AHLA / AHLEF
229 | Panic Buttons: Hospitality Workers Sound the Alarm (Hotel Safety Part 2)
AHLA / AHLEF
When Robb Monkman was a college student, he and his roommates were robbed at gunpoint. The home invasion and hostage taking rocked Monkman to his core and determined the course of his career.
Monkman is founder and CEO of ReactMobile, which provides electronic security devices, or panic buttons, for businesses, including the hospitality industry.
ReactMobile is among several technology companies included in the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Five Star Promise, a pledge by major hotel companies to establish and implement best practices to protect their employees. The promise includes the deployment of hand-held technology, hospitality workers can use to summon help in times of crisis for themselves or guests.
In this episode, Part Two of Lodging Leaders’ report on hotel safety and security, we explore panic button technology and trends. We interview advisers on what’s available to hotel owners and operators as they work to come up with methods to protect their employees. We also review AHLA’s Five Star Promise and what it is calling the hospitality industry to do. And we talk with Unite Here, the labor union that got the whole thing started.
Resources and Links
- Elie Khoury, executive vice president of operations resources at Interstate Hotels & Resorts
- Robb Monkman, founder and CEO of ReactMobile
- Angelo Lombardi of Lodging Controls
- Paul Frederick, co-founder of Hospitality Security Advisors
- Rachel Gumpert, press secretary for Unite Here office in Washington, D.C.
To view the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s Five Star Promise news conference on Sept. 6, 2018, click here.
AHLA / AHLEF
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330 | Youthful Perspective: Industry leader Bijal Patel mourns the loss of ‘an entire generation’ of hospitality workers
Bijal Patel, 31, is CEO of Coast Redwood Hospitality and the youngest chair of the California Hotel & Lodging Association. He’s made even more history at CHLA by agreeing to serve an unprecedented second term as the lodging industry emerges from the coronavirus pandemic. Patel is a third-generation hotelier. Being so steeped in hospitality at such a young age is not new for members of the Indian American hotelier community, but Patel fears the pandemic has drained the industry of emerging talent. Lodging Leaders spotlights Patel, who represents a leadership demographic that is fighting for the life of the hospitality industry as they watch their peers veer toward other career paths.
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329 | Ruff and Ready: ADA gives hotels a short leash when accommodating guests with service animals
Many hotels these days have made room for guests with disabilities. Hotel managers and staff should also know what the Americans with Disabilities Act says about accommodating guests with pets. During the pandemic lockdowns, a lot of people added a pet to their household and now they’re bringing Fido along on vacation. Hotel employees need to know how to cater to both consumers who are pet owners as well as guests who travel with a trained service animal. Episode 329 of Lodging Leaders podcast reports on how the ADA defines a service animal and how a hotel is legally obligated to serve a guest who comes with a dog or any other animal.