” 1:30PM Power out in entire Hotel for 4 hours. Last guest in-house reports printed 10:35am. Most departures completed but we had difficulties finding free rooms for early arrivals due to unavailability of the Front Office System.”
The above is a genuine Duty Manager Log book entry from a hotel in Europe and it shows just the tip of the iceberg of the issues that have to be managed in a hotel during a power loss. Blackouts during the last 10 years in Europe and America have demonstrated an increasing likelihood of supra-regional blackouts with large economic losses. On August 14, 2003 for example, large portions in the United States and parts of Canada were in blackout. The outage affected 50 million people for over 4 days.* Some parts of Canada were blacked out for more than a week. This large supra-regional blackout caused a net loss of 18.9 million work hours.
Blackouts can happen to hotels anywhere, anytime around the world. In some countries hoteliers learn to live with blackouts but few are prepared for longer lasting power losses.
Emergency service response during blackouts
Depending on how long the power is out in a city or region, rescue services will be stretched in their efforts to manage the large volume of emergency calls and attend to emergencies that arise. For hotels, this can mean a slower response time from emergency services to, for example, open elevator doors and rescue those trapped in the elevator. Hotels should ensure their staff are trained to safely manage an emergency situation during an extensive blackout and in the event emergency service professionals cannot quickly attend elevator rescues, it is important hotel staff across all shifts are trained in elevator rescue.
Considerations when developing a business continuity plan for blackouts
A successful business continuity plan should be based on a risk analysis and consists of risk identification analysis, risk evaluation, risk mitigation and risk control. A business continuity plan should include a section that addresses blackouts.
A hotel will experience a blackout more intensely than a workplace in an office building or at home. This is because of the number of guests in a hotel, each with their own individual needs and service expectations.
When developing a business continuity plan for blackouts there are many issues to consider and address. These includes:
- If there is no generator backup available or insufficient fuel to run the generator, hotels with electronic door locks cannot program key cards for new arrivals. They cannot check-in guests in the computer system, allocate rooms or make any internal phone calls.
- Critical points are cooling units and the interrupted cooling chain. Longer outages will make the supply of cold and frozen food either impossible or very expensive.
- Fire systems usually have a battery backup, however the battery has a certain period of life. When the battery life is reached and the fire systems stop operating, guests and staff in the hotel are at a high risk as the fire detection and warning system are inoperable. Management has a duty of care and is liable for any harm that can happen to guests or staff and should ensure staff on all shifts are trained to take on the role of fire warden. In large hotels there needs to be a number of fire wardens, each assigned to a different section of the hotel to patrol, detect and manage evacuation in the event of a fire.
- When there is no electricity for lights in the hotel, it is easy to rely on candles to generate light. However, candles should not be used when the fire system is inoperable, as there is a high risk of fire and no detection system in place. An emergency lighting concept in the event of a blackout should be considered. For example, provision of flashlights in hotel rooms (with regular checking of batteries to ensure flashlights will function if a blackout occurs) and large flashlights for public areas and back-of-house should be considered.
- Keeping guests occupied, happy and calm during a blackout can be challenging. Hotels should consider what activities could be employed in a lengthy blackout.
- When a blackout occurs in cold winter months, heating can’t be provided when systems have to rely on electricity. The same occurs with water pumps and air ventilation systems that are important for work in the kitchen.
- From a security point of view, the likelihood of theft and intrusion increases during a blackout. CCTV systems, burglar alarms and panic buttons might not work in a blackout and criminals could take advantage of this.
- Immediately after a blackout, withdrawing cash from an ATM is not possible. Purchase of goods can only be made with cash. Hotels would require cash for guest transactions, however for security reasons, most hotels hold little cash on the premises. In the event of a blackout, any cash that is held in the hotel is at higher risk of theft, as alarmed systems in place to secure the cash are inoperable.
- The 2003 blackout in the United States and Canada illustrated that after 3-6 hours without power, most fuel stations had to close down as the pumps did not operate. This may influence the transportation of hotel employees coming to work/leaving work, and also expected new guests may not be able to arrive.
- People with mobility restrictions rely on the use of elevators and the hearing impaired on loop systems. In most cases elevators and loop systems are out of order when the power is cut. In addition, hotels should ensure that electronic doors that are used in public disability toilets can be opened from both sides manually. I have discovered some Grand Hotels in Europe where this has not occurred, and in a blackout any disability guests in the toilet would be trapped inside.
- Minibar fridges are usually off during a blackout, but this causes little harm. However, some guests who use the minibar fridge to cool medicine or store baby formula/food may be at a health risk in the event of a blackout.
Why have a business continuity plan?
The electricity supply industry is classified as a critical infrastructure. Traditional scenarios only assume blackouts for a few hours or days, but if we are considering longer lasting blackouts, which are most likely from space weather or coordinated cyber or terrorist attacks, the impact on society and economy is significant. The considerations above illustrate that a well-organized and implemented business continuity plan is vital for the survival of hotel in the case of a blackout.
References: * CRO forum. (2011) “Power blackout risks : risk management options. Emerging risk initiative”, pp. 8, 10, 17.
About the author
Stefan Vito Hiller is the Founder & Managing Director of Sky Touch – Global Hotel Security Consulting. He has over 20 years international experience in the hotel industry, including five years specifically in security.
His hotel experience includes rooms division management, pre-opening, fire, health & safety, risk management & cost control. He has worked for leading hotel brands in Munich, Frankfurt, Bremen, Berlin, Cork, Edinburgh and Doha in the Middle East.
He graduated in 2002 as a Hotel Management Consultant at the Steigenberger Hotel Management School. He gained valuable experience as a Cost Controller at the Sheraton Hotel & Towers at Frankfurt Airport. He worked three years in Ireland where he built on his experience as a former volunteer fire officer and became a qualified IOSH Health & Safety Officer. He effectively combined the field of Health & Safety with his Assistant Manager positions.
Stefan now consults to hotels to implement innovative and affordable strategies to raise their level of security to meet growing global demands.
Sky Touch is experienced in developing a suitable and practicable Business Continuity Plans for hotels that address blackouts. For further information please contact us.
