The hotel industry has been relatively free of the workplace violence that has afflicted other venues, including schools, in recent years. This came to a screeching halt the day before the start of the New Year when a hotel housekeeper went on a shooting spree at the Radisson Bay Harbor Inn in Tampa, FL and killed four of his co-workers and a fifth person as he tried to escape. At presstime, no motive was given. As sad and regrettable as this occurrence is, why, might you ask, should this concern almost everyone in the hotel industry? Because, as we all know by now, crimes such as this have their copycats. Little Being Done We live in a society where violence by gunfire has become the method by which people vent their frustrations. Very little is done to address the problem. But now, with this lone act in Tampa, the hotel industry and its top management must act before our properties become shooting galleries for the disenfranchised. If we can?t help effect stringent gun control legislation at both the state and federal levels, then we have to give serious consideration to making our facilities violence-free by making them fortresses. This concept of high security, I?m certain, appeals to no one. We have to look no further than our schools to see guards and firearm detection equipment at the entrances. Is this the level of violence protection we have to accept? I hope not. But I think it is high time that the hotel industry unites with others to stop this workplace violence. That means going after our legislators for action, which can be most effective in an election year. I don?t agree with the National Rifle Association, that there are already enough laws in place to control gun use. If there were, it would not be so easy for malcontents to buy firearms. We can?t continue to turn our eyes from this workplace violence by listening to the propaganda put forth by the NRA The time for action is now, not when our properties have been turned into shooting galleries. You can look the other way and hope that the problem goes away, or you can stand up and be counted as a leader in your communities for action to ensure that we will be able to live in a violence-free society. Our workers and our children deserve as much.
