HOLIDAY INN IN LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA DOESN’T PLAY BY THE RULES - ARE THEY PUTTING THEIR CUSTOMERS AT RISK?
PENNSYLVANIA HOTEL LIABILITY LAWYER, PENNSYLVANIA HOTEL LIABILITY LAWYER, JEFFREY REIFF, WEIGHS IN
According to a story published on September 28, 2008 by the Sunday News in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, inspectors for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, responding to consumer complaints at the Holiday Inn in Lancaster County, were surprised when they found a laundry list of offenses. According to the article, when the hotel’s walk-in refrigerator failed, hotel employees moved the contents to a guest room for cooling. The room’s air conditioner was turned all the way down to 65 degrees, 25 degrees higher than the maximum temperature allowed by Pennsylvania State Health guidelines. On the same day of the food inspection, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement Officers searched the hotel and found that it was selling liquor without a license and had been doing so for over a year when the ownership changed hands and new owners never sought to renew the liquor license. It is reported that Treasury officials claim that the hotel had failed to pay taxes since July 21st and it is impossible to determine how much the hotel owes due to the fact that the figures come from the hotel’s monthly reports which are not accurate or complete either (according to the report). According to records, the State Department of Revenue placed a lien on the property for $29,259.28 in unpaid sales taxes for November and December 2007. Employees of the hotel paint and even grimmer picture for this Lancaster County Holiday Inn. They state that paychecks have been late, have been bounced and they have been paying insurance premiums out of their paychecks, yet, this hotel is not actually carrying insurance, according to reports.
One employee found this out the hard way when he went in for surgery and was told he did not have insurance, even though he had been paying for it through his employer. It was further reported that housekeeping employees have been instructed to rinse out and reuse disposable supplies in guest rooms. This included refilling used shampoo bottles and rinsing out and reusing trash bags. It was further reported that utilities and cable have been shut off at the hotel for failure to pay bills and that the building has failed fire code inspections as well.
Pennsylvania law enforcement officials have commenced an investigation with regard to the many problems at this Lancaster County Holiday Inn. According to records, this Holiday Inn was owned by Kronos Hotels, LLC an Atlanta based hotel chain. Reports indicate that Kronos operates the Holiday Inn as a franchisee of Intercontinental’s Hotel Group. IHG stated that they closely monitor the management of its franchises and is aware of the problems with the Holiday Inn. (www.lancasteronline.com)
As an attorney who specializes in hotel and premises liability in Pennsylvania, I am quite concerned due to the fact that this Lancaster County Holiday Inn is smack in the middle of a prominent Pennsylvania tourist area and many guests are being placed in a position where they risk harm. I have written numerous articles concerning the safety of hotel guests, emphasizing that this should be top priority for hotel owners and operators. As mentioned in my September 10, 2008 article, I noted that many times the safety and privacy of hotel guests is simply not the case and is being compromised to attain higher profitability. Not only is this a large issue for tourism, but also a large issue in that many times avoidable tragedies can be prevented. Hotel owners must be oriented to the safety and security of their guests in today’s world and must insure that proper equipment is installed, maintained and regularly used and that the premise is operating within the boundaries and codes set forth according to the law.
In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, hotel owners and hotel managers must take all reasonable and necessary steps to make sure that injuries do not occur to patrons, visitors or workers on the premises and furthermore, that they are able to stay in a safe and healthy environment free from defects that may expose them to unsafe or unsanitary conditions. In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, hotel owners and managers must take all reasonable and necessary steps to make sure that injuries and death do not occur to patrons, visitors and/or workers while on their premises. Hotels have a general duty to protect guests from harm caused by other guests or non-guests and have an affirmative duty to make their premises safe.
Since 1979, the experienced inadequate security lawyers and premises liability lawyers at the Pennsylvania personal injury law firm of Reiff and Bily have aggressively represented clients that have been injured, harmed or became ill while on other people’s premises, including hotels, motels, inns, apartment homes, shopping malls, casinos and cruise ships. We have been able to successfully prove that a breakdown in the property owners security and maintenance system not only encouraged unsafe and criminal activity, but also resulted in the property owner or operators liability for negligence. Our attorneys and investigators carefully analyze the circumstances of the personal injury and personal offense and work with law enforcement and independent investigators to perform our own investigation to determine whether or not inadequate security or maintenance concerns lead to an offense. We also examine past incidents of abuse at the location or surrounding areas that should have put the owner on actual constructive notice that the facility was potentially dangerous to customers or visitors. As a result, property owners are legally responsible for any harm suffered by unsuspecting residents or patrons.
At the Pennsylvania inadequate security law firm of Reiff and Bily, we are experienced in handling negligent security and maintenance cases on behalf of victims of assault, robbery or illness. If you have suffered an injury, robbery or other personal offense due to negligent security or maintenance, we will begin an immediate investigation in your case to preserve evidence and properly prepare your case. If you would like a free consultation, please feel free to contact us and discuss your rights at 1-800-421-9595 or www.reiffandbily.com.
