NATIONAL REPORT— While most travelers prefer not to think of dire situations, the threat of an avian influenza pandemic is on the minds of many hoteliers who are devising programs to respond to a “bird flu” outbreak. At presstime, an outbreak in Indonesia was causing concern among health officials about possible human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza. Six Indonesian family members died of the disease and officials could not find an animal source of the infection. “We have detailed plans in place for our headquarter locations and hotels,” said Wendell Couch, senior vp, global risk management at InterContinental Hotels Group. While specific details were not available, Couch noted, “the plans are based on information from the CDC and World Health Organization.” Word from the World Health Organization is not comforting. In fact, the WHO warns that influenza pandemics can be expected to occur three to four times each century when new virus subtypes emerge and are transmitted from one person to another. In the 20th Century, influenza pandemics occurred in 1918 to 1919, causing 40 million to 50 million deaths worldwide, and was followed by pandemics in 1957 to 1958 and 1968 to 1969. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has some background with infectious diseases from past experience with SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome). “With any crisis situation, there is an opportunity to learn and grow. The SARS situation underscored the importance of taking immediate action and working with local tourism partners to get feedback,” said Mike Taylor of Fairmont. To respond to any threatening situation, whether avian influenza or another event, Fairmont has crisis communication teams at each hotel. The teams are set up through the corporate office and consist of the hotel’s general manager and department heads such as the director of engineering and the food & beverage manager. Each hotel’s team— usually 12 to 15 staff members— receives training from outside companies specializing in crisis management. Team members deal with mock scenarios to learn how to respond and communicate the situation to others in the company as well as the public. They carry special wallet cards with key contact information for Fairmont executives so they can keep them updated at all times. Accor North America is approaching the possibility of an avian influenza pandemic in the same way it addresses any other potential threat to its guests and employees, according to Janice Maragakis, head of the crisis committees. “We are in the process of developing protocols and a methodology for whatever eventuality we need to be prepared for,” Maragakis said. Those preparations will enable Accor North America “to disseminate information to employees so they are familiar with how to deal with it.” The plans for a possible pandemic are being done in stages, according to Maragakis. “It’s the same sort of preparations we undertake for any sort of potential threat. For example, we just had a summit on hurricanes… the biggest thing is pre-planning to deal with a crisis. If it doesn’t happen, you’re a step ahead,” she said. Stating that the “safety, comfort and security” of its guests and staff members around the world is “of primary importance,” Hilton Hotels Corp. has developed a task force to respond should an avian influenza pandemic become a threat. Citing security reasons, Hilton would not offer specific details about the task force or the steps it would take. However, the company said in a statement that the task force would “develop guidance to our hotels regarding precautionary and containment measures which may be appropriate should an outbreak occur. In this regard, Hilton will work closely with local health authorities regarding specific procedures and protocols.” Marriott International has likewise created a task force to deal with a pandemic. Along with taking direction from the task force should a pandemic occur, Marriott said it
