RCS Daily Dish

FRLA and Miller’s Ale House Giveaway

RCS Daily Dish — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 19:39:26 +0000

The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA) and Miller’s Ale House are co-sponsoring a promotion, offering a fabulous 3 day/ 2 night getaway to the beautiful beaches in the Florida Panhandle. In order to be eligible, participants must currently be or become a member of Miller’s Ale House Raving Fans Club. The Florida Beach Getaway special runs from 6/11/10 to 7/30/10. Eight lucky winners will be chosen, one winner each week. Participants must be 21 or older and a resident of Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York or Pennsylvania. Interested parties can log on to Miller Ale House’s website: www. Millersalehouse.com or FRLA’s website: www.frla.org.

“Need-to-Know” about Passport ID Cards

RCS Daily Dish — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:58:52 +0000

Many clients have inquired about the relatively new Passport ID cards. The question has been whether they comply with the Florida Responsible Vendor Act as an acceptable form of proof of age. Traditionally, participants in the program have been limited to four types of IDs for this purpose: A Driver’s License, State ID, U.S. Armed Services ID, or Passport. RCS recently requested a ruling from the Director of the AB&T as to the acceptability of the Passport ID now being issued by many countries.

The Director’s response was that, after reviewing the matter, he has determined that Passport ID cards will be considered acceptable forms of ID as relates to compliance with the Act.

For more information regarding the Passport ID cards, please follow the link below. As always, feel free to contact the RCS offices at 800 537-9863 with any questions.

Link: http://travel.state.gov/pdf/ppt_pptCard.pdf

URGENT: News Release from American Hotel & Lodging Association

RCS Daily Dish — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 13:19:16 +0000

Lodging Industry Targeted By Dept. of Labor

Urge Your Members of Congress to Demand End to Assault

Washington, D.C., June 21, 2010 – The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) has learned that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is planning an initiative that specifically targets every hotel, motel and resort in the United States for audits by the department’s Wage and Hour Division.

Without contacting AH&LA or providing any justification, DOL has labeled the lodging industry as a “high-risk industry” where violations of federal wage and hour laws are most likely to occur. The department has chosen to consider employees in the lodging industry as “the most vulnerable workers” in the country. As a result, you will be subject to a DOL audit, covering all of your employees.

Despite the lack of contact by DOL, AH&LA learned of the department’s plans and is currently seeking more information from DOL on why the actions are being taken and attempting to further inform the department about the true nature of our industry and its practices.

We need you to contact your members of Congress today. They need to hear from as many hoteliers as possible that these actions by the Department of Labor are not justified and that they need to contact the department on your behalf to insist that they be stopped.

It only takes two minutes to make a difference.

Hoteliers can contact their House and Senate lawmakers by taking action through AH&LA’s hotelLOBBY grassroots Website. You can quickly send your legislators a short message stating your strong opposition to DOL’s actions and asking them to help.

The hotelLOBBY Website also gives you additional tools and ideas to become involved in this important fight. Contacting your Senators can be the first step. Other ideas include writing a letter-to-the-editor for your local newspaper, or personally meeting with your lawmakers when they are back in your state.

Please note that the hotelLOBBY Website is for AH&LA members only. While we welcome the assistance of as many people as possible, individuals must have their own personal AH&LA ID number to log into the hotelLOBBY grassroots site. If you know someone who would like to take action who does not have a AH&LA ID number, please have them contact AH&LA’s Jon Simons at (202) 289-3125 or jsimons@ahla.com.

Meal Requirement for SRX Licenses

RCS Daily Dish — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:57:04 +0000

Often, many restaurateurs ask, what do I have to do to qualify to obtain an SRX license for my restaurant? Well, we have your answer. Listed below are the requirements to have the three special letters for your special restaurant license:

Beer, Wine, and Liquor consumption on premises in connection with a restaurant occupying anywhere from 250-5000 square feet of floor space. The guidelines are determined by local ordinance, so please check your county for specific square foot requirements.
Accommodations for the service and seating of 150 or more patrons at tables at one time.
Also, at least 51 percent of total gross revenues must come from retail sale on the licensed premises of food and non- alcoholic Beverages.
Full course meals must be available at all times when the restaurant is serving alcoholic beverages, consisting of the following:

1. Salad or vegetable;

2. Entree;

3. Beverage; and

4. Bread.

Need assistance obtainnig an SRX license? Don’t hesitate to contact FRLA/RCS today for details: 800-537-9863.

Source: http://www.flsenate.gov/statutes/561.20

FRLA Launches New Website

RCS Daily Dish — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:48:10 +0000

Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association (FRLA) has launched their newly improved website to provide the latest and greatest on:

Joining FRLA
Savings on Member-to-Member deals
Updates on the Gulf Coast Oil Spill
Deals and discounts on hotels across the state
Details on food safety and food manager certification
Industry events
Current events in our industry

Please visit us at: www.frla.org *for a sneak peek.

*Some sections of the website are still under construction. Please be patient, as we are currently working on revising/editing content.

Governer signs S.B. 366

RCS Daily Dish — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 20:33:50 +0000

Effective July 1, 2010 the retail sale of certain smoking devices (pipes, bongs, tubes) is prohibited under provisional circumstances. This will affect many smoking speciality shops and convenient stores that currently sell these products. Employees of such places should be aware that the criminal charge is a 1st degree misdemeanor, if discovered selling prohibited smoking devices. The specified criteria is listed on the bill.

Please feel free to contact our office if you have any additional questions regarding S.B. 366.

Foursquare, Not Just a Playground Game Anymore

RCS Daily Dish — Tue, 25 May 2010 21:12:43 +0000

The realm of social media is taking over, first Myspace, then Facebook and following that, Twitter. Now Foursquare looks to be next on the scene. It has created, yet another, change in social media. Foursquare is a site where consumers can share information (tips, tools, comments) and check-in at a particular location. Consumers can earn different badges such as “adventurer” “newbie” “explorer” and eventually work their way up to the highly coveted “Mayor” of said establishment. Although, Foursquare is recent in the social media world, the operations are very similar to Twitter, so if you’re a “tweet” expert, this will be no problem for you. Foursquare is great for hoteliers and restaurateurs, as their consumers spread juicy tidbits about the lowest room rates and the best appetizers on the menu.

Now we want to ask, are you playing Foursquare? For more information, please visit:

http://foursquare.com/businesses/

May is National Hamburger Month

RCS Daily Dish — Thu, 20 May 2010 20:22:36 +0000

Foodies everywhere are excited and amped for this mouthwatering month of May. National Hamburger Month is in full swing and Floridians are ready to celebrate. One valued RCS/FRLA client, Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville, is happy to provide a special promotion “Meat Us at Margaritaville” in honor of America’s favorite sandwich. RCS/FRLA is glad to have involved clients that are offering delicious deals to consumers. Florida has three Margaritaville locations: Key West, Orlando, Panama City Beach. To learn more about the history of “National Hamburger Month” visit: http://www.gone-ta-pott.com/national_hamburger_month.html

Additonal Source: CNBC

Florida House Bill 33- Signed

RCS Daily Dish — Thu, 13 May 2010 21:04:53 +0000

HB 33 was signed by the Governor Christ ,May 12, 2010. The bill and the staff analysis are attached.

CS/HB 33 – Selling, Giving, or Serving Alcoholic Beverages to Persons Under 21 Years of Age

GENERAL BILL by Public Safety & Domestic Security Policy Committee and Randolph (CO-SPONSORS) Fetterman; Heller; Plakon; Rouson

Selling, Giving, or Serving Alcoholic Beverages to Persons Under 21 Years of Age: Increases penalty imposed for second or subsequent offense of selling, giving, or serving alcoholic beverages to person under 21 years of age within specified period following prior offense; provides defense.

Effective Date: July 1, 2010

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/SEctions/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=42154&SessionIndex=-1&SessionId=64&BillText=&BillNumber=33&BillSponsorIndex=0&BillListIndex=0&BillStatuteText=&BillTypeIndex=0&BillReferredIndex=0&HouseChamber=H&BillSearchIndex=0

Please contact our office at: 800-537-9863 with any questions you may have regarding this bill.

Food Allergy Awareness Week

RCS Daily Dish — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:46:44 +0000

May 9-15 is designated Food Allergy Awareness Week. This week is dedicated to educating everyone on food allergens and and emphasize food allergy as a serious medical condition that affects many consumers around the country. Some common food allergens are: wheat, fish, shellfish, peanuts, soy, eggs, milk, and dairy, to name a few. If you want to get involved with spreading the word about Food Allergy Awareness visit: http://www.foodallergy.org/section/food-allergy-awareness-week1 for more information.

Sources: The Food & Allergy Anaphylaxis Network, SafeStaff Manager Review Guide 5th Edition