Pearson New International Edition International pcl tp indd 1

FRONT OFFICE : HUB OF THE HOTEL
homes. All guests, at every moment, are most concerned about one thing: their security.
Hoteliers, including front office staff who most frequently and directly communicate
with guests during their hotel visits, must remember this concern and must consider
guest security a priority.
The following case study is true, and it highlights what can happen when hoteliers are
concerned about their guests and staff but have not sufficiently planned for a disaster.
Arrival in New Orleans
Marilyn and her friend, Chandra, arrived in New Orleans several days before Katrina struck
on August 29, 2005. They were looking forward to their stay in a prominent four-star
property in the French Quarter. However, soon weather forecasters were talking about the
increasing possibility that Hurricane Katrina would do the seemingly impossible: strike the
below-sea-level New Orleans area with Category 5 winds followed by a storm surge that
could destroy or topple levees and put the city under many feet of flood waters.
During the days preceding Katrina’s landfall, Marilyn, Chandra, and other guests
received no advice from hotel managers to end their visit early and leave the area
because of the storm threat. After mandatory evacuation of the city was declared on
August 27, guests staying at the property were basically on their own. Those staying in
rooms on the third floor or below were relocated to rooms on higher levels. During this
time, guests had the impression that the hotel staff wanted to help them but had no plan
or current information that would enable them to do so.