Posted by Mayfair
Mon, 06 Feb 2006 06:04:00 GMT
6 February 2006
Australia is suffering a bed-bug epidemic with the tourism industry losing an estimated A$100 million a year because of the blood-sucking insects, according to a new entomology study.
Pest control operators have reported a 1,000% increase over the last four years in the number of bed bug infestations reported and treated in Australia.
Australia and other countries are at risk of a “worldwide pandemic” of bed bugs, due largely to an increase in the number of tourists arriving from developing countries where the biting bugs are common.
Pest control in the past usually involved insect sprays, which also killed bed bugs, but new environmentally friendly practices such as insect baits, had no effect on bed bugs.
Some people suffer blood poisoning as a result of bites and hotels infested with bed bugs lose thousands of dollars a day from maintenance and loss of room revenue.
The following articles provide more details of the epidemic:
Reuters
News
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Posted by Mayfair
Sat, 04 Feb 2006 04:55:00 GMT
3 February 2006
There is a growing trend amongst some hotel chains in the US to make some of their hotels completely smoke-free.
There are advantages and disadvantages of implementing this at all hotels across the globe. I will provide you with a few of each.
Advantages
- Reduced cleaning costs
- Niche market attraction
- Image of healthiness and cleanliness
- Reduced fire risks
Disadvantages
- Loss of smoker market
- Smokers may smoke in non-smoking rooms regardless
- May not suit the particular culture or society
- May lose out on large groups or conference and events bookings
It is important that hotels consider the requirements of non-smoking guests and of smoking regulations/laws. However, the decision to make a hotel entirely smoke-free, or even a proportion of the rooms smoke-free, must be assessed based on its benefits and risks as a whole.
The following article provides more information on this growing trend.
USA Today
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Posted by Mayfair
Fri, 20 Jan 2006 20:21:00 GMT
20 January 2006
The latest ABS figures show strong growth in the September quarter of 2005. The tourist accommodation performance data for the same period shows that seven of Australia’s ten major markets recorded average daily rate (ADR) growth in excess of 5.0%. Subsequently, revenue per available room (RevPAR) increased nationally for the third quarter in a row, i.e. an increase of 7.5% to reach $75.
Commentators have stated that this is a result of very strong international arrivals growth. For the year ended November 2005, international arrivals to Australia increased by 6.0% to reach 5.5 million visitors. Furthermore, according to Tourism Research Australia, international visitor nights to hotels, motels, guesthouses and serviced apartments grew by 15.1% for the year ended September 2005.
- Although Sydney occupancies dropped slightly, ADR increased by 8.0% during the quarter to reach $158, which resulted in RevPAR levels increasing by 5.3% to $129.
- In Melbourne, occupancy increased to 74.0% and ADR surged 6.1% to $138.
- In Brisbane, ADR of $131 over the quarter was recorded while RevPAR increased by 12.6% over the twelve months to Sept 05.
- In Cairns, occupancies surged to 83.9%, ADR increased by 5.9%, and RevPAR increased by 8.9%.
- On the Gold Coast, whilst ADR levels were driven 6.1% higher, occupancy levels softened slightly due to an increase in serviced apartment supply.
- In Perth, RevPAR increased 7.8% during the quarter.
- In Adelaide, RevPAR increased by 12% during the quarter with commentator suggesting that it was the result of the number of international flights to the city increasing by 40%.
- In Darwin, visitor nights are up 24% during the twelve months to September 2005, and occupancies in September, for the second consecutive year, is above 9%.
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Posted by Mayfair
Fri, 13 Jan 2006 17:30:00 GMT
13 January 2006
In pursuit of providing an excellent service, an upscale business hotel in Singapore is the first of its kind to provide complimentary high speed internet access within all guestrooms.
“High-speed Internet access is no longer a novelty in hotel guestrooms,” commented the General Manger of the hotel. “It is among one of the most essential amenities our guests have come to expect. Whilst the hotel has provided high-speed connectivity for several years, we believe supplying it free of charge in guestrooms will enhance our guests’ overall experience, and give them more value-add to their stay.”
An earlier post “Hotel Internet fees – why is there a disparity between high-end hotels and low-end hotels?” (15 October 2005) questioned the rationale behind hotels charging exorbitant fees for the use of the high-speed internet service. It argued that in the near future, cheaper alternatives will be presented to guests, circumventing their need to use the hotel’s internet amenities.
The important question that hoteliers must ask themselves in this rapidly changing technology environment is “do we seek short-term profit, or do we seek long-term gain through customer satisfaction”.
This particular hotel in Singapore looks like it chose long-term gain.
Read more...
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Posted by Mayfair
Wed, 11 Jan 2006 17:30:00 GMT
11 January 2006
The Atlantis Resort, located in the Bahamas, has acknowledged a database break-in in which the personal information of approximately 55,000 guests was stolen. An internal investigation revealed that the personal information, including names, addresses, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, drivers’ license numbers and bank account numbers, had been stolen from a database of customers.
The resort said it is notifying affected customers in writing so that they can “take steps to protect themselves from possible identity fraud.”
The hotel is offering affected customers a free credit-monitoring service for one year and has hired an outside security company to help resolve the incident. The hotel has also notified law enforcement officials in the Bahamas and the U.S., who are assisting with the investigation.
PC World
Yahoo News
This situation exemplifies the significant importance of IT security within hotel establishments to ensure that personal information of guests are not open to theft and abuse.
Posted in Information technology, General internal controls | no comments | no trackbacks
Posted by Mayfair
Thu, 05 Jan 2006 17:30:00 GMT
5 January 2006
Technology is changing the way that we work, rest and play. In light of this, some leading chain and boutique hotels have come to the realisation that they are no longer prepared to settle for just a few desktop PCs in the business centre. Instead, to improve or maintain their market position and the value of their brand, they are investing in significant IT capital to ensure that their hotels remain on top of the technology advance. The following article details some of the advances being made by these hotels, including virtual concierges, iris recognition security systems, integrated room entertainment systems, and automated bartenders.
Link to article
While reading this article, it is important to consider what risks these new technologies represent and what controls will be necessary in order to ensure the risks are mitigated. For example, automated bartenders may provide a luxurious technology service to guests, however if risks such as contamination is not properly considered, serious ramifications could result.
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Posted by Mayfair
Tue, 29 Nov 2005 17:30:00 GMT
29 November 2005
Six luxury hotels in Paris were fined €709,000 (US$830,000) by the French competition regulators for allegedly exchanging confidential commercial information, including details of proposed room rates and marketing plans, in order to maintain average rates of €700 a night. The regulator stated that “Taking into account the oligopolistic nature of the market, the Council considered that these practices had altered the normal rules of competition, favouring an unfair market.”
Further detail on this case can be found on the following links:
Bloomberg
BBC News
USA Today
This situation raises questions on the appropriateness of hotel owners and operators performing assessments of hotel competitive sets. It is strongly urged that hotel owners and operators:
- Consider the legal ramifications of performing such assessments
- Ensure that the risk of litigation are mitigated by suitable controls to ensure that the information being shared is only of an historical nature that does not contravene competition rules.
Posted in General internal controls, Financial risks/controls, Operational risks/controls | no comments | no trackbacks
Posted by Mayfair
Wed, 19 Oct 2005 16:56:00 GMT
19 October 2005
An earlier post “How to hack into the hotel pay-per-view movie channels…” asked the question of whether or not hacking the hotel TV system is possible and if so, whether people can access personal information of guests.
The following article states that it is indeed possible. What is worrying is that most hotel owners/operators don’t even know that these vulnerabilities exist or that they are exposed to significant risks. The author interviews an IT expert who has performed a number of vulnerability tests and as you will read, the results are startling and worrying.
Wired News
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Posted by Mayfair
Wed, 19 Oct 2005 06:59:00 GMT
18 October 2005
There has been an ongoing debate on whether or not hotel room key cards record guests’ personal details(e.g. credit card details, contact details).
The following article provides some background and summary to this debate. The author indicates that the possibility of key cards containing personal information is minimal.
The article also recommends that hotels securely store blank key cards as there have been incidents where thieves have stolen blank cards, coded them with stolen information, and used them to access ATMs.
Link to article
As a summary, we urge Hotels the following:
- Verify that key cutting machines do not code personal information on cards
- Separate key cutting machines from the property management system (PMS)
- Destroy all returned/used cards and note on the registration card that it is the responsibility of the guest to destroy the card should they keep it.
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Posted by Mayfair
Sat, 15 Oct 2005 07:11:00 GMT
15 October 2005
This is an interesting article about the charges hotels impose on clients for logging onto the internet and questions why charges are imposed at high-end hotels but not at low-end hotels and why such charges can be so exorbitant.
Also, the author notes that new internet accessibility technology is only around the corner, and, like the advent of mobile phones encroaching hotel telephony profits, these new technologies will also eat into hotel internet profits.
Wifi Net News
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