At this year’s HITEC show I stopped by the Vocera Communications booth. Vocera is one of several companies offering “panic button” solutions for hospitality. Vocera’s system is a badge and primarily worn by housekeepers. I wrote about panic buttons earlier this year on Green Lodging News. A growing number of cities are requiring them. According to The Miami Herald, the latest city to get on board is Miami Beach. Beginning August 1, 2019, Miami Beach will be the third tourism town, after Seattle and Chicago, to mandate that hotels provide the devices. New York City hotels that are unionized have had panic buttons since 2013.
An estimated 11,500 housekeepers are employed in Miami-Dade County, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and most work in Miami Beach. According to a recent survey by hotel union Unite Here Local 355, 63 percent of the more than 70 Miami Beach hotel workers surveyed said they have been sexually assaulted or harassed while working in guestrooms. Other surveys conducted around the United States have found similar patterns.
Under the new regulations, Miami Beach will require that all hotels and hostels provide room attendants, housekeeping attendants, minibar attendants and room service servers with a “safety” button or notification device. Employees can use the devices if they feel there is an “ongoing crime, harassment, or other emergency in the employee’s presence.”
The article in The Miami Herald says Miami Beach hotels are also required to place a sign inside each hotel room notifying guests that employees are equipped with panic buttons. If a property is found in violation of any of the requirements, a first offense elicits a written warning, followed by fines of $500, $1,000 and $2,000 for each subsequent violation within a six-month period.
Panic button requirements could be coming to your hotel soon. The Miami Herald reports that a proposed statewide bill is also in the works in California and the devices have been included as part of the new union contracts with Las Vegas’ MGM and Caesars casinos.
