With treacherous whether hitting the Southern U.S. hard, travelers and residents in the Atlanta metro area are taking extra precautions to deal with nature’s latest blow. An ice storm that hit two weeks ago crippled the city and caused a major interstate traffic jam.
This time around, area hotels are more prepared for an influx of both local residents and stranded guests. According to this article from Bloomberg Businessweek, the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Buckhead, an Atlanta suburb, has become a refuge for many hoping to ride out the severe weather.
General Manager Erwin Schinnerl told Bloomberg that the hotel was nearly at capacity on the night of Feb. 11. He even took to calling guests with reservations to make sure they were keeping reservations, since he expected an influx of more guests. Schinnerl, who experienced the major ice storm of 2000, learned from past experiences a better way to serve guests using the hotel in emergency situations.
The Ritz is planning movies and games to keep kids occupied, and also made preparations to get staff members into work—putting some employees up in hotel rooms. The hotel plans to run business as usual through this latest storm.
For more info on how the Ritz-Carlton in Buckhead is weathering the storm, visit Bloomberg.
