Lone Worker Safety Solutions for Hotel and Hospitality Workers

Hotel housekeeping workers who ensure that our rooms are clean and comfortable constantly face significant and serious workplace safety hazards, especially violence and assault from guests. In addition to this very serious workplace hazard, hotel housekeeping employees also work around other safety hazards, such as dangerous chemicals and biohazards, as well as chronic physical injuries from the repetitive motions of vacuuming and cleaning. Employers responsible for the personal safety of their workforce can use a lone worker safety device to create peace of mind for their team. 

Almost all hotel housekeepers are female, and many of these vulnerable people consistently experience harassment – in a 2016 survey, more than half (60%) of Chicago respondents said they had experienced sexual harassment at work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that in 2017, hotel and motel workers had a nonfatal injury and illness incidence rate of 4.3, while total record-able cases of all industries, including private, state, and local government, are 3.1.2 

Hotels also employ other lone workers and staff, such as security guards, night shift managers, and other essential positions. As you will read further, there have been major improvements in hotel worker safety over the past decade; progressive bills and legislation across North America that creates responsibility for employers to protect their hotel teams, especially those who are going into guest rooms alone to work.  

Working alone in hotels in the United States

Working alone in US hotels has gotten much safer since several progressive bills were passed across the country to increase the hotel employer’s responsibility for the well-being of their employees as well as to enforce the provision and use of panic buttons when workers feel in danger. 

Since awareness and concern for hotel workers has risen, nine jurisdictions across the United States have passed safety bills and legislation that, while you read further, are mostly similar, also have distinct differences and unique considerations for their citizens. 

State of New Jersey: Senate No. 2986 - Passed on June 11, 2019 

• Requires all New Jersey hotels with more than 100 rooms to provide their staff with a lightweight, waterproof panic button that is synced with Bluetooth beacons in each of the rooms 

• Hotel employers who fail to provide their employees with panic buttons could face a civil penalty of up to $5,000 (for the first infraction) and up to $10,000 for any following violations 

State of Washington: Senate Bill 5258 - Passed on January 1, 2020 

• Requires all hotels and motels in the State of Washington with 60 rooms or more to provide employees with personal panic buttons 

• Senate Bill 5258 was passed to protect isolated hotel workers from sexual harassment and sexual assault 

State of Illinois: Hotel Employee Safety Act - Passed on July 1, 2020 

• Requires all hotels with more than 100 rooms in Illinois to provide their employees with personal panic buttons 

• Hotel employers are subject to a fine between $250 and $500 for each violation of the act 

City of Oakland: Measure Z - Passed on November 8, 2016 

• Requires all Oakland hotels with 50 or more guest rooms or suites to provide hotel employees with panic buttons as well as increased minimum wage and workload restrictions 

• Oakland mandates that a panic button that makes a loud noise does not meet the requirements of the hotel workers’ protection law; the panic button must immediately notify a designated monitor in the event of an emergency 

City of Miami Beach: Ordinance No. 2018-4207 - Passed on August 1, 2019 

• Requires Miami Beach hotels to provide their employees with a personal panic button or a “portable emergency contact device” 

• If a hotel fails to comply with the ordinance once, a written warning will be sent. If an employer violates the article a second time within six months, they will receive a fine of $500, followed by a $1,000 fine for a third offense and $2,000 for the fourth and all other following offenses. 

City of Seattle: Chapter 14.25 Hotel Employees Health and Safety - Passed on September 23, 2019 

• Requires all Seattle hotels with 60 rooms or more to provide panic buttons at no cost to the employee (greater protections for workers at hotels with 100 rooms or more) 

• The legislation also protects employees who report safety hazards and incidents from any retaliation 

City of Chicago: Municipal Code 4-6-180 - Passed on July 1, 2018 

• Requires all Chicago hotels to provide all employees who “clean, inventory, inspect, or restock supplies in a guest room or restroom’ in which there no other hotel staff present, with a panic button or notification device 

• If an employer does not comply, they can face fines no less than $250 and no more than $500 for each violation. 

City of Santa Monica: Chapter 4.67 Hotel Worker Protection - Passed on August 27, 2019 

• Tourism is a major industry, and therefore, the safety of hotel workers is a priority 

• All Santa Monica hotels must provide “panic buttons and other measures to enable hotel housekeepers to report misconduct and remove themselves from dangerous situations without fear of retaliation.” 

City of Sacramento - Passed on January 14, 2020 

• Requires all hotels to provide Bluetooth panic buttons, free of charge, to all employees who clean guest rooms in the absence of other hotel staff 

• If a hotel employer does not comply, they can face fines ranging between $25 and $2,500 each day the violation continues Additionally, in 2018, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) announced the 5-Star Promise, which is a voluntary initiative from AHLA hotel members “to enhance policies, training, and resources, including employee safety devices, that together are aimed and strengthening safety and security for hotel employees and guests.” To learn more about safety bills and legislation for hotel workers in the United States, visit our US hotel worker safety legislation page. 

Hotel Panic Button for the City of Los Angeles: the Hotel Worker Protection Ordinance (HWPO), Section 182 - Passed August 2022

• The Los Angeles City Council passed a law adding Section 182 to the Los Angeles Municipal Code, which requires LA hotel employers to provide a personal security device, such as a panic button, to its employees working where there is no other hotel worker present.

• This device is intended to be used when the lone worker “reasonably believes that violent or threatening conduct or an emergency is occurring in the hotel worker’s presence.” 

Additionally, in 2018, the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) announced the 5-Star Promise, which is a voluntary initiative from AHLA hotel members “to enhance policies, training, and resources, including employee safety devices, that together are aimed and strengthening safety and security for hotel employees and guests.” 

To learn more about safety bills and legislation for hotel workers in the United States, visit our US hotel worker safety legislation page. 

Working alone in hotels in Canada

Unfortunately, hotel workers in Canada face many of the same safety hazards, like violence, as their counterparts south of the border. There are no panic button laws in Canada, however, hotel and hospitality workers are protected under any applicable lone worker legislation. 

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety states hotel housekeepers are exposed to hazards such as:

• Violence in the workplace

• Sexual harassment

• Repetitive motion injuries (RMIs) 

• Chemicals in cleaning products 

• Biological infectious diseases from “soiled linens, uncapped needles and/or bodily fluids.” 

• Slips, trips, and falls. 

• Fatigue, stress, and other health problems from shifts or long periods of work.