Hotel Growth Is Not A Good Thing When It Involves Mold
August 20, 2004
James M. "Jim" Norman- Ft Lauderdale
The hospitality industry loves growth – growth in occupancy rates, ADR, RevPAR, properties under management, franchised properties and a myriad of other topics. On the other hand, if the growth in question is mold, there is a problem which, if you will pardon the pun, is a growing one.
While everyone agrees that mold has always existed, whether or not mold or mildew, which are part of the major plant group Fungi, can cause illness has always been a subject of great debate. Some translations of the Bible have a passage in which God tells Moses and Aaron how to decontaminate a house in which mold or mildew has appeared, while other translations interchange mildew with skin disease or leprosy. Some have even alleged that the famous curse of King Tut’s Tomb was really a release of mold spores, resulting in the sudden deaths among the archaeologists who were present at the opening of the tomb.
Whether the subject is King Tut’s Tomb, a home in Texas, or a guestroom in your hotel, mold is an issue for owners, operators and guests. One of the hallmarks of the contemporary business world is that uncertainty, lack of standards and the absence of empirical, scientific evidence are no impediment to litigation. In the case of mold, there are no scientific and/or regulatory standards regarding safe levels of exposure to mold in the workplace or hotel environments. If no one can say what is or is not a safe or unsafe level of mold in a hotel, how can anyone say that a guest’s or employee’s illness was or was not caused by a exposure to a particular kind of mold?
Molds and mildew are everywhere – indoors and out. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that there are as many as 300,000 or more discreet species of mold, all of which play a role in the earth’s ecology by decomposing organic matter. Molds survive and propagate in humid, damp conditions, from the average hotel bathroom to air conditioning and duct work. Molds live in the soil, on plants and on dead or decaying matter, and on indoor organic material such as dust, wood, ceiling tiles, gypsum board and hotel soft goods. Molds, unlike plants, lack chlorophyll and must survive by digesting plant materials, using plant and other organic materials for food. Without molds, our environment would be overwhelmed with large amounts of dead plant matter.
Mold, of course, does provide benefits to us. It is used in baking bread, fermenting alcohol, producing cheese and manufacturing medicines, such as penicillin. The problem is that it can be severely detrimental, particularly when it causes allergic reactions and hypersensitivity reactions in people.
Molds produce tiny spores to reproduce, just as some plants produce seeds. When mold spores land on a damp spot, they may begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive. Three things are needed for this process: (1) a food source; (2) a temperature range of 40º to 100º Fahrenheit; and (3) water. The microscopic spores are spread by air movement, people and animals. It is physically impossible for a hotel or other commercial building to be free of these spores. Mold and mildew can live on practically anything. Therefore, the focus has to be on prevention. The key to that prevention is the control of water, both liquid water and water vapor, in the form of high humidity.
Moisture can enter a hotel through several ways: outside air infiltration, water diffusing through the building envelope, moisture in construction materials, leaks into the building and water damage from burst pipes, fire extinguishment and roof leaks. Of these, the most complicated to control are the humidity problems which arise from the intrusion of humid outside air diffusing through the hotel building envelope.
Certain climates, including those found in Hawaii, California, Texas, Florida and the Caribbean, create particularly conducive environments for mold growth. Mold growth can be found on drywall, acoustical ceiling tile, carpets, upholstered furniture and wall coverings. Some obvious signs of mold contamination are musty, earthy odors; peeling of wall coverings or paint; pink or purple areas on wallpaper; and blistering of plaster walls.
Mold problems are not limited to older hotel buildings. The sources of moisture necessary for mold growth can include improper “drying in” during construction, or the improper design, construction or maintenance of the building envelope, the HVAC system, or both. The primary sources of moisture for mold growth typically include the following:
- stagnant water and slime found in drain pans of fan coil units and other elements of the HVAC system
- water spray components of HVAC systems
- excess relative humidity within the building or HVAC system
- flooding or excessive fluid leaks within the building
- flooded carpeting
- permeable materials, such as acoustic ductwork within the HVAC system
- external microbial contaminants drawn into the hotel as a result of improperly located air supply intakes
- other external water leak sources such as roof leaks
The bottom line is that mold will not grow without water either in the form of liquid or high humidity. If you stop the water, you will stop the mold growth. If you do find mold, you have found a water problem. Since water has a way of finding every crack, hole or penetration in a building, and can flow up, down and sideways, the problem is, indeed, a significant one. First and foremost, prevention of water intrusion should be a key part of building design and construction. Selection of building materials, HVAC and packaged terminal air conditioning unit sizing and control, the relationship and interface between building penetrations (doors and windows particularly) and the building envelope, flashing, grading, irrigation and landscaping are all important.
During construction or renovation, every effort should be made to keep materials in the building dry. Construction materials should be received dry and protected from moisture before and during construction. The building itself may need to be protected until drying. If any material gets wet, it should be dried or replaced. Because of the likelihood of claims, it is critically important to document every step taken in this respect.
Maintenance is also a key ingredient in mold prevention. Routine housekeeping, vacuuming, dusting and bathroom cleaning are standard in the hospitality industry and should be vigorously pursued, but other aspects of the building must also be regularly maintained. The HVAC system should be regularly checked for leaks, proper cooling and dehumidification, proper drainage of drain pans, and cleanliness of pans and coils. Caulking around windows, doors and all other building envelope penetrations should be regularly inspected and repaired. Exterior painting should be maintained and cracks repaired immediately to maintain the integrity of the building envelope.
Since mold begins to grow within 24 to 48 hours after exposure to a water source, it is critical to find and fix the source of that water before trying to remediate any mold, otherwise the mold will simply return. There are some guidelines for remediation, such as those provided by the Environmental Protection Agency and the New York City Department of Health. It is important that hotel owners and operators have procedures in place to effectively manage this process.
Mold can create a significant cost impact on a hotel. Hilton wound up destroying every piece of furniture, carpeting and wall covering in all of its 453 guestrooms at the Kalia Tower at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in July, 2002. That, in turn, lead to a lawsuit claiming $55 million in mold remediation and business interruption costs against 18 contractors, architects, engineers, inspection companies, and product suppliers and manufacturers. Construction defect litigation is only one type of lawsuit that mold can generate. The other is personal injury based on allergic and hypersensitivity reactions to the presence of mold. These claims may be brought by employees, whose exposure may be over a relatively long period of time, as well as guests, who may only have spent a relatively short time in their room or within the hotel building envelope, but nonetheless, suffer from a significant, if difficult to prove, reaction to the presence of mold.
Mold claims and litigation have also impacted insurance costs and availability. As the result of a rapid growth of claims, both in terms of personal injury claims as well as construction defect and property damage claims, insurance policies may do the following: exclude claims based on mold; require the purchase of special coverage for mold; or have damage limitation formulas which effectively create a special deductible or self-insurance situation. Examination of mold coverage is an important task that should be covered by your risk management department or insurance consultant.
While there are no perfect solutions to the problem of mold, careful inspection and maintenance of existing properties, good design and construction of new properties, renovation and expansion of existing properties, and a careful insurance review can make this a manageable problem. Absent these precautions, the hotel that is closed for mold remediation may be your own.
For more information, e-mail Gregory J. Johansen (Indoor Air Quality Team Leader and member of the Construction Industry Practice Group), or Jim Norman (Co-Chair, Global Hospitality and Resorts Group) at
gregory.johansen@hklaw.com or
jim.norman@hklaw.com, respectively, or call toll free, 1-888-688-8500.
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