Robert Elliott | National Association of Hotel & Lodging Engineers

Author Archives: Robert Elliott

Marriott’s Updated Statement on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

We are closely monitoring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World HealthOrganization’s statements regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and following guidelines from these agencies and the local health departments. The wellbeing of our guests and associates is of paramount importance. We continue to waive cancellation fees for hotel stays…READ MORE

US death toll rises to 19, New York declares state of emergency

Bloomberg - By   Patrick  Clark The hotel industry is waking up to the adverse effects of the coronavirus. After weeks of conference cancellations, corporate travel restrictions and cratering stock values, lodging owners are pulling guidance and cutting expenses while the spread of the virus socks hotel demand. The shift in tone comes after the largest companies in [...]

Large ski-resort owner, two hotel companies rescind guidance amid coronavirus outbreak

MarketWatch – By Jeremy C. Owens Travel companies continued to say that the spread of COVID-19 was making financial forecasts untenable Monday afternoon, when a ski-resort company and two hotel real-estate investment trusts rescinded financial guidance…READ MORE

What Happens in Vegas if No One Stays in Vegas?

The New York Times – Julie Creswell – @julie_creswell – Sapna Maheshwari, Jack Nicas and Brooks Barnes contributed reporting. When the coronavirus first broke out in China in January, the disruption to the hospitality industry — and the broader travel sector — seemed confined to people going to and from the country. But as the [...]

MARRIOTT TO GET RID OF SMALL PLASTIC TOILETRIES IN ALL ITS HOTELS BY NEXT YEAR

Independent – Independent.co.uk – Cathy Adams at Cathman Marriott will get rid of single-use toiletries from its guestrooms by next December, representing the latest hotel brand to ditch plastic amenities. The hotel chain will replace single-use bottles of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel with bulk-size pump-topped bottles at most of its hotels by the end of 2020. The [...]

Hotel Preventive Maintenance: Focus Areas

HospitalityNet – 23 February 2018 – by Lillian Connors One of the most important tasks of the hotel maintenance department is to cut the overall expenses by protecting its assets – building, equipment and supplies, through preventive maintenance measures. These measures are not restricted only to maintenance crews…READ MORE

Cameras found in hotel rooms of Madison students on a school trip

ISTHMUS by Dylan Brogan December 12, 2019 Madison East High students found several hidden cameras in their hotel rooms while attending a recent school-sponsored conference in Minneapolis… READ MORE

Strategies for Engaging the Maintenance Workforce

FacilitiesNet – By Laurie A. Gilmer, P.E. Engaged technicians can help managers revamp a department’s image and drive an organization’s success. Facility managers have a few strategies they can use to engage their departments’ supervisors and front-line technicians: The vision-mission link. Connect the vision of the organization to the mission of the facilities department. Help the [...]

“Robot Rooms”: How Guests Use and Perceive Hotel Robots

HOSPITALITY NET By Rohit Verma and Lina Zhong Robot-assisted hotel services get generally high marks in a study of guests at 88 hotels in China. Guests reported making fairly frequent use of the robots, primarily for such relatively simple functions as turning on the lights and turning off the TV. Chief problems occur when the robot cannot recognize [...]

How To Solve Your Single-Use Water Bottle Issue

Buildings Magazine – October 2019 Single-Use Water Bottle are a major environmental problem. Americans throw away over 60 million every day. One 12 precent are ever recycled. All because we don’t trust our… READ MORE 

Key Components of Fire Protection Systems

FacilitiesNet Fire-protection and life safety systems include building exit systems, fire-alarm systems, and fire-suppression systems. FireFire-protection and life safety systems include building exit systems, fire-alarm systems, and fire-suppression systems. Fire-prevention codes specify the proper maintenance and repair of these systems. Fire protection involves the installation and use of structural and operational systems to minimize the [...]

Free Checklist For Parking Garage Conditions

Facility Executive - November 22, 2019 A visual guide and checklist document from Western Specialty Contractors helps facility management to identify and track damage to components of parking structures. Maintaining parking garages can be a daunting task for building owners and their facility managers. Western Specialty Contractors offers an online Visual Guide & Checklist for parking garage [...]

Maintenance should be proactive, unobtrusive to guests

HOTEL NEWS NOW –  By Dana Miller REPORT FROM THE U.S.—During the busy season, hotel engineering staffs on a preventive-maintenance schedule face the additional challenge of reducing interference with guests or when unexpected issues arise. Darren Hills, area director of engineering at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Suites Charleston – Historic District, said he and [...]

Hotel Preventive Maintenance: The Essentials

FacilitiesNet - By Lillian Connors Committing to preventive maintenance in the hotel industry involves an extensive knowledge of the hotel’s systems, equipment, and utilities, as well as the most effective routes of intervention. Above all, care must be taken not to interrupt the… READ MORE

How to Spot and Get Rid of Common Household Pests in Hotels

LODGING Magazine By Shane Dutka Running a business in the hospitality industry is a tough task, and when pests are added to the equation, it can get even more challenging and costly. Like it or not, pests are a common problem among many U.S. hotels and the problem is only getting worse with… READ MORE

Infrastructure Resiliency Model

Facilities Manager Magazine  - By Brian Cowperthwaite and John D’Angelo, P.E., CHRM, CHEP, CMVP  Deferred maintenance, facility condition index (FCI), and critical backlog are not inher- ently bad benchmarks; they just miss an opportunity to programmatically address risk mitigation as the primary function of facilities maintenance and operations, and fail to engage other critical stakeholders in [...]

Essentials of Successful Fire Protection

FacilitiesNet - A successful fire-prevention program is part of the day-to-day operations of every institutional and commercial facility. The goals of fire-prevention programs include preventing loss of life, property damage, and downtime in use of…READ MORE

Venue All Hazards Plan

Facilities Manager – Sep/Oct – Mark Carmillo The facility management industry has endured a multitude of safety and security challenges over the past 20-25 years. With the ever-changing threat picture and the seemingly never-ending severe weather events,…READ MORE

1 dead, 8 sick in hazmat incident at San Jose hotel

Washington Post – Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. — Authorities say one woman has died and eight people have been sickened in a hazmat incident Saturday at a Northern California hotel. KTVU reports Saturday that guests of the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose reported smelling a chemical odor — similar to a rotten egg —and feeling [...]

The Circular Economy

Facilities Management Journal – July / August 2019 – By Bill Conley Everything isn’t always written in the starts. In facility management there are multiple opportunities to initiate cycles to accommodate give and take. In waste management, applying the three R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle – creates a recursive loop for materials, bypassing…READ MORE