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In case you missed it: Accor’s really ‘smart room’

Sensitivity: AccorHotels has introduced a “Smart Room” concept designed with accessibility standards that go far beyond the industry norm to accommodate persons with reduced mobility (PRM), which is too often unoccupied, not very welcoming and stigmatizing. Among the features: a wardrobe with sliding shelves and rods for easy access and LED lighting with footboard motion sensor facilitating movement at night. —Jeff Weinstein

AccorHotels' "Smart Room" concept
AccorHotels’ “Smart Room” concept

The potential loss of U.S. Salvadorans: This week, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that some nearly 200,000 people from El Salvador who have been allowed to live in the United States for more than a decade would no longer be granted that protection. It’s the Trump administration’s latest reversal of years of immigration policies and one of the most consequential to date, writes the New York Times, which also notes that 88% of that population participates in the U.S. labor force, compared with 63% for the overall United States population. One affected person includes this 42-year-old banquet supervisor for a hotel chain in Dallas, Texas who has two U.S.-born daughters. —Chloe Riley

 


‘Alexa, set up my Do Not Disturb sign’: A crew from GeekWire tested out the Amazon Alexa offering inside a 3,475 square-foot, two-bedroom suite at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas. In 2016, Amazon equipped 4,748 hotel rooms at the Wynn with the company’s Echo device, allowing guests to use their voice to open curtains, turn on the lights, TV, and get the news and weather. The commands went off without a hitch and GeekWire predicted Wynn using Alexa to ultimately do even more, like booking a table at dinner or ordering room service. —C.R.

 


So long, and thanks for all the fish: Animal rights group PETA is helping pet-friendly Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants find new homes for 200 goldfish after the company agreed to end its “Guppy Love” program. The tiny companions were delivered to guests upon request. “Scientists have proved that fish become depressed from a lack of space, stimulation, and adequate enrichment, just as humans do,” a PETA exec says; pretty sure she was talking about the goldfish bowl, not the guestrooms. — Barbara Bohn

 


Green means go: The U.S. State Department has a new system for issuing travel advisories meant to clear up confusion from its earlier approach, which it hadn’t changed in 10 years. It’s giving countries a color-coded ranking from 1 to 4 based on safety concerns – the higher the number, the higher the risk, along with reasons. Terrorism concerns, for instance, put the United Kingdom at level 2, the same as Mexico, although five states in that country are even higher due to crime.  — B.B.

 


Guest rights/housekeeper safety: Part of a proposed California bill that would require hotels to arm housekeepers with panic buttons also includes a controversial clause – requiring hotels to keep records of all guests accused of assault or harassment on file for five years. The AH&LA, among others, is filing suit to remove that requirement from the bill, saying that barring guests accused of assault or harassment “strips our guests of their due process rights.” — B.B.

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