The National Electrical Code (NEC) issued an update in 2017 requiring all new and renovated hotel guest rooms and suites to have tamper-resistant receptacles (TRRs) placed on all outlets. TRRs are designed to prevent electrical hazards, particularly for young children who tend to stick things into outlets. This most recent update by the NEC expands its requirement of TRRs from homes to other types of new and renovated properties, among them hotels and motels.
Even if plastic caps cover the outlets, they aren’t enough to prevent electrical hazards among children. Temple University found that 100% of all two- to four-year-old kids were able to remove one type of plastic outlet cap within 10 seconds. Typical claims among children include burns or shocks from a jolt of electricity.
A TRR looks like a normal electrical outlet but contains safety shutters that block foreign objects from being inserted into the receptacle. The shutters remain closed if an object is inserted into one side of the receptacle. The shutters open only when a two-bladed or grounded plug is inserted.
For more information about the NEC and making sure your hotel clients are in compliance with its last code in addition to taking measures to mitigate potential liability claims, please access our info sheet on “Preventing Electrical Hazards: Child-Proofing Hotel Guest Rooms.” We recommend you also share the info sheet with your insureds.
Distinguished Programs provides high-limit Umbrella insurance to luxury full-service hotels and resorts, limited-service hotels, franchised and non-franchised hotels, boutique hotels, and hotel casinos.
Source: Electrical Safety Foundation International
