Talk to anyone who has worked in the hotel industry for any length of time, and chances are you can uncover a story or two involving a surprise guest surge. For Robert Holmes, one of his most poignant experiences occurred less than two hours into his first morning manning the front desk at the Park Hyatt Washington D.C. in Georgetown on Sept. 11, 2001.
“I was standing at my desk, and I saw all of these people coming in,” Holmes remembers. “I turned to my staff and said, ‘We’re going to get through this.’” Prompted by a bomb threat, the hotel across the street evacuated its guests to the lobby of the Park Hyatt. With flights suspended and the local community on high alert because of the attack on the Pentagon two miles away, visitors were seeking both rooms and solace. Guests who had anticipated checking out suddenly had nowhere to go, while newcomers needed a place to stay.
“It was one of those situations where you have to remain calm, take it one step at a time, and provide direction,” Holmes says. “Never show panic.” He ended up staying until 11 that night; an Army tank was parked out front when he finally left.
Making it through that taught him that he could make it through anything. He’s now general manager of the Iroquois New York hotel in Midtown Manhattan, and his experiences include Hurricane Sandy, a Super Bowl, and a two-day blackout. Proper planning, he and other property operators say, is the key to handling a guest surge successfully. Whether the demand for rooms is anticipated because of a big game or convention or comes with little notice because of weather, hotel staff should have some type of backup plan. Even in cases where the unexpected happens, a plan provides staff with the necessary framework for adaptation and action to serve an influx of room-seeking customers effectively.
“Now I have a standard operating procedure checklist for everything,” Holmes says. “When guests check into the hotel regardless of the time of the year or what natural disaster may occur, they entrust us 100 percent with their safety.”
Consequently, when a widespread power outage hit the northeastern United States in 2003, Holmes—then general manager at the Hotel Wales in New York City—had procedures in place to check in wandering passersby seeking rooms (trains and planes were grounded) and to keep them safe while on-site. A stockpile of flashlights helped guests move about the building, and every 15 minutes a manager patrolled the hallways to see if any residents needed medical care.
Thankfully, though, the majority of guest surges caused by unplanned events offer at least some notice and time to prepare. “Typically, if there is going to be a storm or hurricane, you get a reasonable amount of advance warning,” says Craig Campbell, director of sales and marketing, InterContinental Cleveland Hotel. “But even with that advance warning, you have to be able to react quickly, assemble teams, and put people in place as soon as possible.”
That’s what Priti Patel, owner of the Super 8 in Kennesaw, Ga., did when Atlanta was hit with a snow and ice storm last January that left roads impassable and the city paralyzed. After she had filled all 46 of the property’s rooms with guests, she provided hot coffee and a comfortable lobby for displaced travelers to rest in while she contacted competitors and local churches-turned-shelters to find them lodging for the night.
She also fell back on her tornado evacuation plan, a standard two-to-three-day supply of food and beverages, and her general know-how of what it takes to run a property to get through the chaos. When the online reservation and billing system began to malfunction, for instance, she shut it down and went manual for the next four days. She stayed on the job for two days straight. “I just thought, if it were me and my son, what would I want? I would want a safe, secure place with heat and food,” she says. “My brain just went into that mode.”
This can-do approach makes Patel a strong believer in cross-training employees. Front-desk staff should know how to clean a room, housekeeping should be able to operate reception, and everyone should be aware of the locations of fire extinguishers and energy sources.
While emergencies may force some on-the-fly thinking, citywide festivals, high-profile conventions, and major sporting events offer the luxury of time to fully prepare. Hotels make good use of those months—years, in some cases—addressing the situation from multiple angles, says Javier Rosenberg, COO, Americas, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group. If the event involves public figures, security is enhanced to keep celebrities separate from fans. If traffic will be heavy, alternate travel routes are identified and schedules adapted to reach destinations on time.
In preparation for Cleveland hosting the Republican National Convention in summer 2016, the InterContinental Cleveland Hotel will upgrade all its guestrooms, suites, and meeting and event spaces, Campbell says. “The hotel will be completely renovated and ready to go with a fresh new image and look by the time the convention rolls in.”
In 2012, the event drew some 50,000 visitors to Tampa, Fla. Campbell already spoke with colleagues at the InterContinental hotel there to learn what went well, what didn’t, and what advice they can offer him. All in all, he’s expecting a busy week. “For that size of an event, I don’t think there’s any question that most of the hotels in the major metropolitan area will sell out,” Campbell says. “We certainly expect to.”
CONNECT THE DOTS
Hotels need to take a big-picture view when it comes to a guest surge (planned or otherwise). Here are some additional tips to work through the jump in business.
1. PLAN AHEAD
With increased room demand, additional housekeeping, food prep, and front-desk staff might be necessary. Supplies, such as extra food, beverages, linens, and toiletries, may need to be ordered. Craig Campbell, of InterContinental Cleveland Hotel, advises that energy sources, including emergency generators, flashlight supplies, and batteries, should be checked, too.
2. ASSIGN DUTIES
Managers must understand their specific roles and responsibilities so operations can continue seamlessly in the event things get hectic. “Your general manager might be directing colleagues and staff, your chief engineer is making sure the building is safe, and your director of sales and marketing is handling media inquires,” Campbell explains. “It’s a matter of everybody having an assigned duty, knowing what the responsibilities are, and being able to carry them out.”
3. BE CLEAR
Clear communication with staff is essential, as are straightforward answers for guests. “Don’t overpromise and under deliver,” he says. “Don’t tell guests their room will be ready in 30 minutes if there’s no way that’s going to happen. People appreciate honesty.”
