria and viruses play a major role in disease and infection control. See the noravirus case study to find out how important housekeeping can be in controlling disease.

Relevant topics include: Amenities hygiene, Bed Bugs, Chemical Spills, Drugs and Poisons, Hazardous Substances, Waste Disposal.

Security

Security may be defined as providing freedom from fear and anxiety and taking precautions against the loss, theft of or damage to guests, employees, or the establishment's property or person. Security also includes taking precautions against fraud, assault and vandalism.

Risk assessments should be conducted, as part of the Public Health Risk Management approach, to identify the level of risk within all resort workplace and non-workplace environments to ensure the necessary devices / policies are provided to protect personnel and the public from real or perceived harm.

Relevant topics include: Alcohol Service, Dead Bodies, Disaster Management, Emergency Evacuation.

Recreational Activities

Whilst introducing guests to the various recreational activities, it is part of the role of the Activities Coordinator and staff to communicate the resort’s policy on safety and injury prevention – part of the public health risk management policy. Demonstrating commitment through safe practices and standards communicates this message.

Safety is a key business priority in the current environment for legal and marketing reasons to ensure the long-term viability of an operating resort and the wider tourism industry. Public health risk management policies are necessary to provide and maintain a healthy island resort for guests, staff and residents.

Relevant topics include: Boating Safety, Coral and Shell Cuts, First Aid, Jellyfish (Stingers), Sun Safety, Water Safety, Wildlife and Public Health.

Day Care Centre

Particular attention is needed when children are on holidays with their families. Children are especially vulnerable and susceptible to a range of illness and injuries.
There are legislative requirements for the operation of day care facilities in Queensland. Other useful guidelines for good health and prevention of health risk are listed below.
Public health risk management policies are necessary to provide and maintain a healthy island resort for guests, staff and residents.

Useful topics include: Child Safety, Communicable Diseases, First Aid, Food Safety, Gastrointestinal Illness (Noravirus), Risk Management, Sun Safety, Vaccinations, Water Safety.

Useful Link
• National Childcare Accreditation Council Inc for information on quality child care and accreditation guidelines.

Hairdressing Salon

There are legislative requirements for operating hairdressing salons in Queensland. Approvals must be obtained from the Local Council to establish a salon or provide a mobile hairdressing service. Salons or mobile services providing body piercing and other skin penetration services, (eg. tattoos) are also required to obtain approvals for these services. Separate regulations apply to these services.

Relevant topics include: Amenities Hygiene, Communicable Diseases, Emergency Procedures, First Aid, Hairdressing Hygiene, Hazardous Substances, Vaccinations, Workplace Health and Safety.

References

Queensland Health Regulation 1996

Part 5 Hairdressers 1996
Part 15 Skin Penetration 1996 (Available from GOPRINT)

Managing Your Aquatic Risk

With almost one hundred years on Australian beaches, SLSA is one of the most experienced coastal safety managers in the world.

SLSA offers a service to coastal land managers which provides a comprehensive assessment and identification of the risks to public safety and detailed recommendations on how to manage those risks.

This service, described as an Aquatic Coastal Risk Assessment applies patial data, the ABSAMP beach classification system (click here for more information on ABSAMP), beach usage and activity records and results from an extensive on-site assessment of the coastal zone.

A detailed Aquatic Coastal Risk Assessment report provides:

Access signage requirements relating to warnings, regulations and lifesaving services according to identified hazards

Individual specialist warning signs for extreme risk hazards

Individual production specifications and siting of each sign

Recommendations for the removal of unnecessary and non-standard signage

Identification of aquatic risks e.g. sub-surface reefs, channels and rips, tidal impacts

Risk mitigation strategies & remedies for identified threats to public safety

Recommmendations on the necessary lifesaving services including personnel, training, coverage, communications and rescue equipment and emergency back-up

SLSA has provided comprehensive Aquatic Coastal Risk Management Assessments to local governments, resort operators, estate developers and national parks across coastal Australia.

Contacts

To discuss your requirements, please refer to the SLSA Aquatic Coastal Risk Management consultant in your state as follows.

NSW
Contact name: Dan Gaffney
Contact phone: (02) 9984-7188 or mobile (0418) 206 227
Contact email: dgaffney@surflifesaving.com.au

Website: www.surflifesaving.com.au

Queensland
Contact name George Hill
Contact phone +61.(0)7.3846.8020
Contact Email ghill@lifesaving.com.au

www.lifesaving.com.au/services

Australia - National Office
Contact name TBA
Contact phone +61.(0)2.9300.4000
Contact Email info@slsa.asn.au

Links to Other Topics

A

ABL - see Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABL)
Air Conditioning and Air Quality (including Legionella)
Alcohol Service
Alcohol and Drug Intoxication Management - see Drug Information
Amenities Hygiene
Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABL)

B

Bats - see Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABL)
Bed Bugs
Boating Safety
Burns - see First Aid

C

Chemical Spills see also: Hazardous Substances
Child Safety
Communicable Diseases
Contaminated Waste and Disposal - see Waste Disposal
Coral and Shell Cuts

D

Dead Bodies
Dengue Fever - see Communicable Diseases
Disaster Management
Drinking Water Quality
Drug and Alcohol Information
Drugs and Poisons