One year ago, tragedy struck an east Texas town. Not only did our community lose a loving mother, daughter, and sister, but the nation also lost trust in a system it relies on in life-threatening circumstances.
Last December, Kari Rene Hunt Dunn was murdered by her estranged husband in a hotel room in Marshall, Texas. Kari’s 9-year-old daughter, while witnessing the unthinkable, did exactly what we train our children to do in an emergency—dial 911. However, in this case, the daughter could not get through to the authorities because she failed to dial 9 to get an outside line.
After Kari’s death, I received an outpouring of comments from constituents and other Americans across the country expressing concern over this issue. It was clear that our 911 system failed at a time of crisis. Every day, scores of people may encounter an emergency, and they don’t want to get a busy signal when they dial 911.
To that end, over the last year, I have been working on this issue with other members of Congress, federal and state regulators, and industry stakeholders.
It was surprising to learn that a solution to this problem is not only available but, in many respects, easily attainable.
We have learned that more recently constructed Multi-line Telephone System (MLTS) products can be easily configured or reconfigured so callers can directly reach emergency personnel when dialing 911 without having to use an access code. These changes can be made at a minimal cost, and, in fact, some MLTS vendors have offered to upgrade or tune-up existing MLTS phone systems for free.
Additionally, and to its credit, AH&LA has been responsive to my expressed concerns and worked aggressively with its members across the country to rapidly ensure that systems are in place for guests to directly dial 911 from guestrooms in the event of an emergency. In the last year, properties all over the country have taken immediate steps to upgrade or replace their existing phone systems.
To date, 10 of AH&LA’s largest hotel member chains have activated 911 direct dial access at nearly all of their owned and managed properties, with the remainder expected to complete the process very soon. Further, more than half of these chains have updated, or are in the process of updating, brand standards to ensure franchisees upgrade their phone systems as well. Led by AH&LA, all of these chains, as well as the broader hotel industry, also have worked hard to educate franchisees and their properties on the need to make the switch as quickly as possible.
While the improvements in direct 911 dialing capabilities within the hotel industry are significant, there is still work to be done. These 10 chains represent 40 percent of lodging properties in the United States, but independently owned and operated properties as well as other member and non-member chains remain.
This means that a sizeable segment of the industry in the country still may not be in compliance, and hotel guests could be at risk of not having direct 911 dialing capabilities from their guestrooms. Even one more child experiencing the horror of not getting help during a true emergency is unacceptable. The question then becomes, do those non-compliant hotels want to wait until they are sued after a tragedy, pay millions for a judgment, and then upgrade; would they want a legislative mandate that forces them to upgrade; or, perhaps, would they prefer to simply upgrade, potentially save lives, and rest easier while their guests do too?
The progress made to date has been accomplished without a federal mandate. A solution must be found, but hopefully it is not one that forces small hotels or businesses to fire someone so they can pay for an entirely new phone system.
The commitment to continuing education for general managers, owners, and independent properties and operators regarding the urgency to implement direct dial 911 by AH&LA leaves me optimistic that the entire hotel industry will continue to heed the calls, so to speak, for full compliance in all hotel rooms.
However, improvements to our nation’s 911 systems don’t stop at motels and hotels. Other businesses and schools also use MLTS systems. Ensuring that employees and students, just like customers in a hotel, can direct dial 911 is a necessity.
The tragic loss of Kari Dunn and the pain her children suffered serves as a constant reminder that this important issue must be addressed. While the progress made since that tragic day will not change the loss of Kari and the horror for her daughter, the goal is to ensure that her loss results in an ultimate good for others so they may never have to experience similar horrors.
Louie Gohmert is a Republican U.S. Representative from Texas’ First Congressional District.
I think each situation needs to be evaluated. What your are saying is fine for a little motel or even a small hotel. But think about a major resort spread over several acres.
I am Direstor of Security of a large Hotel/Casino resort with 1800 rooms on 29 floors, 50,000 sq. convention space, 12 restauranmts, 12 retail stores, spa salon, Marina and casino. I also have a staff of over 125 security people all trained as first responders AED/CPR and cameras everywhere. I met with our local 911 commission and it was decided that it would be much more efficient to have our 911 calls ringing into our dispatch rather than ringing to the local 911 communication center. We can immediately tell where the call came from in the resort, our response to the scene is usually with in one minute whichg is much faster than the police, fire or paramedics. We know our bulding. We call Emergency Services once we get on scene and evaluate the situation. Once Emergency services arrives, we need to guide the emergency responders to the location of the call since they don’t know where the situation is happening on property. If 911 bypasses us aqnd goes directly to the 911 for the city, we would be waiting for police or fire department to respond, try to find out where the call came from in the building and then take them to the location. This would take forever.