HEIGHTENED HOSPITALITY
By Emily M. Harwood
It is no surprise that recent terrorist attacks and continued threats of
violence have wounded the travel and tourism industries. Fear is now playing a
large part in the loss of public confidence and has created an economic pinch
in the tourism industry as security concerns become more widespread.
Though not directly linked to the Sept. 11 events, there is fear that potential
future targets might include sporting events, theaters, theme parks and related
venues such as hotels.
Indeed, the hotel industry has been hit especially hard as evidenced by a
statement by Thomas J. Corcoran Jr., president and CEO of FelCor Lodging Trust
Inc., the nation's second-largest hotel real estate investment trust. “After
the tragic events on Sept. 11, 2001, we experienced an occupancy low on Sept.
16, similar to most hotel companies. Since that time, hotel occupancies have
begun to rebound on a daily basis and trends continue to be encouraging.
Occupancy improved by 6 percentage points from 48 percent in the third week in
September to 54 percent in the last week in September with the occupancy high
of 62 percent on Saturday, Sept. 29.”
FelCor is the owner of the largest number of Embassy Suites, Crowne Plaza,
Holiday Inn and independently-owned Doubletree hotels.
What is the
hotel industry doing to counter the effects of this recent downturn?
In addition to traditional physical security measures such as access control and
surveillance systems, hotels are adding security in the form of guards,
disaster-management training and
background screenings of employees.
The good news first: Most hotels seem to have been admirably on top of security
demands well before Sept. 11. Although heightened security around the nation
has become an unfortunate reality, the appearance of guards outside The
Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo., is unrelated to last month's
attacks. “The timing is just coincidental, really,” says Steve Bartolin, The
Broadmoor's president and CEO. He adds, the hotel planned months ago to add
security because of a rash of vandalism and thefts at the hotel.
For years, the resort allowed visitors to come and go as freely as guests. But
after the hotel's movie theater screen was vandalized and guest corridor light
fixtures were broken, among other incidents, Bartolin said things had to
change. Now, guards known as “greeters” provide an extra measure of security.
The guards welcome visitors and guests, ask if they need assistance and direct
them to the correct buildings, Bartolin says. Motorists receive visitor passes
for their vehicles.
With emergency planning and disaster recovery at the forefront of everyone's
mind, many property and facility managers, as well as hotel owners, are
re-evaluating their disaster plans to make sure they are up-to-date and that
communication with tenants is clear and effective. A tenant's knowledge of how
to react during an emergency, and management's responsibility to coordinate
those efforts, are essential.
“We have always been concerned with providing good security,” says Ann Layton,
vice president of public affairs for Fairmont Hotels. “All of our hotels have
security teams in place and all are currently working with local law
enforcement to determine whether any additional measures should be taken.”
Fairmont Hotels recently finished a year-long crisis training program this
summer at each of its hotels, in addition to normal security procedures.
Headquartered in Toronto, Fairmont is the largest luxury hotel management
company in North America.
Another leading operator of luxury hotels and resorts, Four Seasons, currently
manages 50 properties in 22 countries, primarily under the Four Seasons and
Regent brands. “There's no question that the safety and security of our guests
is always of primary importance to us,” says Elizabeth Pizzinato, director of
corporate public relations. “We have always had well-trained security staff in
place at all of our hotels, and this has not changed. While we are giving
heightened attention to security, we do feel that all appropriate security
measures are already in place.”
Sunstone Hotel Properties Inc. employs approximately 5,600 associates to operate
57 properties and a portfolio of 11,200 rooms in 10 states in the western and
mid-western U.S. The properties are mid-priced to luxury hotels including
Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn, Embassy Suites and
Hawthorn Suites. Sunstone has given serious consideration to issues involving
hotel security and has recently put emphasis on background screening as an
integral part of its security strategy.
Sunstone sought a vendor with which it could collaborate to achieve the
objectives.
InfoLink Screening Services Inc., headquartered in Chatsworth, Calif.,
met Sunstone's criteria.
InfoLink is a nationwide provider of background screening,
drug and alcohol testing programs and products, drug awareness training
for employers, behavioral assessments and
employment physicals. InfoLink developed
The HIRE Program to provide the latest online technology, allowing
clients to request background searches, view reports in progress, view
completed reports, print reports and store reports online via InfoLink's secure
Web site.
Within Sunstone, the initiative and responsibility for implementing an expanded
screening program fell upon two individuals: Barbara Cook, senior
vice-president of human resources, and Nida Palpallatoc, human resources
manager.
“It's no secret that turnover is a challenge to our industry,” Cook says. “We
felt that an expanded program of background screening would reduce turnover by
deterring some applicants, while at the same time assisting our efforts to
attract and retain ‘A’ players. We also felt that improving our security would
provide added benefit to guests and employees. A more secure environment could
also be expected to enhance Sunstone's appeal as a magnet employer.”
Results of the new program have been impressive. In 2000, the company's
properties had experienced turnover rates above the industry average. With the
program in place, turnover has dramatically decreased in 2001. The company is
now targeting a turnover rate significantly below industry average.
Many firms are feeling economic pain as recent events make them reluctant to
increase expenses for added safeguards. For these, the solution may be a
government subsidy or tax credit to “prime the pump.”
“These types of incentives have already been used to promote the hiring of
disadvantaged workers meeting specific criteria,” says
Barry J. Nadell, president and CEO of InfoLink. “The time may now have
come to apply this principle in the post-terrorist economy and offset the
additional costs of security many industries are facing.”
“The point is that new threats require a new assessment,” he continues. “For
some industries, security has always been viewed as a necessary expense — like
airlines that check and re-check their flight crews. Other industries are just
reaching this conclusion. For instance, high-rise office buildings should be
checking the backgrounds not only of their security personnel, but also
cleaning crews and parking attendants. The day may even come when we will be
checking on hot dog vendors with carts.”
© 2003, PRIMEDIA Business Magazines & Media Inc. All rights reserved.
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