10 Types of Emergency Situations Encountered in Hotels

• Bomb Threat emergency situation.
• Fire Threat emergency situation.
• Death of an In-house Guests in the hotel.
• Accident emergency situation.
• Lost and Found.
• Theft emergency situation.
• Illness and Epidemics emergency situation.
• Vandalism.
• Damage to property by the guest.
• Handling drunken guest.

Bomb Threat Emergency Situation:

In case of any call received regarding the bomb threat, the hotel should tie-up with the local police authority and follow their instructions. The person who receives the call should take complete details of the situation and should even try to note down the voice and accent of the person calling regarding a bomb threat. Immediately the hotel should inform the anti-bomb squad and should defuse the bomb after locating the place where it is planted.

Signal the colleague to also listen in the call and try to find out the location through the exchange. Listen to the caller carefully and make it prolong and get all the information carefully like the place where planted, time of explosion and strength of explosives.

If possible this call may be taped and note the back noise and try to catch information from accent and police to be informed. Immediately after disconnection, the G M and security officer has to be informed. If the location is identified the department head should be also informed People from that suspected area have to be evacuated from that particular location. After “all clear” signal from the police, the normal process of the hotel can be continued.

Fire Threat Emergency Situation:

Fire is the most common emergency situation which could break in the hotel at any point in time. The most probable reason for a fire break in the hotels can be a kitchen or faulty wirings in the hotel. The concerned staff should be immediately informed and fire brigade should be informed immediately.

Do not panic, If the hotel staff is well versed with the fire fighting equipment then immediately fire extinguisher should be used. The supply of electricity and gas should be immediately turned off whenever any news regarding fire comes to the hotel.

Death of an In-House Guest in the Hotel:

Whenever information comes regarding the death of an in-house guest the Front Office Manager should be reported directly who informs the General Manager and the Security Manager. Later on, the police authority is even told and the hotel doctor is summoned to confirm the death of the guest.

The residential address of the guests is also identified and the relatives are informed. Once the doctor has confirmed the death and the police has given the permission the dead body is removed by the help of a stretcher. In the meanwhile, if the deceased guest was under some other doctor consultation then that doctor is also enquired.

A death certificate is also prepared and a report is prepared to mention the time, room number and other details related to the deceased guest. The guest room is locked and sealed and after the permission and clearance of police the room is opened and spring cleaned and can be resold again after the approval of the local authority.

SOP for Handling Death and Medical Emergency In Hotels at the end of this page.

• The hotel emergency team members should consist of the Duty Manager, Security Manager or Supervisor, Front Office Manager, Manager on Duty and the General Manager.

• A health emergency is defined as any situation when guests or staffs well being or threats to his /her life eg: Cardiac Arrest, Respiratory Arrest, Unconscious Individual or any Conscious Person in Acute Distress.

• As the first point of contact, the Telephone operator / Guest service agent should check with the guest what problem he is facing.

• If the guest service team is being the first who received the call, inform the operator to contact Security and rush to the scene.

• Take down the caller’s name, room number or location of the scene, type of sickness or injury and inform the Front Office Manager or Duty manager immediately.

• If the guest requires hospitalization then an ambulance is to be called, or alternatively, a hotel vehicle may be offered depending upon the situation/condition of the guest.

• The hotel staffs should Stay with the guest or injured person till the arrival of the Emergency Unit.

• In case guest request to call a doctor (doctor on call) then the standard procedure should be followed.

• In case of a serious medical emergency, the Manager on Duty should act as the leader of the medical emergency team.

• The Security Manager must be immediately notified and should be present to access the situation.

• The First aid trained staff should attempt to stabilize the victim with the assistance of the Security Team / Manager while the ambulance is being called.

• A wheelchair should be placed on standby if required, and the Security Supervisor / Manager will arrange for an elevator to carry out the evacuation.

• As per the hotel policy, the ambulance will be directed to arrive either via the Employee Entrance or to the hotels emergency exit.

• All medical emergencies must be logged onto the Hotel log, Security Log and Front office daily log.

Accident Emergency Situation:

Accidents can take place in the hotels at any point of time due to faulty stairs, ramps, and balconies and even due to the parking places. The hotels should ensure that handrails, the non-slip surface should be used while framing the architecture plan for the hotels.

Lost and found:

This is a term used in hotel parlance to refer to any item which is left by the guest or temporarily misplaced by the guest but traced later by the hotel staff. Such articles to be handed over to the housekeeping department which maintained a special locker for this purpose.

If the item belongs to the guest who has already checked out, then a letter has to be sent to the forwarding address left by the guest while checkout or which is there in the registration card. If no reply is received by the hotel within a certain time limit, that may be auctioned to the hotel employees or take a decision as per the hotel policies and rules.

Theft Emergency Situation:

The front desk is having cash with them so there is also the possibility of theft. Also, there are belongings of in house guest. To discourage theft, the front office should inform the guest to deposit their valuables in the safety deposit locker.

Illness and Epidemics Emergency Situation:

There should always be a Doctor on call available for the hotel so that in case if any guest suffers from any kind of problem he /she can be given the concern treatment as soon as possible.

Vandalism:

The front office staff must call the hotel security and order the main door to be locked. If the situation gets out of the hand then the security manager should call the police immediately.

Damage to property by the resident guest:

The front office cashier is instructed to raise a charge for the value of the damages to property, a responsible guest will never argue but if he does the subject to be referred to the general manager.

Handling Drunken Guest:

A drunken guest may disturb another guest. In order to avoid this, the drunken guest should be escorted to an isolated area like a back office. Hotel staff should calmly handle the situation by following the SOP for Handling drunken guests

SOP for Handling drunken guests

• Do your best to deal with each situation without putting yourself at risk.

• Act politely.

• Always stay calm.

• Don’t argue with the intoxicated guest.

• Don’t embarrass the guest, especially in front of other people.

• Deal with the situation in a calm, friendly way.

• Speak to the person directly, and firmly explain that what they are doing is unacceptable.

• Listen and empathize with your guest.

• Acknowledge your guest’s anger or frustration, but also remind them that you are responsible for their safety and don’t want to see them get hurt.

• Invite the problem guest to an area away from other guests, where you can talk.

• Talk softly and lead him away from the public area.

• Point out that if they were sober they would agree that what they are doing is a bad idea.

• If the drunk guest is behaving rudely then the last option should be to call the security officer but try and handle the situation very calmly.

• The duty manager or the immediate supervisor should take the drunken guest away from the reception/front desk area.

• Make the guest realize that this is not the right way to talk and then acting very calmly and talking very politely with him the supervisor can escort him to his room

• The manager can also indulge the guest in some other thoughts and just keep the guest calm and as soon as possible send him back to his room.

• If the guest has come to a restaurant or bar and if you decide to ask this person to leave, remember that you are still responsible for their safety (call a cab, get someone to drive them home, or if the situation gets out of control – call the security officer or police).

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