Hotels are attempting to tackle the sexual harassment problem against its staff by giving them panic buttons.
The report from Bloomberg has revealed a number of stories regarding guests harassing housekeepers when they are cleaning rooms on duty.
A survey by UNITED HERE in 2016 found that nearly half of housekeepers (49 per cent) had guests flash or expose themselves.
It is hoped that by having a panic button, it will protect them from being made to feel unsafe or uncomfortable.
These could come in the form of electronic whistles or buttons with GPS built in, as well as iPads with an emergency feature.
Housekeeper Ely Dar, 60, has worked in the hotel industry for 17 years, and told Bloomberg how one guest “opened his door naked and urged [her] to come in,” whilst another “offered her money in exchange for a massage”.
She explains how these are just a fraction of the propositions and harassment she has been subjected to during her career.
Dar explained: “I don’t trust any of the guests.”
Worryingly, Juana Melara, a room attendant in California explained to Bloomberg that guests “feel they have a right to the lady who cleans the room”.
Panic buttons have been available in all unionised hotels in New York since 2013, with a representative of the union starting they were used twice in a month at one particular hotel, which resulted in the guest being removed from the property.
Seattle also voted to have the same protection in 2016, with Chicago joining the vote for similar legislation in October.
A court in California also ruled that housekeepers could sue their employers after a housekeeper claimed she was raped by a trespasser on the property who was known to the hotel.
Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, the judges wrote: “If an employer knows a particular person’s abusive conduct places employees at unreasonable risk of sexual harassment, the employer cannot escape responsibility to protect a likely future employee victim merely because the person has not previously abused that particular employee.”
Another problem that can occur in hotels is being privately filmed without consent.
In 2009, an ESPN reporter was filmed naked in her room by a stalker who tampered with the peephole to fit a small camera.
He then posted this online, after stating how easy it was to hide the device within the room.
Guests are urged to always check the peephole when entering their accommodation see if it has been damaged, as well as use free mobile apps to scan a room for electronic filming devices.
