Los Angeles’ Hoteliers to comply with new hotel worker protection ordinance
by EVELYN HOOVER
On July 8 of this year, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti signed into law the “Hotel Worker Protection” ordinance last month, helping hotels protect their workers from dangerous situations, such as sexual assault and other crimes while working inside rooms and ensuring fair compensation and general work environment improvement.
The Los Angeles’ New Worker Protection ordinance goes into effect on August 12. According to labor and employment law firm Fisher Phillips, the ordinance states a portable personal security device must be provided to any hotel worker assigned to work alone in a guest room or restroom facility. The device must signal the hotel worker’s location and provide direct contact between the worker and a hotel security guard, manager, or supervisor who is designated to respond to violent or threatening conduct.
AAHOA Industry Partner Visual Matrix, an industry-leading provider of advanced technology solutions for the hospitality industry, is stepping up to help Los Angeles hoteliers comply with the new city ordnance by the deadline and protect hotel staff. The company offers a cloud-based system, Mobile Operating Platform (MOP), that orchestrates front desk, housekeeping, and maintenance processes and includes an advanced panic button functionality. The panic button appears on every screen within MOP, and when tapped, automatically activates the device’s camera to capture the scene and sends panic alerts to other staff members via text message and phone calls, informing them of the location of the staff member who’s in trouble.
“As more and more cities across the U.S. create ordinances that require hotels to quickly implement an ESD for staff like Los Angeles just did, MOP is proving a valuable solution because it can be downloaded and used immediately after set-up,” said Visual Matrix CEO Georgine Muntz.
The City of Los Angeles is joining Washington State, Chicago, IL, Miami Beach, FL, Long Beach, CA, and Oakland, CA, in requiring hotels to provide workers with personal security “panic button” devices. Hotel panic button laws are spreading nationally. Equipping hoteliers with resources and tools, like Visual Matrix’s MOP technology and educational sessions, helps the industry keep staff safe and businesses up to speed on new safety requirements.
Visual Matrix is proud to be the trusted technology partner of choice to ambitious, hotel owners and operators who want an innovative hotel operating system, complete with all the problem-solving, value-adding, easy-to-use tools they need and nothing they don’t. For more information and to see how we work, visit visualmatrix.com.
Evelyn Hoover is the public relations coordinator for the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), the largest hotel owners association in the nation.
