Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

FRONT OFFICE : HUB OF THE HOTEL
624

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FRONT OFFICE : HUB OF THE HOTEL
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If evacuation is necessary, the manager on duty should contact the front desk
staff and tell staff to implement the hotel’s emergency evacuation procedures.
Evacuate the fire floor first, room by room. Initiate a system to keep track of
every guest, including those who do not respond to a room call. Assist guests
with disabilities. Members of the hotel’s emergency response team should
assemble in predetermined areas designated in the response plan. After rooms
on the fire floor are evacuated, the floor above the fire floor and then below the
fire floor should be evacuated.
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Guests should be called and told to evacuate. They should be told to feel the
door before opening it and to open it only if it is cool. They should take their
room keys with them, should not use the elevator, and if they encounter smoke,
they should return to their room and call the front desk.
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If the room door is hot or if guests cannot leave the area, they should remain
in their rooms. They should seal all cracks (particularly at the bottom of the
door), turn off the air conditioner and fan, hang a sheet from the window to
alert the fire department, and fill the tub with water in case that water is needed
later to fight the fire.
A hotel employee should be stationed in the parking lot to direct the fire depart-
ment to the fire’s location. Employees should follow their property’s crisis plan and
assemble at a predetermined place or begin emergency duties such as assisting guests.
If it is safe to do so, staff members should be assigned to verify that all guestrooms
are vacant. After rooms are checked, an X should be marked on the door to alert fire
department personnel that the room is vacant. Chalk supplies should be available at
the front desk or another easily accessible and well-known location.