WASHINGTON—The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) is creating an internal task force comprised of key industry leadership to develop recommendations in response to the issues raised in the petition, Help Enact Kari’s Law.The task force members will be drawn from among those who own and manage lodging properties across the country, as well as members who have expertise in information technology and security.“First and foremost, our sympathies are with the family of Kari Hunt Dunn,” stated AH&LA President/CEO Katherine Lugar. “The hotel industry understands the seriousness and importance of the issues raised. Since this issue impacts other businesses as well, we are reaching out to organizations to work together to ensure it’s addressed in a meaningful way across the board.”
There are many types of telephone systems and configurations in use at lodging properties. Some hotel telephone systems allow direct access to an outside line for 911 calls, some are set to dial both 9 and 911, and some require guests to dial 9 to obtain an outside line. Hotels must take into consideration a variety of factors, both internal, including operational challenges, and external, including municipal, county, and state requirements.
