Tag Archive for: Hotel Safety Devices

Happy Anniversary to the Hotel Industry’s 5-Star Promise

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Happy Anniversary to the 5-Star Promise from RCare

One year ago, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) made a groundbreaking pledge to improve the safety and security of hotel workers in the United States. Member hotels were invited to commit to the 5-Star Promise, a voluntary pledge to improve the safety of their workers by improving their sexual harassment policies, training and resources. The most significant point of the 5-Star Promise was the promise to provide electronic safety devices (ESDs) to their staff, to keep them safe on the job.

When the 5-Star Promise began, there were 17 participating hotels and hotel chains nationwide. Now, just one year later, participation has grown to 56, a dramatic 230% increase. This represents an estimated 20,000 hotel properties, with an estimated 1.2 million employees who will be safer on the job.

“As an industry of people taking care of people, we have always been deeply committed to safety and security for our employees and guests. We have a responsibility to ensure they feel safe and secure,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. “I’m proud of the progress we have made as an industry over the past year, and we will continue our efforts to ensure America’s hotels are safe places for all those who work in and visit them.”

“Just the possibility of danger has been enough of a morale depletant over the decades to give certain organizational roles a toxic aura.” – Larry Mogelonsky, Hotel Security Consultant

Housekeepers typically work alone. When confronted with risky situations, they have little protection. Stories abound of guests exposing themselves to workers, or worse. With an electronic safety device, the endangered worker presses a button to summon assistance from hotel security. The alert is sent automatically, and includes the location of the employee, so security can respond immediately to where help is needed.

The impact of the 5-Star Promise is even greater than just the safety and security of current employees. It also changes the perception of the job and its risks, which is critical to staffing, an important challenge for the industry.

“Just the possibility of danger has been enough of a morale depletant over the decades to give certain organizational roles a toxic aura. For instance, I don’t doubt for a second that the horror stories of housekeepers past have deterred many potential hires, thereby contributing to the current staffing problems we presently face,” according to hotel security consultant Larry Mogelonsky. “Given this likelihood for not only widely augmented safety but also improved morale and employee retention, I’m all over ESD adoption at any hotel worldwide.”

Why RCare?

Choosing the right ESD system is important. In case of an emergency, you want to ensure that your system works as needed in your facility. RCare’s wireless ALP Hospitality Suite can help. RCare has been an innovator and leader in the crisis alert and nurse call industry for over a decade. RCare’s systems have a proven track record for reliability and accuracy, even in the toughest conditions. RCare’s hotel crisis system uses military-grade RF, a signal protocol proven to be far more reliable than WiFi or Bluetooth, to ensure every alert is received. It has a wide listening range, even in the oldest buildings with challenging infrastructure. It uses Advanced Locating Protocol (ALP) to send location information with every call, so valuable time isn’t wasted determining where help is needed. Regardless of your hotel’s size or budget, RCare can help.

Want to know more about hotel duress systems? Contact RCare to find out how they can enhance safety and security for your hospitality staff.

Hotel Safety Devices: To Beep or Not to Beep

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hotel safety devices

The hotel industry is making great strides in protecting the safety of its workers. Cities and states have begun requiring hotels to provide their staff, especially those who work alone, such as housekeepers, with Employee Safety Devices (ESDs) for summoning help. 

Many more employees will be protected thanks to the hotel groups that have committed to the “5-Star Promise,” new safety standards for staff that includes a stipulation to “provide hotel employees with employee safety devices to help them feel safe on the job.”

The results are promising, according to Security Magazine. In just one year, the number of hotel brands that have agreed to participate in the 5-Star Promise has increased from 17 to 56. That encompasses approximately 20,000 hotels employing over a million staff who will be protected.

Given the large percentage of hotel workers who have been threatened or harassed on the job (more than half, according to a survey of hotel workers in Chicago), this is a welcome development. 

So, what’s the problem? Hotels need to choose a safety system that will actually work to keep employees safe.

The city of Miami Beach is a case in point. Last year it passed an ordinance requiring safety devices for hotel employees. But, according to the Miami Herald, some hotels in the city have  simply provided workers with hand-held noisemakers, hoping to satisfy the law, which states that safety devices must “effectively summon prompt assistance to the employee’s location by a hotel or hostel security officer.”

Why Noisemakers Don’t Make the Safety Cut:

Will a simple noisemaker actually protect a housekeeper working alone on a floor? Probably  not. Even if other staff are working in the vicinity, the sound-deadening in the walls between rooms will likely prevent them from hearing the alarm. If security personnel don’t happen to be within hearing range, they are unlikely to know that help is needed. What’s more, the devices are easy to muffle or disarm, and even if heard, they may not be recognized as a call for help. Worse yet, a noisy alarm could “result in more physical harm to the employee” when the perpetrator tries to silence it or take it from the housekeeper, according to hospitality industry consultant Larry Mogelonsky.

What’s more, with noisemakers, it would be nearly impossible to know where to send help, who needs it, and whether it is still needed.

To truly protect hotel workers, alerts from hotel safety devices must reach hotel security, and must include location information, so that help can be sent quickly, and to the right place. The alerts must use a transmission protocol that works in buildings of any and all size and density. And they must convey location information 3-dimensionally, with both the floor of the hotel, and the location on the floor, where the help is needed. 

The city of Miami Beach followed up with a letter to the hotels within its city’s limits, clarifying the law. “Devices such as ‘noisemakers’ do not meet the requirements set forth in the ordinance, as they simply emit loud noise and do not disclose the location of the employee in need of prompt assistance,” the letter said. 

In case of an emergency, you want to ensure that everyone in your building feels protected and safe. RCare’s wireless ALP Hospitality Suite can help. This reliable and durable hotel crisis system uses military-grade RF, a signal protocol proven to be far more reliable than WiFi or Bluetooth, to ensure every alert is received. It has a wide listening range, even in the oldest buildings with challenging infrastructure. It uses Advanced Locating Protocol (ALP) to send location information with every call, so valuable time isn’t wasted determining where help is needed.

Want to know more about hotel duress systems? Contact RCare to find out how they can enhance safety and security for your hospitality staff.