Hotels
Ask about the following:
- Audible smoke detectors
- Visualalarms for people with hearing impairments
- Sprinklers in all guest rooms
- Sprinklers in hallways
- Sprinklers in public areas
- Fire extinguishers in hallways
- Automatic fire doors
- Auto link to fire station
- Auto recall elevators
- Ventilated stairwells
- Emergency maps in guest rooms/hallways
- Visible emergency information in all guest rooms
- Emergency lighting
- Safety chain or bar on door
- Door viewports (“peep holes”)
- Deadbolts on all guest room doors
- Secondary locks on guest room glass doors
- Property has AEDs (Automatic External Defibrillators), also the number and location
- Staff trained in CPR per shift: ___
- Number of full-time security staff: ___
- Security personnel are employees of the facility or contracted.
- Number of security personnel per shift – list times and number of personnel.
- Public address system
- Emergency power source and water source
- SOPs for power outages _______________________________________________
- SOPs for water outages ________________________________________________
- The communication tree among your property, local/state/federal emergency management officials, and specific evacuation plans.
- Policies and procedures governing “containment” of guests in the property for issues of bioterrorism or other disaster.
Food and Beverage
Ask about the following:
- Detail the frequency of inspection by county or city health inspectors and the results of the last three (3) inspections.
- How well is the kitchen secured and can people bring in non-sterile elements (fertilizer from newly sodded grass, cleaning solutions from housekeeping, etc.) to what should be a clean, sterile environment.
- Determine how staff (full- and part-time or temps) is trained in cross-contamination issues, and in alcohol-service safety.
Joan Eisenstodt founded Eisenstodt Associates, a Washington, D.C.,-based meetings and hospitality consulting, training and facilitation company, in 1981. She brings 35-plus years of experience to her work with corporations, associations, hotel companies and DMOs, to facilitate and design meetings, conduct training, perform departmental audits, negotiate contracts and serve as an expert witness. Active in ASAE, DMAI, MPI, PCMA and other industry and non-industry organizations, Joan's passions for life-long learning, meeting preparation, risk anticipation and contingency planning, ethical and inclusivity practices, and meeting excellence have been well-recognized by MPI, HSMAI and NSA; as an inductee into the CIC Hall of Leaders; by the PCMA Foundation for Lifetime Achievement as an Educator; and most recently, by IACC with the Mel Hosansky Award for Distinguished Service. Joan is also the moderator of www.meetingsfocusforum.com.
