Washington Hospitality Magazine July 2017

WA S H I N GTO N

July 2017

REDUCING THE RISK OF INJURY IN THE

WORKPLACE

DO YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT

PREVENTION

PLAN? +

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES

NEW STATE PREGNANCY ACCOMMODATION LAW

Washington Hospitality Association 510 Plum Street SE Olympia, WA 98501-1587

July 2017 │ 1

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Inside

wahospitality.org

Features

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Planning for the Inevitable What do you have in place to mitigate the impact of a workplace accident?

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Reducing Risk in the Workplace: A Win-Win for Employers and Employees

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How Many of Your Employees Need Bloodborne Pathogens Training?

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Communicating with your Employees Trends, Crises, Preferences

In Every Issue

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WA S H I N GTO N

July 2017

REDUCING THE RISK OF INJURY IN THE

WORKPLACE

DO YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT

PREVENTION

PLAN? +

COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES

NEW STATE PREGNANCY ACCOMMODATION LAW

STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID APEX MAILING SERVICES INC

4 │ wahospitality.org

Washington Hospitality Association 510 Plum Street SE Olympia, WA 98501-1587

July2017.indd 1

June 2017 │ 1

6/20/2017 4:30:54 PM

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From Your President and CEO Measuring the Value of Restaurants

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Industry Events

8

News Briefs

10

Local GA Update

12

News from Around the State

14

Local State Update

26

Lex on Tech New Washington Hospitality Bluebook Offers Stats You Can Use

28

Calendar/New Members

30

Ask the Expert Increased Sales through Third-Party Delivery Services

On the cover

It goes without saying that a safe workplace is the best kind of workplace. It’s good for employees, good for guests and good for the business. This issue looks at your APP, or accident prevention plan, as a starting point for safety and, ultimately, savings.

Put your best

Fish forward.

Food waste is bad enough. Contamination is worse! How do you stop a bad fish from reaching the table? You make sure that your line staff knows the rules, knows how to how to detect bad product, and absolutely knows how to rotate your walk-ins so that you are always putting your best ingredients on the plate. Do your people know how to do that? Let’s hope so.

Safe service is good service.

ServSafe is the best service.

Train your staff today!

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SERVSAFE MANAGER HOSPITALITY TRAINING SOLUTIONS July 2017 │ 5

President and CEO EDITORIAL STAFF Publisher, Anthony Anton Executive Editor, Lex Nepomuceno Editor-in-Chief, Marianne Scholl Art Director, Lisa Ellefson Managing Editor, Paul Schlienz Contributing Editor, Andy Cook Contributing Editor, David Faro Contributing Editor, Jillian Henze Contributing Editor, Wendy Hughes Contributing Editor, Stephanie McManus Research Editor, Sheryl Jackson EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Co-chair, Phil Costello Stop n’ Go Family Drive In Co-chair, Frank Welton Hilton Worldwide EXECUTIVE TEAM President and CEO, Anthony Anton Vice President, Teran Haase Director of Business Development, Ken Wells Director of Communications & Technology, Lex Nepomuceno Director of Local Government Affairs, John Lane Director of State Government Affairs, Julia Gorton Director of Internal Operations, Kylie Kincaid Director of Membership, Steven Sweeney Education Foundation, Naja Hogander

510 Plum St. SE Olympia, WA 98501-1587 T 360.956.7279 | F 360.357.9232 wahospitality.org

Letters are welcomed, but must be signed to be considered for publication. Please include contact information for verification.

Reproduction of articles appearing in Washington Hospitality Magazine are authorized for personal use only, with credit given to Washington Hospitality Magazine and/or the Washington Hospitality Association.

Articles written by outside authors do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Washington Hospitality Association, its Boards of Directors, staff or members.

Products and services advertised in Washington Hospitality Magazine are not necessarily endorsed by the Washington Hospitality Association, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Washington Hospitality Association, its Boards of Directors, staff or members.

ADVERTISING INQUIRIES MAY BE DIRECTED TO: Michele Holmes Allied Relations Manager 206.423.3902 MicheleH@wahospitality.org Washington Hospitality Magazine is published monthly for members. We welcome your comments and suggestions. email: news@wahospitality.org, phone: 800.225.7166.

Circulation: 6,310.

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Measuring the Value of Restaurants in Washington It’s probably fair to say that change is perhaps the only constant in the restaurant industry.

From operations and industry standards to our customers and the food itself, we are constantly faced with changes in how we serve our customers, care for our employees and maintain a thriving operation. But how do we measure that change over time?

That’s why I am so excited about a new research project currently underway at Washington State University. Later this fall, WSU researchers in the Carson College of Business will roll out a set of restaurant industry benchmarks to better define the health of the restaurant industry.

As you know, Washington state restaurants have been at the center of many public policy debates. It is my sincere hope that this study will help quantify the value of the restaurant industry in Washington state and begin to track the impact of state and local policies on restaurants.

Currently we have anecdotal evidence, coupled with government data that is collected in various agencies. But there is no one central dashboard that pulls key information together. That’s part of what makes this all so groundbreaking: Washington state will be the only state in the nation with this kind of benchmarking. The National Restaurant Association conducts a state of the industry report, but no individual states currently offer this level of detail.

As a leader in the industry at the state and national level, Washington Hospitality is again stepping up to better help you keep tabs on industry changes and to stay ahead of the curve.

As for the study itself, WSU researchers will examine the following key indicators: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Menu pricing for five standardized items (five beverages, five entrees) Number of employees Number of employee hours Total income for employees Total sales per capita Survival rates Percent of restaurant dollars used for labor costs Number of units sold Percentages of the restaurant industry in relation to the Washington state economy (overall and by region)

WSU researchers will rely on a combination of unique survey data and a variety of regularly collected government data, such as sales data from the Department of Revenue and employment data from the Employment Security Department, to help develop these benchmarks.

I know what you’re already thinking: What about adding more menu items? Or how about the impact of tips?

Could we do more? Yes. And we hope, in future years, to grow these indicators so that we continue to have the best available data on our industry. For now though, these data points will provide a solid starting point, offering a quick glimpse into the industry — for restaurateurs, for patrons, for policymakers and others.

Next month, when we get closer to our fall launch, I hope to be able to tell you a little more about the specifics of the research itself and how we plan to roll this out. You will undoubtedly be hearing about it in the media, and we will work to give you as much information beforehand, so that you can discuss this with your employees, customers, and, yes, even local media.

As for the greater hospitality industry, it is my hope that once benchmarks are established for restaurants, we can look to build out a similar index for hotels and other aspects of hospitality. Twenty years from now, it is my hope this benchmarking will be the norm in every state, thanks to our efforts as an industry leader in measuring these indicators.

Anthony Anton

Industry Events

LODGING CONVENTION SPEAKER LINEUP SET TO DELIVER RESULTS REGISTER BY JULY 31 AND SAVE! WWW.LODGINGCONVENTION.COM It is no longer simply business as usual for hotel owners and operators. There are disruptive forces at all levels of business, from labor challenges and rising HR costs to rapidly evolving technology, changing guest expectations and new distribution demands. This year’s Washington Lodging Convention, taking place Oct. 22-24 at Tulalip Resort Casino, will attendees with the latest intel and fresh strategies for weathering the challenges that are coming our way.

In addition to the state’s largest lodging trade show and plenty of fun ways to network with your industry peers, the Convention will deliver an educational and training line up that touches on a broad range of key industry topics. It’s designed to help you address disruptions in the economic, consumer and market climates: Gary Hernbroth, Training for Winners A sought-after speaker, trainer and performance coach, Gary Hernbroth spent 18 years in the hospitality industry before launching a career helping teams re-tool for success in disruptive times. He knows the ins and outs of hotel operations and sales, and hoteliers value the straighttalking, real-world approach he brings to his trainings.

He’s helped an A list of hospitality clients master difficult market challenges, and he’ll help you rethink what you do to motivate team members to deliver results.

Steve Lerch, PhD, Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council As executive director and chief economist at the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council, Steve Lerch’s job is to look into the future and predict what economic activity in Washington state will look like over the next five years. He and his team need to get it right, as the forecasts they develop are used to build the state’s budgets. At the Convention, he’ll update you on where the U.S. and Washington economies are heading and what they may have in store for Washington’s hospitality businesses.

Glenn Haussman, Hotel Management magazine and Rouse Media As an editor-at-large at Hotel Management magazine, lodging trends expert, featured keynote speaker, and consummate traveler, Glenn Haussman lives and breathes hospitality. He’s been closely observing how the traditional rules of hospitality are morphing in response to radical changes in the hospitality ecosystem, yet despite all of the potential pitfalls, Glenn sees this as an era of unprecedented opportunity. At the convention, Glenn will debunk commonly held lodging industry myths and provide a clear path through marketplace changes that can lead to future success.

Greg Duff, Garvey Schubert Barer Chair of Garvey Schubert Barer’s hospitality, tourism and travel group, Greg Duff knows the ins and outs of the changing world of distribution. He is a frequent speaker on national distribution issues, and he’ll deliver information you need to position yourself to better weather the changing world of distribution.

Catharine Morisset and Davis Bae, Fisher Phillips Fisher Phillips employment law attorneys Catharine Morisset and Davis Bae will deliver a timely presentation on what you need to have in place when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrives at your door.

You’ll learn what you need to do to mitigate the potential fallout from an ICE investigation, including legal fees, lost productivity, steep fines and the possible expansion into other workplace compliance issues.

Irvin W. Sandman, Sandman Savrann PLLC Irv Sandman, attorney at law, returns to the Convention to lead the ever-popular Owners Forum, a discussion with industry leaders about the challenges, opportunities and strategies impacting hotel portfolios. He’ll be joined by Yogi Hutsen (president and CEO of Coastal Hotel Group), Shaiza Damji (principal and managing director of 360° Hotel Group), Murray Dow, II (president and CEO of The Dow Hotel Company), and Jeff McKee (co-founder and managing director of Premier Capital Associates).

July 2017 │ 7

Primary Source of Information | News Briefs Department of Labor Withdraws Obama-era Guidance on Joint Employer Status In June, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta announced that his department was withdrawing the Obama administration’s informal guidance on joint employment.

Expect to Hear News on Tip Pool Lawsuit by Early Fall On Jan. 19, 2017, the National Restaurant Association submitted a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the Department of Labor’s prohibition on including back-of-the-house employees in employer-mandated tip pools. We do not yet know when, or even if, the Supreme Court will take up the review.

As background, you may recall that in February 2016, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided to uphold the DOL’s rule in National Restaurant Association et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor et al. However, its decision is on hold at least until July 10, which is the deadline the Supreme Court gave to DOL to respond to the NRA’s petition. After that date, the court decides if it will hear the case.

Restaurateurs should not wait until July 10 to evaluate what is at stake with tip pools. Attorney Bob Donovan reminded members in a webinar earlier this year that an individual employee could still file a private lawsuit against an employer over tip pool practices even while DOL enforcement is stayed. If the employee were to prevail, there could be a significant lookback period. And “if the DOL rule stands, it is also uncertain if restaurateurs would have a solid defense to exemplary damages if employees claimed that their tips were unlawfully pooled during this

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period of uncertainty,” adds attorney Catharine Morisset of Fisher & Phillips LLP. If the Supreme Court refuses to hear the case, the DOL rule will stand, meaning that employers cannot pool all tips and redistribute them among both traditionally tipped and nontipped employees. This means, for example, that kitchen employees and expediters must be excluded from mandatory tip pools unless they regularly engage in direct customer service.

Employers should also know that regardless of the legal outcome at the Supreme Court, including any employees who were not directly tipped by the customer, such as owners, managers or kitchen staff in any mandatory tip pool comes with its own set of risks under Washington law. I-1433, the voter-approved statewide minimum wage initiative, expressly states that an employer “must pay” all tips “to its employees.”

The regulations on this new law are not yet final, but at a minimum, it likely means that employees cannot be required to share tips with owners or non-exempt managers.

Learn more about the tip pool legal challenge and alternatives to tipping at wahospitality.org/ tip-pooling-2016. For more specific questions, members are encouraged to consult with their own legal counsel. The Washington Hospitality Advisory Network can also connect members to a free, 30-minute consultation with an attorney.

“The roll back is a step in the right direction,” said Shannon Meade, the National Restaurant Association’s director of labor and workforce policy.

In a statement issued by AH&LA, Brian Crawford, VP of government affairs for AH&LA, said “with three out of every five lodging businesses considered small businesses and so many flourishing under the franchise model, it is critical that these employers have clarity and certainty as to who they employ and for whom they are liable under the law.”

Operators, however, should continue to be mindful of avoiding the exercise of indirect control both in franchising and outsourcing contexts.

The DOL news release cautioned that employers' legal responsibilities remain the same, and it said that it would "continue to fully and fairly enforce all laws within its jurisdiction."

It remains to be seen whether the agency's principal enforcement priorities will shift away from matters of joint-employment or independentcontractorship. In the meantime, operators should continue to make sure operations take into account all applicable, longstanding independentcontractor and joint-employment principles.

As Dana Kravetz, managing partner at law firm Michelman & Robinson, recently told Hotel News Now, “This remains a fertile ground for plaintiffs’ attorneys, absent clear direction from the courts returning the standard to that of actual control.”

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Local GA Update Initiative 124 Upheld Judge John Erlick upheld Seattle’s Initiative 124 in King County Superior Court on June 9. The initiative pertains to health and safety provisions for Seattle hotel workers and includes a blacklist requirement.

The Seattle Hotel Association, Washington Hospitality Association and American Hotel & Lodging Association filed a lawsuit in December 2016 requesting the court invalidate the ordinance.

The city council will use the results of the study to identify revisions to better accomplish the goals of the ordinance.

The ordinance says a separate study could be conducted to identify other industries with scheduling practices that should be regulated. It is therefore possible that other types of businesses, or retail and restaurants with fewer employees, could be looped into the law in the future.

Want to learn more about secure scheduling? Visit wahospitality.org.

The decision to uphold I-124 is troubling because one of the provisions, requiring hotels to blacklist guests, forces the industry to choose between protecting guests or protecting employees.

The Seattle Hotel Association said it will continue to evaluate its options and that working together is a more effective means to address the issues put forth in this initiative. Questions? Email jillianh@wahospitality.org.

Secure Scheduling Ordinance is in Effect Seattle’s new Secure Scheduling Ordinance went into effect July 1. It regulates how retail and food service establishments with 500+ employees worldwide, as well as full service restaurants with 500+ employees and 40+ locations worldwide, can and cannot schedule hourly employees.

The ordinance was passed by the Seattle City Council in September 2016, In May and June, the Seattle Restaurant Alliance created toolkits, checklists and a quiz, ran a social media campaign, held a workshop and webinar and answered numerous questions to get the estimated 115 impacted member locations ready for compliance.

The city will study the effects of the new labor standards for up to two years. In accordance with the ordinance, the study will look at impacts on businesses, including costs, and on employees, and the differences and challenges faced by limited and full service restaurants in implementing the ordinance and the access to hours lists.

In April, the Seattle Restaurant Alliance received a request to participate in the Seattle Secure Scheduling Ordinance study. The researchers selected by the city to conduct the study have a lengthy track record of advocating for scheduling legislation across the country and will not provide unbiased study results. Because of this, the Seattle government affairs team informed the researchers that the alliance would not participate in the study and would not recommend members participate.

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Seattle’s Short-Term Rental Legislation Delayed Seattle City Councilmember Tim Burgess released an updated short-term rentals proposal in April, which was quickly put on hold in May. The delay is due to an appeal of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) determination which found that the proposed ordinance’s land use changes do not warrant an environmental impact review.

The proposed regulation focus narrowly on commercial operators who take advantage of home-sharing platforms, including Airbnb and VRBO, to rent units full-time or to operate multiple units. Their business is taking long-term housing off the market, exacerbating Seattle’s housing crisis.

These operators are also not subject to the same safety and security regulations as hotels and motels—regulations which protect the guest—and those who abuse the system are not paying proper taxes or following zoning laws. The ordinance being proposed in Seattle seeks to address many of these issues.

The SEPA appeal hearing is expected to take place in early September, postponing any discussion of the proposal until later this year or early 2018.

Seattle City Council Passes Sweetened Beverage Tax On June 5, the Seattle City Council passed a 1.75 cent-perounce tax on sweetened beverage tax in a 7-1 vote. The new tax is expected to raise about $15 million per year for health and education programs.

The tax takes effect Jan. 1, 2018 and will be levied on all distributors of sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks and other types of drinks within city limits.

Diet sodas and drinks with fewer than 40 calories per 12 ounces are exempted.

There is also an exemption for products whose manufacturer generates a global gross revenue of $2 million or less and an exemption for the direct sale from manufacturer to customer without a third-party distributor.

Under the ordinance, up to $1.5 million will be reserved in the first five years for training workers in affected industries to benefit those who may lose their jobs because of the tax.

The Seattle Restaurant Alliance sought to collaborate with the Seattle City Council to address the impact of the sweetened beverage tax on Seattle’s small, locally owned restaurants. Currently, restaurants pay about $75 for a 5-gallon bag of soda syrup. Because the tax is on finished ounces, it will add about $67.20 to the price of the bag of syrup.

Members of the alliance said they were disappointed in the council’s rush to push this legislation through without working with businesses to identify additional solutions.

Because of the unanswered questions about the wideranging effects of this proposal, Seattle members had hoped for a more thoughtful process.

Spokane Soda Tax Win Our team is celebrating a victory in Spokane over a possible sweetened beverage tax. In June, the Spokane City Council said it would not impose, or ask voters to impose, a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.

The impact of a possible soda tax on small business prompted local restaurant owners to ask the council to focus on other solutions. The Association thanks local businesses, the Washington Hospitality Association Spokane Chapter Board, and our government affairs and communications staff members for meeting with council members to share their perspective.

City Councilwoman Lori Kinnear told the Spokesman Review that the tax, which was discussed but never considered as an official proposal, has been completely removed from consideration.

Tacoma The possibility of a local soda tax has hit Tacoma, with the Tacoma City Council expected to consider a sweetened beverage tax in the near future. The council asked the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department to present solutions to chronic disease problems, and a tax soda on sports drinks, juices and coffee drinks is expected to be one of the proposals presented to council.

Tacoma members are encouraged to reach out to council members to ask them to keep a possible tax on sweetened beverages off the agenda.

An update to the city’s paid sick leave requirements is also expected to go before the city council this summer. In June, the council’s finance committee heard recommendations on how to bring the city’s paid leave ordinance, which went into effect in Feb. 2016, into alignment with the new state paid leave policy which is being introduced under Initiative 1433.

Having parallel requirements would allow Tacoma to continue to have a local ordinance and local enforcement, subjecting businesses to both state and city enforcement.

This would create extra costs for the city and a patchwork of laws confusing for both employers and employees. The Hospitality Association is following this issue closely as it progresses.

For more information, contact Samantha Louderback at SamanthaL@wahospitality.org.

July 2017 │ 11

News From Around the State Everett: Alaska Airlines to Fly Out of Paine Field Air travel will get a lot easier for flyers living north of Seattle next year when Alaska Airlines begins commercial service from Paine Field – Snohomish County Airport.

Construction of the state-of-the-art terminal is slated to begin in June, and Alaska Airlines will offer up to nine daily departures by next fall if it receives government approval. It plans to announce routes, flight schedules and will begin selling tickets early next year.

Yakima Valley: Labor Shortage Hurting Harvests Despite offering upwards of $16 an hour, many Washington farmers are still struggling to find harvest workers.

The physically demanding jobs are tough to fill when unemployment is low, like it is now. In Yakima County, the unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) was down to 6.8 percent in May. The statewide seasonally adjusted rate hit 4.5 percent in May, slightly higher than the national rate of 4.3 percent.

Even as farmers attempt to entice workers with higher wages, crops may be picked too late in the season to get

the best price. Higher worker wages and crops left in the field will increase operating costs, which may cause locallygrown produce prices to climb later this year.

Vancouver: Downtown Waterfront Development Plan Wins Approval At its June 19 meeting, the Vancouver City Council voted to approve the Port of Vancouver’s Terminal 1 master plan which outlines the redevelopment of 10.37 acres of riverfront property stretched over four city blocks. The property slated for development is close to the site of the former Red Lion Hotel at Vancouver Quay, which was closed in October 2015.

The project would be adjacent to a high-end commercial and residential development planned by Columbia Waterfront LLC and a new City of Vancouver Waterfront Park. It could also include converting 36,600 square feet of existing building area into a public marketplace. The overall development could include up to 355 residential units, including both apartments and possibly live/work units, 62,000 square feet of retail space, 200,000 square feet of commercial office space and a 160-room hotel, according to The Columbian.

Congratulations 2017 Washington Restaurant Neighbor Award Winners!

The Washington Hospitality Association is proud to announce that three of its members, Mod Pizza, Hop Jack’s and the Mill Creek Pub are the Washington state winners of the Restaurant Neighbor Award.

MOD Pizza focuses on paying living wages and providing employees with opportunities to give back to the community. On each store’s opening day, it gives 100 percent of its sales to a local nonprofit. For example, at the Overlake store’s grand opening, the MOD Squad donated $3,512 to Jubilee Reach to help with the Highland STEAM program. For the grand opening of its first Eastern Washington outlet, MOD pizza donated 100 percent of all pizza sales to the YWCA of Yakima.

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Hop Jack’s established the Hop Jack's Good Neighbor Fund to help neighbors and team members in need.

The fund raised more than $88,000 for various cancer organizations and a variety of other local charities.

Additionally, Hop Jack’s donates 25 cents from every Hop Jack's beer sold.

Hop Jack’s also created a program called "Kids Feeding Kids” where 50 cents from every kid’s meal goes to support local school meal programs.

Hop Jack’s also hires people with disabilities through Trillium, a nonprofit dedicated to helping disabled people find employment.

The Mill Creek Pub, in Battleground, is well known for its community involvement. One of its fundraisers raised $1,000 for the School of Piano Technology for the Blind. It also hosted an event called “Dunkin’ for Dollars” for the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, where for $10, anyone could purchase the opportunity to drop various community notables into a dunk tank. The proceeds from this event went to more than 100 nonprofits. In addition, since 2013, the pub has raised $261,000 overall to fund afterschool programs for the teens in its community.

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State Government Affairs Update As of press time in mid-June, the Legislature had yet to find the compromise it needs to resolve the impasse over education funding. The first special session ended on May 23, and minutes later Gov. Jay Inslee called a second 30-day special session. Inslee has told the press that it is unlikely that a deal will be reach before this second session expires on June 22. Without a budget deal by June 30, when the current the two-year budget runs out, Washington may experience its first ever partial government shut down.

Look for up-to-date information in the Association’s weekly newsletter and on our website at wahospitality.org.

Legislature Passes Pregnancy Accommodation Law The passage of Washington’s Healthy Starts Act this legislative session changes pregnancy accommodations for women in Washington workplaces.

The new law applies to businesses with 15 or more employees and ensures that pregnant women can keep working comfortably while running, managing, and staffing local restaurants and hotels. Washington joins 18 other states, the District of Columbia and four cities that have passed laws requiring new accommodations for pregnant workers.

Women are the cornerstone of the hospitality industry. The number of women-owned restaurants in Washington grew 38 percent last year. Currently, 61 percent of Washington restaurants and 51 percent of Washington-based hotel companies are owned by women.

In accordance with the new law, employers should consider what provisions they have for pregnant women in the workplace and make the following accommodations: Provide longer, more frequent or flexible restroom breaks.

Modify any no food or no drink policy.

Provide job restructuring, part-time or a modified work schedule or reassignment, for pregnant staff.

Acquire or modify equipment or an employee’s work station.

Provide seating or allow an employee to sit more frequently if her job requires her to stand.

Provide for a temporary transfer to a less strenuous or less hazardous position.

Provide assistance with manual labor and limit lifting; scheduling flexibility for prenatal visits.

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Employees may request further accommodations to which an employer must give reasonable consideration in consultation with the Department of Labor and Industries or the employee’s health care provider.

An employer may request that staff who need accommodations provide a note from her doctor. However, a written note is not required. Employers can show that they do not have to provide different accommodations if doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer’s operations. However, employers cannot not claim hardship for the following accommodations: frequent, longer or flexible restroom breaks; food or drink policies; seating; and lifting limits. Businesses are also not required to create additional employment they would not otherwise have created.

The Washington State Attorney General is responsible for investigation and enforcement. Employees may file a complaint with the AG or bring a civil cause of action in court for violations and recover actual damages, costs and attorneys’ fees.

Rulemaking Continues for Statewide Minimum Wage Increase and Paid Sick Leave under I-1433

Initiative 1433 rule-making started in January 2017. The Department of Labor & Industries convened a broad stakeholder group of labor, local governments, business and non-profits to identify issues, offer recommendations and comment on L&I’s early draft of rules. The Washington Hospitality Association has been participating in this process.

I-1433 will raise the statewide minimum wage to $13.50 by 2020 and require all Washington employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees starting Jan. 1, 2018. In keeping with the initiative, the draft of the state’s new paid sick leave policy includes the following requirements:

1. Employees accrue at least one hour of paid sick leave for every forty hours worked as an employee.

2. Employers are not required to allow employees to accrue paid sick leave during vacation, paid time off, or while using paid sick leave.

Learn more about the current draft of the I-1433 rule language on our website at wahospitality.org. Want to participate in the process? Attend one of the L&I public hearings in August in Tumwater (Aug. 8), Spokane (Aug. 16), Pasco (Aug. 17) or Everett (Aug.29). Information about the meetings is on the L&I engagement page at www. lni.us.engagementhq.com.

MINIMUM WAGE WILL BE RAISED TO $13.50 BY

PROVIDE PAID SICK LEAVE TO EMPLOYEES STARTING JAN. 1,

July 2017 │ 15

Planning for the Inevitable

What do you have in place to mitigate the impact of a workplace accident?

Injuries happen. Despite your best efforts as an employer, your people get hurt from time to time. What then? If you’re on your game, you’ll have at least one manager who is well trained in the best practices of accident management. You’ll also have a return-to-work plan and an occupational medical group in place. All of this will help your employee recover faster and will help mitigate the impact of the accident on your business.

Having an injured employee return to work as soon as possible is known to speed up recovery and brings other benefits to the employee. It is also the best and most costeffective way to maintain control of a difficult workers’ comp claim and to keep your insurance premiums from skyrocketing. That’s because time loss has the greatest impact on your L&I experience factor and, by extension, on your workers’ compensation insurance. The longer an employee remains off the clock, the bigger the impact and the greater the likelihood that you will pay higher premiums for the subsequent three years.

Workplace Safety Management 1. Establish and implement a strong workplace safety program. This can be the Accident Prevention Plan of APP you are required to have by WAC.) 2. Have prewritten job descriptions for all positions in your establishment.

3. Have light duty tasks identified and be ready to develop transitional return-to-work opportunities.

4. Make sure your employees know ahead of time how return-to-work benefits them personally.

5. Create a “return-to-work” lead employee, and make sure that all injuries are reported to that person immediately.

6. Act quickly when an injury occurs.

For more information on workplace safety programs, see pages 18–20.

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Resources U.S. Healthworks www.ushealthworks.com 18 locations in Washington state with an app to help you locate the nearest clinic. For more information, posters, or to create an account, contact Debbie Beam at 425.327.0848.

The Washington Department of Labor and Industries provides numerous tools and programs to help to get your injured employee back to work, including the Stay at Work program, which provides financial incentives to help injured employees return to work quickly. This can be done by giving the injured worker shorter hours, having them do different work and/or assigning light duty tasks until they are fully recovered.

Washington Hospitality has created a “Return-to-Work Toolkit” that lays all of this out step by step. If that isn’t enough, we have “Return-to-Work” experts on staff who will guide you through the best processes.

With a clear return-to-work plan in place before an injury happens, you’ll be well situated to deal with an injury should one occur.

Also important is to have a relationship with a medical group specializing in occupational injuries and workers’ comp claims. Washington Hospitality currently partners with U.S. Healthworks to help members have a medical team in place before they’re needed.

Approved by the Centers of Occupational Health & Education, U.S. Healthworks is the largest occupational medicine group in Washington state. It specializes in: • • • • •

Department of Labor and Industries Stay at Work Program www.lni.wa.gov/main/stayatwork Under this program, L&I reimburses employers for some of their costs when they provide temporary, light-duty jobs for injured workers while they heal.

Washington Hospitality Association Education Foundation www.WHAEF.com Onsite training for bloodborne pathogens, CPR, AED, First Aid, incipient firefighting, and hazardous communications training to help you proactively reduce the risk or the impact of a workplace injury.

Washington Hospitality Association RETRO www.wahospitality.org/wise-buy/retro The Association’s retrospective rating program is the third largest in the state and helps members work safe to save money. Our partner Employer Resources Northwest (ERNwest) helps participating members navigate the claims process, and our in-house Retro team can walk you through the Return-to-Work process.

Call 800.225.7166 for more information.

Occupational injuries Workers’ compensation claims Work restrictions Light duty plans Employee treatment plans

When an employee goes to U.S. Healthworks, physicians will base the work restrictions on the employee’s injury, in many cases ensuring that the employee can keep working while recovering, without injuring themselves again on the job. They believe in case compression so that an injury that can be healed in three weeks does not take eight weeks.

July 2017 │ 17

Reducing Risk in the Workplace: A Win-Win for Employers and Employees

By Paul Schlienz

As much as we all strive to achieve safety for our employees, there is no such thing as an accident free workplace.

Conscientious employers do everything in their power to prevent injuries, but mishaps are still bound to occur. This presents an opportunity reducing risk and increasing safety awareness among your team members.

Having a safety mindset will not only be good for your employees, it will be good for your bottom line.

Getting Serious About Accident Prevention Near the top of any restaurant operator or hotelier’s list for safety and safety regulation should be an Accident Prevention Program (APP).

APPs are required by Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries and address potential workplace hazards.

An APP (or “safety plan”) is designed to prevent work-related injury and illness by identifying possible hazards and outlining steps to remove these hazards or reduce the risks they pose to your employees.

All Washington employers must develop a formal, written accident prevention program per WAC 296 800 140. An important part of this is developing, supervising, implementing and enforcing safety and health training programs that are effective in practice.

All Washington employers are required to develop and implement a formal, written APP. L&I encourages businesses to regard their APP as the cornerstone of their overall safety program.

18 │ wahospitality.org

To meet written program and other APP requirements, businesses must look around and identify workplace hazards that could potentially harm employees, find and apply ways to reduce or eliminate hazards, provide detailed safety orientations to employees to help them understand possible hazards of their specific job and how to remain safe while they work.

In addition to APP requirements, other health and safety program requirements may apply to your business depending on the activities and hazards in your workplace.

“It’s all about safety, ensuring your employees are safe and creating a safety culture within your company” said Jenny Walker, RETRO Key Accounts Manager with the Washington Hospitality Association.

“It’s about being proactive.”

Walker also points out other requirements many employers overlook, “Restaurateurs and hoteliers not only need to make sure they have an APP, but also need to be teaching their employees to be safe by creating a safety culture,” said Walker. “Many locations have not established Safety Committees nor are they having monthly safety meetings and are unaware of the requirements.

“If you have management staff that

doesn’t have a 110 percent buy in to your safety program, it’s not going to work,” said Walker. “You also need to get your employees to buy in. Restaurateurs and hoteliers often provide safety incentives to further encourage a safe working environment.”

“The No. 1 requirement that employers are most likely to overlook is having an APP in writing that addresses the safety and health hazards specific to their workplace,” said Elaine Fischer, spokesperson for L&I. “Restaurants and hotels employ a wide variety of staff, and each job has hazards that must be addressed in the APP.” Fischer’s last point bears repeating: each job has hazards (even clerical) and both the job and the hazards must be addressed in the APP. That means every job title in your operation needs to be reflected in your APP. Walker also points out other requirements many employers overlook.

Are You Regularly Using Your APP? All employers in Washington State are required to create establish, supervise, and enforce a written accident prevention program (APP) that is effective in practice. These are sometimes called total safety and health plans. When the Department of Labor & Industry visits your business, it is one of the first things it looks for, and employers that fail to have one on file will start racking up fines.

Here is the table of contents for a sample restaurant APP published by L&I on its website. The download-able sample is intended to get you started and needs to be modified to reflect a specific workplace.

SAMPLE RESTAURANT ACCIDENT PREVENTION PROGRAM • General Instructions • Management Safety and Health Policy Statement • Responsibilities • Disciplinary Policy • Employee Orientation Checklist – Safety • Employee Responsibility • Personal Work Rules

Safety committees and regular safety meetings are required under Washington’s Administrative Code, and L&I will look for documentation that both are in place. Walker warns that there are monetary consequences for employers who neglect these important requirements.

“Keep your APP current, provide training, involve workers and make sure they know safety is a priority,” said Fischer. “Sprains and strains, especially from lifting or repetitive motion, are the most common type of workplace injury in most industries, so it pays to focus on preventing those kinds of injuries. Slips, trips and falls also account for a significant number of injuries in the hospitality industry.

These common injuries can be painful, costly and debilitating. They are preventable when the workers are trained and involved in recognizing the hazard,” Fischer says.

Preventing workplace injuries and illnesses is important for everyone.

Workplace accidents and illnesses can overwhelm both workers and

• General Safety Rules • Cut Prevention Training • Burn Prevention Training • Slip and Fall Prevention Training • Electrical Hazard Prevention Training • First Aid Training, Kits and Poster • Procedure for Injury or Illness on the Job • Safety Bulletin Board • Safety Committee • Sample Safety Committee Meeting Form • Crew/Leader Meetings • Sample Crew/Leader Meeting Form • OSHA Recordkeeping Information • Supervisor’s Incident Investigation Form • Employees Report of Injury Form • Hazard Communication Program • Sample Hazard Communication Program • Employee Orientation Checklist – Hazardous Substances • Hazard Communication Checklist

Find this APP sample and an APP Guide, as well as other safety resources at www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Topics/AtoZ/APP/.

July 2017 │ 19

an Accident Prevention Program sample, assist our members through the program providing you with the tools you need and offering to review your tailored APP.”

"Go to L&I's website and check out our industry topic pages for 'Restaurant Industry' and 'Hotel-Motel Industry' in our A-to-Z safety topic index to find publications, training tools and regulations," said Fischer.

It’s also smart to look at L&I not as your adversary, but as an important resource. L&I wants to help you have the safest workplace you can possibly have and it has programs and services to help you reach your safety targets. employers with devastating costs.

Strong APPs give you peace of mind that you are doing everything you can to make your workplace safe. Once you know you’re doing the right thing in creating a safe workplace, you can focus on making your business grow.

“This is why it’s so important to be part of RETRO,” said Walker. “We provide

"We welcome and encourage any employer to contact L&I’s Consultation Services for assistance, which could be an onsite consultation visit or just to get a question answered," said Fischer.

"There’s no charge, employers can’t be fined, and the service is completely confidential."

Work Safe, Save Money The Washington Hospitality Association’s RETRO program is also smart to have in your corner when it comes to safety and savings.

RETRO, which stands for “retrospective rating,” is a program administered by the Association to help participating employers lower the risk of on-the-job accidents, manage claims when accidents do occur, and potentially earn refunds on workers’ comp insurance premiums.

The program works in tandem with the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) to connect safety performance with bottom-line savings.

We believe that hospitality businesses should be rewarded for providing safe workplaces, having accident-prevention plans and maintaining industry-leading records in safety performance. RETRO is successful because it promotes a

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$ culture of safety throughout the industry and state.

RETRO does all of this by giving members access to tools, information and support, including the Stay Safe program, a wide range of safety courses, accident prevention plans tailored for specific businesses, and training in accidentreporting procedures. RETRO staff will also communicate with L&I personnel on members' behalf.

"Our tag line at RETRO is 'Work safe, save money,'” said Jenny Walker, RETRO key accounts manager. "Anyway you look at it, it's a win-win. Our RETRO team is waiting for your call and happy to work with your schedule in setting up a walkthrough. If you haven’t checked out RETRO, call us immediately."

Learn more about RETRO www.wahospitality.org/wise-buy/retro or call 800.225.7166.

Delivering A Greater Customer Experience

PRODUCE ~ CENTER OF THE PLATE ~ GROCERY & FROZEN FOOD ~ SEAFOOD BUSINESS SOLUTIONS ~ BEVERAGE ~ DISPOSABLES ~ SUPPLY & EQUIPMENT seattle.fsafood.com

July 2017 │ 21

How Many of Your Employees Need Bloodborne Pathogens Training?

Are you an employer or manager who has known for a while that you need to put an Accident Prevention Program or APP together, but you’ve just been too busy starting your restaurant or keeping up with your room sales to get around to doing it?

If you are, it’s time to talk dollars and sense. And yes, “sense,” because having an effective APP in place as the foundation of your workplace safety practices is smart business sense. You are literally putting your employees and your bottom line at risk by not following the letter of the law on this.

Failure to have an APP is the violation most frequently cited by L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. Not having one, or having one that is incomplete, can cost you on multiple fronts.

Picture this scenario. Your restaurant has a convenient parking lot, but after hours it unfortunately serves as a meeting place for drug users and other unsavory characters. Each morning, one of your team members cleans up the trash that gets stuck in your landscaping. If an employee reaches into a bush to grab a cup and gets a needle stick, you’ll have the Department of Occupational Safety and Health looking into every aspect of your safety program in no time.

An incident very similar to this recently cost a hospitality employer $18,000 in fines, fines which could have been avoided if a written APP plan had been put into practice.

Here are examples of citations related to lack of Bloodborne Pathogen training: 1. Lack of a written Exposure Control Plan for bloodborne pathogens or OPIM ($4500) 2. Failure to offer necessary employees Hepatitis B vaccinations. ($4500) 3. Failure to provide bloodborne pathogen training to employees where exposure could occur. ($4500) 4. Failure to ensure regulated waste was handled properly. ($4500)

A written Accident Prevention Program would have identified the employee’s job responsibilities as carrying a risk of contact with bloodborne pathogens, and implementing the APP would have included bloodborne pathogens training and a documented offer of a Hep B vaccination.

Basic Training You Can’t Afford to Skip The Washington Administrative Code, or WAC, is very specific about employers’ responsibility to protect employees from workplace exposure to diseases such as hepatitis, HIV/AIDS, syphilis or viral hemorrhagic fever. These are diseases that are spread by blood and/or bodily fluids, and any employee at risk of contact with bloodborne pathogens or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM) while at work must receive bloodborne pathogens training.

Fortunately for Washington Hospitality members, our Education Foundation offers training to meet this requirement and help ensure your employees know how to protect themselves from exposure. The training covers: • • • • • • • • • • •

OSHA regulations Exposure Control Plans Epidemiology, symptoms, and transmission Engineering and work practice controls Personal protective equipment (PPE) Sharps disposal Equipment & spill cleanup Hand hygiene Removing gloves Hepatitis B Vaccine Exposure, reporting, and evaluation

Employers must also make the Hepatitis B Vaccine available to employees who are at risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens and provide employees with a healthcare professional’s written opinion on the vaccine.

WHO NEEDS BLOODBORNE PATHOGEN TRAINING?

Employees assigned to provide emergency first aid.

Employees who handle or pick up regulated waste.

Housekeeping staff that might clean up blood or other potentially infectious materials (OPIM).

Employees who could come in contact with discarded needles.

Any other employee with job duties at a specific workplace which could possibly bring them in contact with blood or OPIM.

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What About Your PIC? The Washington State Food Code requires every food serving establishment to have a designated Person in Charge during operating hours. Your PIC has specific duties as outlined in the Code that require specific training. These responsibilities include: • • •

Food safety knowledge Taking preventive and corrective actions (including excluding ill food workers) Ability to demonstrate knowledge to the regulatory authority.

The Person In Charge is also responsible for workplace safety and proper response to a workplace emergency, and as such should be trained in First Aid, CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator.

Training for PICS • ServSafe Manager Advanced Food Safety Training • First Aid, CPR, & AED • Bloodborne Pathogen (if a hotel/motel employee with risk of exposure) • Incipient Fire Training (for all employees if portable fire extinguishers are present) • Hazardous Communication Training (for all new employees, to be repeated when a new hazardous chemical is introduced to the workplace).

All establishments that are not in near proximity (within one mile) to an infirmary, clinic or hospital are required to have staff who are trained in First Aid, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

Also, employees trained to provide first aid should also receive bloodborne pathogens training because providing first aid in many cases can involve the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens or other potentially infectious materials.

To learn about scheduling onsite classes or register for online classes: à Visit whaef.org à Email KyrieW@wahospitality.org à Call 877.695.9733 This article was put together with assistance from intern Emily Hearn.

In June, she will graduate from South Puget Sound Community College with an Associate’s in Business Administration and her goal is to attend Washington State University’s online school to earn a BA in communications.

July 2017 │ 23

Spotlight on the Workforce:

Communicating with your Employees Trends, Crises, Preferences

By Jillian Henze

Boosting employee engagement, teamwork and understanding creates real success for hospitality bottom lines.

A global survey in 2015 by Aon Hewitt showed a five percent increase in employee engagement is linked to a three percent increase in revenue growth the following year. Those are results you want to tap into!

If your communication with employees is more talking at them than talking with them, you’re missing out on this potential boost to your business. You could also possibly lose some of your best employees.

You may be far behind on the trendy, fun communication tools Millennials are into right now. And you may not be on the ball with protocols and channels employees need in case of the unexpected. Both of these are areas you can fix to create an engaged workforce that produces better results.

Opening Two-way Communication According to the Opinion Research Corporation, which has been researching employee opinions and communication since 1950, fewer than half of your employees are likely to think you do a good job of telling them what is going on in your business. Less than half believe you actually listen to their views.

The success of your business depends on your employees.

You can and must do better than this!

It’s great that you send out a monthly employee newsletter, but this is one-way communication – you’re really just talking at them. Seek to also engage your employees in conversations.

First, take stock of your company’s culture and goals, and dream up ways to allow for greater and more regular employee feedback.

One idea is to create an employee advisory board.

Employees can volunteer to join and meet regularly to research, plan, implement and evaluate ways to improve company communication, culture and retention. Some companies already have a fun committee. This advisory board is different in that it seeks to also improve communication, allow for leadership to hear employee feedback and build teamwork.

24 │ wahospitality.org

Another idea is to have a giant chalkboard or white board in a staff space with a question at the top like “What made your job harder today?” Leave chalk or markers available and watch responses get added over the next seven to ten days. Leadership can take the responses and consider how to make what matters most to employees a priority. It could be as simple as getting a new microwave with some real power or as big as closing the office at noon on Fridays in the summer. Hey, an employee can dream…

Train your leadership team to have regular one-on-one and group check-ins with employees. Employees would much rather hear company news and share opinions and ideas with their immediate supervisors than the CEO. And because employees see and work every day with their supervisor, they’ll be more trusting and honest with feedback.

Use New Tools to Connect Your Employees We know employees in restaurants are swapping shifts and connecting off the clock on social media, including Facebook. There are also new tools on the market built for facilitating and engaging employees in communication.

Here’s an overview.

Slack Slack is a workplace chat app that puts all team communication in one place. It features channels (chat rooms), direct group and private messaging, calls and file sharing to desktop and mobile devices. Launched in 2013, it now has a million daily users and is moving from business usage into personal use.

Unexpected Events and Safety Communication Lastly, let’s tackle that data that shows fewer than half of your employees think you do a good job of telling them what is going on in your business.

If the power goes out at your place of business overnight, how will you alert employees to not come to work the next morning? Do you have a plan for big corporate upheavals? Our hospitality businesses often go through big organizational changes like mergers, acquisitions and layoffs.

Let’s get ready with plans and template communications in place so when the unexpected happens, you can run on autopilot and keep your employees informed and engaged.

How to plan for the unexpected: Step 1: Gather leadership and forecast the future. Simply think about real scenarios affecting your employees that could play out at your business. Then, select the most likely scenarios to focus on.

Step 2: With your most likely scenarios, draft questions, answers and resolutions for each – anything that pops into your mind about operations.

Workplace Workplace by Facebook allows you to create and communicate in groups and direct messaging, and automates tasks on a platform everyone is familiar with – Facebook.

Office 365 and Microsoft Teams Microsoft focuses on private and group chat functions in the Teams platform that integrates with the file sharing and email capabilities in Office 365.

Zinc Specially designed for what it calls the “deskless workforce,” Zinc and other similar apps (Yammer, Hipchat) offer private and group messaging for employee communication.

Once you have researched and selected your new employee communication tool, be thoughtful about implementation and encouraging employee use. Make sure the innovators and the laggards all have timelines and the right encouragement for joining the conversation.

Have a rewards or praise program for your top performers?

Share the news through the new employee communication tool instead of an all-staff meeting. Put the good stuff there, and employees will use it. Duplicate communication tools you already have and it will be a waste.

Step 3: Create guidelines for what to do in the case of this scenario. Include items like phone trees and the order of which key decision makers need to be told.

Step 4: Create guidelines for what to say in the case of this scenario. Draft appropriate answers for leadership, board members and staff members. Identify who will be the messenger to these groups and how frequent communication will be.

Step 5: Plan a strategy for how the business will provide solutions during the unexpected scenario and the communication that will follow.

With some draft plans on the shelves, you and your business will be more prepared to keep employees in the loop.

Still looking for ideas to up your game in terms of employee engagement? Or have questions about the issues related to employer-sponsored texting? Members can tap into the Washington Hospitality Association Advisory Network and speak with one of our human resources experts. www.wahospitality.org/resources/ consultant-network July 2017 │ 25

New Washington Hospitality Bluebook Offers Stats You Can Use

By Lex Nepomuceno

One of the driving forces behind the Washington Hospitality Association is our commitment to helping our members and the industry succeed. One of the ways we do this is to work with government agencies and other entities to gather data critical to our business segments and workforce. Now, we are excited to present this data in the first ever Washington Hospitality Bluebook.

More than a dozen years ago, when I worked for the Association of Washington Business, we partnered with the Washington Roundtable and the Washington Research Council to create the Competitiveness Redbook. It was meant to serve as an annual guide to measure how the state’s business climate compared with other parts of the country.

Our new resource takes competitiveness benchmarks and stats to the next level by directly applying information on how the state’s business climate compares with other parts of the country and applying it directly to hospitality, the state’s largest employment sector. The Bluebook will arm our members with relevant data and will also be an effective tool when we communicate with lawmakers, members and other stakeholders.

INDUSTRY & WORKFORCE SPECIFIC Hospitality is a huge industry that includes every size of restaurant, hotel, entertainment facility, casino and attraction. Despite this great variety, hospitality businesses of all types and sizes have much in common. Our employees directly interface with the public every day, and our workforce has a direct impact on whether millions of consumers across this state feel welcome where they eat, stay and play.

MEANING BEHIND THE NUMBERS A lot of effort has been put into the Hospitality Bluebook to make sure it stands apart from other “books of stats.”

We worked to present the information in a way that reflects the creativity and ingenuity found throughout hospitality. Instead of just numbers, you will find graphical representations that show context and meaning behind the statistics.

WASHINGTON FIRST Although we often reference how our state compares with the rest of the country, that isn’t the impetus behind this publication. The Hospitality Bluebook provides data and trends that focus on helping the industry succeed.

As business owners and managers, you make hundreds of decisions every day. It is a major goal for the Hospitality Association to provide you with the information you need to successfully run your business.

The first edition of the Washington Hospitality Bluebook will have a focus towards restaurants and foodservice. We are actively working with new and potential partners to integrate lodging, tourism and entertainment into the 2018 edition. If you would like your complimentary member copy of this publication, please email us at bluebook@ wahospitality.org.

Lex Nepomuceno leads the Washington Hospitality Association’s Communications and Technology Department. He was vice president of communications for the Association of Washington Business from 2000-2006.

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NAVIGATING

CLIMATES

WASHINGTON LODGING CONVENTION

TULALIP RESORT CASINO | OCTOBER 22-24, 2017 REGISTER BY JULY 31 AND SAVE $$$ WITH THE EARLY BIRD RATE!

WAHOSPITALITY.ORG/CONVENTION ECONOMIC

CLIMATE

CONSUMER

CLIMATE

POLITICAL

CLIMATE

MARKET

CLIMATE

INDUSTRY CALENDAR July/August

NEW MEMBERS 24Taps Burgers & Brew, Spokane

La Mansion, Lacey

TRAINING

Anderson Island Café, Anderson Island

Magnolia Grill, Sedro Woolley

July 24

ServSafe® Manager, Kent

Anthes Ferments, Langley

Marina Inn, Anacortes

Aug. 8

ServSafe® Manager, Kent

Aug. 1

ServSafe® Manager, Seattle

Best Western Plus Heritage Inn Bellingham

Mbar, Seattle

Aug. 21

ServSafe® Manager, Everett

Birch Door Cafe, The, Bellingham

Mulleady’s Irish Pub, Seattle

B’s Po Boy, Seattle

Noah’s Ark, Bremerton

Commellini Estate Venue & Event Restaurant,

Ocean Beach Roasters & Bistro, Ocean

Spokane

Shores

Dairy Queen, Poulsbo

Orca Inn, Friday Harbor

Eaglemont Golf Club, Mount Vernon

Schilling Cider House, Seattle

Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Dupont

Sean Smith, Sammamish

Gyro Zone, University Place

Semiahmoo Golf Courses, Blaine

Hampton Inn & Suites Seattle/Redmond

Semiahmoo Resort, Blaine

Hilton Garden Inn – Bellevue

Smash Deli, Yelm

Homewood Suites – Issaquah

St Clouds, Seattle

Indo Asian Street Eatery, Tacoma

US Beef Corp, Tulsa, OK

MEETINGS July 13

Seattle Hotel Association Board

July 18

Finance Committee Meeting

July 18

Spokane Chapter Board Meeting

July 25

Education Foundation Board Meeting

July 25

MSC Board Meeting

July 26

Hospitality Board Meeting

Aug. 1

Executive Committee Monthly Meeting

Aug. 9

Retro Invest Workgroup

Aug. 9

Retro Trustees Meeting

Aug. 10

Seattle Hotel Association Board

Aug. 15

H.I.H.I.T. Board Meeting

Aug. 15

Spokane Chapter Membership Meeting

UPCOMING EVENTS Sept. 19

Golf FORE Education

Oct. 22

Washington Lodging Convention

NEW ALLIED MEMBER All StarZ Staffing & Consulting Debra Kerner 24437 Russell Road, Suite 200 Kent, WA 98032-1787 253.277.4000 debra@allstarzstaffing.com www.allstarzstaffing.com All StarZ Staffing is dedicated to helping employers design and implement high impact, flexible staffing solutions. We provide a broad range of high quality temp, temp to hire, and direct hire staffing services from light industrial to administrative/supervisory positions. We have a specialty in hospitality, manufacturing and food processing, industrial (warehouse/distribution/material handling), as well as call center and retail merchandising staffing. We also offer managed services, piece rate billing, cost per unit programs, and payroll only services.

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Sept. 19, 2017 SIGN UP: golf.wahospitality.org

Maximize Returns During the Harvest Season

By Rick Braa, CHAE

Q:

We’re a mostly seasonal business with more than 50 percent of our revenue earned in a four-month window. We’re earning less profit each year and I don’t want to have another year of going backward financially. What steps can we take to enjoy higher profitability?

A:

When it comes to profitability many charts look like a silhouette of Mt. Rainier, thin on the edges and massive in the middle.

of the busier seasons the store has had. It’s important for your team to feel a part of the bigger picture and have important information. While the specific numbers weren’t important to me, the cashier’s sense of readiness and willingness showed a highly engaged employee ready to give her best during the peak season and specifically on one of the busiest days of the year. Highly engaged employees produce highly profitable guest visits and provide a 300 percent premium over a non-engaged worker.

Run contests and reward with fun. As much as you would expect an employee to surprise and delight the guest during a visit, do the same thing with your crew. Set goals for each division that complement the business. If ticket times are one of the key deliverables for the kitchen or increasing guest check average is a goal for servers, communicate goals, track, post and discuss with each team member. Once goals are achieved on a consistent basis, surprise and reward with short-term incentives such as gift cards to online retailers, tickets to sporting events, concert tickets, or whatever a crew member might love.

If there was ever a time to start putting forth the best effort of the year it’s during the massive “harvest” season. To reap maximum profitability, consider the following: Set clear standards and communicate them proactively. To ensure a proper ramp up to busier shifts and to avoid unnecessary confusion and drama, review restaurant standards to ensure they meet expectations and provide an outstanding guest and employee experience.

If the team is consistently exceeding standards set them higher to raise the bar. Reiterate both speed and accuracy in everything. It doesn’t matter how fast something is done if it’s not right. Keep employees moving from the moment they arrive to create momentum throughout the shift, and inspect work frequently, always referring to clear standards.

The faster everyone moves, the quicker the restaurant can be opened and closed shaving important, costly time out of labor.

Communicate goals and share results for each day. Retail businesses reach their peak at Christmas.

Last holiday season when I was on a trip through a retailer, I asked a cashier if it was going to be a busy day.

She quoted the sales goal for the day and the expected number of customers. She went on to tell me how they were performing for the season and whether it was one 30 │ wahospitality.org

Incentivize the team for the season as a whole.

Keep everyone focused on running the restaurant well during challenging times over the long haul. Set cost of goods, hourly labor and operating cost goals and discuss expected results for the season. Study the business and find ways to improve the cost structure over the prior year regardless of inflation. Schedule labor tightly around the edges of meal periods, especially the first and last half hour of each shift, and manage diligently. Don’t take risks. When you know the business is going to be in full swing, staff up.

Engineer menus to maximize profit margin, increase speed and check average. At the end of the season, kick some of the profit back to the employees for beating expected results.

When the harvest season is in full swing, it is the time for everyone on the team to perform at a new level. Leadership must always go first with a reinvigorated attitude, a fresh approach and new techniques to improve performance first in themselves, and then with their teams. Keep focused on guest engagement, meeting and exceeding standards and communicating and rewarding results, and you’ll have the highest profitability possible.

For more information on improving profitability and driving performance, contact AMP Services at rbraa@ampservices.com.

Rick Braa is the co-founder of AMP Services, an accounting and consulting firm specializing in helping companies grow profitability.

FOR SALE P EIZER

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE, L.L.C.

Seed’s Bistro & Bar

www.seedsbistro.com (One of La Conner’s Finest Restaurants)

Craftworks Coffee Bar

www.craftworkscoffee.biz (Highly Desirable Location - Across From Seattle Center!)

Business Only LOCATION:

623 Morris St., La Conner, WA 98257

ESTABLISHED:

2004

LEASEABLE:

2,892 Square Feet

LOCATION:

110 Republican St., WA 98109 (Located in Commercial Row of EXPO Apartments)

SALES PRICE:

$98,000

Maximum Capacity: 143 (Inside: 99 + Outside: 44) Parking: 24

LEASE RATE & TERM:

Base Rent: $4,372 plus NNN Charges: $911 Lease Expires: June 30, 2019 + 1 5-Year Option to 2024

ESTABLISHED:

Opened July, 2016

Building Completed: 2012

LEASEABLE:

1,747 Square Feet

Current Seating: 54

GROSS SALES:

$1,103,092 (Actual Average for 2016, 2015, & 2104)

BUILDING SIZE:

275,345 SF (Commercial: 20,035 SF Residential: 255,310 SF)

EQUIPMENT:

$100,000 (Estimated)

ANNUAL SALES:

$180,000 (annualized)

SALES PRICE:

$395,000 (Prefers Cash – Possible Seller Financing)

CONSTRUCTION:

Improvement Build-Out: $335,000 Equip. Cost: $50,000

LEASE TERMS:

Base Rent: $4,498/mo. ($30.90/SF) + NNN’s of $1,607/mo.

4 Years Remaining with 1-5 Year Option

Hours of Operation: Seeds is one of the most popular and desirable restaurants in Skagit Valley! The uncompromising standards of the same Owners for over 14 years has created an epicurean experience for thousands of 7 Days loyal patrons and tourists alike who come from far away to enjoy its Monday to Friday: unique farm-to-table fresh menu. Seed’s honors and promotes 11:30 AM to 8:00 PM Skagit Valley featuring fresh vegetables, berries, and fruits from local farmers, free range chicken, fresh seafood from local fishing Saturday & Sunday: 11:30 AM to 9:00 PM community, natural nested eggs and grass fed beef whenever available. In short, customers are never disappointed! Enjoy Happy Hour Everyday: dining and cocktails in the shade of the oldest beech tree in 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM Washington planted in 1890. Creative Buyer can extend the evening hours as it has a large and inviting lounge that seats 47 people. Current operations include a Class ’H’ Spirits License.

Employees: Meticulous Seller has financial detail and tax returns to satisfy the most discriminating Buyer. Super cooperative Seller will train Part-Time: 16 and assist Buyer in transition to provide a smooth transfer of Full-Time: 5 ownership.

Hours of Operation: Sunday to Thursday: 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM Friday & Saturday: 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Craftwork’s Coffee is strategically located in lower Queen Anne adjacent to the Seattle Center and Space Needle!

Craftworks is one of several commercial Tenants on the street level of the Expo Apartments -- 275 units that enjoy an occupancy rate of over 95%! Current operations feature a rotating list of artisanal, single origin coffees from some of the finest coffee roasters in the Pacific Northwest. HOWEVER, Landlord is open to any other food and beverage concept including bakery, pizza, pasta or sandwiches…! Secure parking garage for 54 unreserved spots with 60 minutes of free validation and ample street parking. Adjacent Tenants include Agave Mexican Restaurant, Taylor’s Shellfish and Triumph Bar.

Please Call Mark for a Complimentary & Confidential Valuation Multiple References Available Upon Request