Placing guests at the heart of safety - Part 1

Much like the phrase, "When it rains, it pours," the antagonist Claudius in Shakespeare's Hamlet expresses in military terms how bad things usually come in groups rather than on their own.

"When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions." (Claudius, Hamlet Act IV, Scene V).

It’s no different when troubles come along either. A bit like buses - you wait ages for one and then three come along in quick succession! Read on…

When I book a hotel I look for one that provides comfort and a secure environment. In a hotel environment, safety and security are two sides of the same coin. Let’s examine this on an widely imaginary, but not totally unreal series of incidents that all occur to the Nemo (meaning: ‘Nobody’ in Latin) family, when they are picked up from the airport to arrive at the equally imaginary ‘Slovenly Hotel’ – a beach resort.

• The taxi belonging to ‘Sloppy Tours’(the hotel’s designated travel partner for guest transportation), has a rear tire burst and veers off on the road to the hotel, leaving the travel weary Nemo family shaken but fortunately no one is injured.
• As the spare tire in the taxi was not inflated, the Nemo family has to wait 35 minutes until a relief taxi arrives to take them to the hotel.
• At the hotel entrance a red carpet has been rolled out to welcome a VIP guest. One corner of the red carpet has not been laid properly and entangles with the shoe worn by Mrs. Nemo as she climbs up the steps leading to the hotel doors. She falls on the steps and cuts her knee. The doorman runs towards her to help.
• Nemo whilst rushing into the hotel to get some assistance bangs his forehead against the plate glass on the entrance doors.
• The 1^st aid box has no cotton nor bandages.
• The Receptionist assures Mrs. Nemo that the hotel doctor will attend to her within 15 minutes.
• Whilst going up in the elevator, the family gets stuck between the 4^th and 5^th They do not know what to do as they stand fearfully, in the darkness for almost three minutes before the lift starts to work again.
• When they reach the room, Mr. Nemo realises that his camera has probably been left in the taxi.
• The doctor eventually arrives 45 minutes later to attend to Mrs. Nemo.
• The following morning the family decides to check out of the Slovenly hotel and whilst making his way to the cashiers counter, Mr. Nemo slips and almost takes a fall before regaining his balance. The shine on the tiled floor hides an unattended wet area, resulting from spillage occurring during the morning mopping of the floor by housekeeping staff.

The manager of the Slovenly hotel apologises profusely and offers the Nemo family a complimentary night’s stay with food and beverage to compensate for all their troubles. Despite this, it is unlikely that the Nemo family will ever return to the Slovenly hotel. Would you?  I for one certainly wouldn’t!  So what did go wrong at this hotel of horrors? Let’s investigate:

• The hotel has outsourced its guest transport requirements to a taxi service operator. The operator does not own any cars – instead hires cars from outsiders. No one checks the cars. The taxi used to pick up the Nemos from the airport was running on ‘worn out’ tires. The spare was used to replace a previous flat tire and nothing was done to inflate/replace it.
• The housekeeping staff was negligent when laying the carpet. The doorman should have been observant and pointed it out to ensure it was properly done.
• There were no clear glass warning markers/stickers on the entrance glass doors to prevent accidental collisions that can cause harm.
• Periodic checking and re-stocking of the 1^st aid box is not done.
• The lift car emergency light malfunctioned. In the darkness, the Nemo family could not see where the emergency buzzer and the intercom were located to alert hotel staff that the lift has stopped working. (The service contract with the supplier of the lift had not been renewed).
• Hotel staff especially bellman or the doorman should have checked the taxi to ensure that all of the baggage has been taken out. Some hotels even have a procedure of recording the taxi number or video monitoring cars/taxis arriving and leaving. None of this is done at the Slovenly hotel.
• The hotel doctor was at a medical conference and was due to address the gathering as a guest speaker. Consequently, he could not leave immediately. An arrangement to have a ‘back up’ doctor-on-call for such unavoidable circumstances was not considered at all.
• In many cases, the employee will first place a warning sign to indicate the presence of a spill and then get the mop or other spill clean-up equipment. At this hotel, staff is not properly trained to respond promptly in the event of a spill. The hotel also does not have any ‘wet floor warning’ or similar cautionary sign boards for display.

Lessons learnt re-affirm that ensuring guest safety and implementing effective recovery measures are crucial for hotels in today’s world. By prioritizing the safety of their guests, hotels can create a secure and welcoming environment for everyone.

Hospitality Sri Lanka

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