9.21.2022
As hoteliers assemble in San Diego Oct. 6 to discuss California’s tourism recovery, hotel staffing challenges, and the guest journey during the Southern California Hotel Conference and Trade Show, React Mobile will be there to showcase its latest version 2.0 employee safety solution that delivers the fastest response times, highest panic button reliability and beacon location accuracy to hotels. With more focus being placed today on improving the employee experience, the React Mobile team will be on hand to answer questions surrounding legislative compliance, device reliability, alert validation, and more.
The SoCal Hotel Conference and Trade Show, produced by the California Hotel & Lodging Assn. (CHLA) and the Asian American Hotel Owners Assn. (AAHOA), will be held at the Town & Country Resort. As a CHLA Vendor Member, React Mobile will showcase its staff safety solutions at Table 57. To register for the one-day event, click here.
“To attract and retain quality employees, hoteliers must provide a safe working environment,” said John Stachowiak, React Mobile CEO. “California’s local municipalities are requiring hotel employers to provide a panic button to all employees working in guestrooms or bathrooms without other employees present. But even without legislative mandates, protecting your people is simply the right thing to do – it just takes time to source a solution, get it installed professionally, and train staff on how to use it. Only once those steps are completed and a standard operating procedure is established will staff feel truly protected.
“We look forward to attending this event to guide hoteliers along the vendor selection process and make sure they are comparing apples to apples when it comes to platform, costs, and installation processes,” he said. “What many operators don’t realize is that not all panic button solutions are alike – especially when it comes to response times. Some companies will tell you that after a panic button is pushed, their system will dial first responders on the hotel’s behalf. The problem is that help will not arrive for at least 20 minutes or more in certain municipalities – or not at all in cities where those types of calls would get zero response, as their police force has abdicated all nonviolent responses. Hoteliers must know what is required specific to their property to ensure that it is being responsible and compliant.”
What California Hoteliers Need to Know …
Across California, hotel worker protection laws vary. In Los Angeles, a designated and assigned security guard can receive alerts from personal security devices or panic buttons and can provide immediate on-scene assistance when an alert is activated. If the hotel has less than 60 rooms, a hotel supervisor or manager can fulfill the requirement. A whistle, noisemaker, alarm bell, or similar device does not fulfill the Employee Safety Device (ESD) requirement as it does not provide direct contact between the employee and the security officer.
In Santa Monica, the city will select and certify a Public Housekeeping Training Organization that hotels will be required to provide regular training for their workers. In West Hollywood, immediately prior to or upon activating a panic button, the hotel worker may cease work and leave the immediate area of danger to await assistance. In Oakland, “The Measure Z, Hotel Minimum Wage and Working Conditions” ordinance requires each hotel to place a sign on the back of each guestroom door about their provision of panic buttons.
While it does not appear that swift penalties are being imposed – yet – on hotels that do not comply with state and local requirements, hotel brands are making ESD installation part of their Quality Assurance Inspection. That means if the hotel has not equipped specified associates with an emergency alert device or panic button by the time the brand inspector shows up, chances are likely it can FAIL. Passing QA Inspection is harder today than ever before, therefore operators should not delay in finding an ESD partner. Even if a safety solution has not been installed, having a signed contract with a preferred provider can make the difference in a PASS or FAIL scenario.
“There are subtle nuances in the citywide ordinances that can really trip hoteliers up if they are not aware of what is required of them,” Stachowiak said. “We hope SoCal attendees will stop by our booth to discuss these intricacies with us so we can put them on the right path to compliance. The main features hoteliers should be inquiring about for when searching for a solution is ‘alert device location accuracy’ and ‘response time.’ React Mobile ensures that alerts are dispatched from panic buttons to responders in the fastest time possible; 99.99% of alerts are delivered in less than half a second.”
For a complete hotel panic button compliance and brand mandate guide, click here. To learn more about React Mobile 2.0, visit www.reactmobile.com.
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