Page 15 - ATA

locAl Monday 6 noveMber 2017
A17

Hotel Hustle

Column by: ShanellaPantophlet

This is not a drill!

A week ago, we had a group of students tour our facility. During the intro-
ductions to our security/loss prevention team, the question of emergency
and evacuation plans came up. It was an unexpected but great question to
have, especially since the security manager who wrote the plan and knows
it like the back of her hand wasn’t on hand to answer it, but one of the other
security guards on duty. He was able to answer the question and provide the
location of our emergency supplies without fail, which not only reassured the
kids, but me as well.

It isn’t something that people want to think about when going on vacation,
but, realistically, I believe that staying in a hotel comes with a sense of as-
sured safety. In the back of your mind, you expect that should a situation
arise, hotel staff are aware of what steps need to be taken to ensure every-
one’s safety.

Our goal while you are on vacation is not only to make sure you enjoy your stay, but also that you’re safe. Over the last two years I’ve been
to so many trainings, certifications, and meetings on safety, evacuation, and emergency management that it feels almost second nature. It
certainly did come in handy last week during our tour with the kids, when we had a minor emergency and accidentally set fire to a table cloth.
My colleagues jumped into action to douse the small fire; even the tablecloth survived mostly intact. Although, I don’t think the housekeeping
staff was very impressed with our antics.

All joking aside, in a year where we have experienced a massive Zika outbreak throughout the region and extreme weather conditions, which
caused powerfully devastating hurricanes on other Islands, emergency response plans and their efficacy can be the difference between life
and death.
Even if we cannot prepare for every eventuality, we try to ensure we are ready for both the common things such as fires, floods, and medical
emergencies and the less common such as hurricanes and earthquakes.

Every resort is different, and those who take safety seriously work hard to get a plan that is specifically tailored not only to their facility, but to
the types of guests they host. It’s easy to have a prepackaged plan sitting on a shelf in the back corner, but if nobody knows the contents or
practices the steps laid out and asks important questions, it is the same as having no plan at all. One of the most important things that came out
of all our trainings and meetings is: “How can we safely evacuate guests who may be disabled or require extra assistance?” That one question
sparked a debate and a great amount of research amongst the emergency response team to come up with a solution.

The goal is to consider the demographics of our guests and make sure we can handle every eventuality, so they do not have to worry about
their safety while on vacation.
Training drills make everyone more personally responsible and capable of handling situations as if it was muscle memory at work.q

Aruban born and bred Shanella Pantophlet is passionate
about tourism. That is the world she studied and works in, so
we might as well call her a specialist. Luckily for Aruba Today
Shanella also loves to write. And together with the fact that
the majority of our readers are tourists, we found ourselves a
perfect combination for a column: Hotel Hustle.