CASE STUDY 2: SAFETY AT THE DOWNTOWN HOTEL

It is 2012. Faramarz has recently purchased the Downtown Hotel, a 125-unit facility in downtown
Central City, a large city in the northeast. The Downtown Hotel was originally a Holiday Inn, built in 1990
and owned by the parent company, InterContinental Hotels Group, rather than a franchisee. The hotel
was later rebranded as a Holiday Inn Express Since its launch in 1991, Holiday Inn Express had grown
from 0 to 500 properties by 1996, and had locations throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle
East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. When the Central City Holiday Inn was built, it was located near the
bustling central business district but in a neighborhood that was typical of the older northeast working-
class ethnic neighborhoods. Although most Holiday Inn hotels built in or near central business districts at
that time were many stories tall, a zoning peculiarity on this site restricted the building to two levels.
Around 2000, as part of restructuring at InterContinental Hotels Group, the property in Central City was
sold. By this time, the neighborhood in which the hotel was located had become more dangerous, the
inner-city central district was less desirable to businesses, and the hotel building had begun to look
dated. Faramarz knew these facts but bought the property anyway; the price was right, and he
anticipated that he could revitalize it. The building was still structurally sound and located next to an
interstate highway. It still had a 50 percent occupancy rate, although the rate had been gradually falling
over the past few years. Faramarz attributed the falling occupancy rate to poor management and facility
deterioration; he thought he could do better. Faramarz spent considerable money refurbishing the
property. When he was finished, the rooms were nicely decorated, the amenities appropriate for the
intended market segment, and the exterior pleasant to look at. The design of the hotel was typical of
early 1990s construction: two levels of rooms facing the street with exterior entrances to rooms on both
levels, the guests on the second level entering their rooms from an open balcony facing the street.
Guests parked their cars in front of the rooms in an unfenced lot. The original bushes and trees that were
planted years ago were now fully mature and, in combination with the two-level building structure, gave
the property a shaded country feel. Now that he had enhanced the attractiveness of his building and its
rooms, Faramarz wanted to develop a strategy to improve the Downtown Hotel’s occupancy rate. His
basic information source was guest comment cards and mystery shoppers. The common theme of their
feedback was that while they appreciated the modernization and the country feel of the place, they felt
rather unsafe here. Many guests said that they did not intend to return to the hotel on future visits to
Central City. Faramarz could see that he had a problem but didn’t know quite how to solve it.

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 Case Analysis

Background

The Downtown Hotel was just bought by Faramarz in 2012. Downtown Hotel began as a Holiday Inn in
1990, with 125 rooms in downtown Central City, a significant city in the northeast. It is a British-owned
American hotel brand that is a division of the Inter Continental Hotels Group. Established as a U.S. The
aforementioned hotel was renamed as a Holiday Inn Express. Since its inception in 1991, Holiday Inn
Express has expanded to over 2,400 hotels and is one of the world's fastest growing brands. To provide a
dynamic experience for guests, Holiday Inn Express' design methodology cuts build costs, minimizes
consultation requirements, shortens time to market, and maximizes the utilization of revenue-generating
area. The building in Central City was sold as part of a reorganization at InterContinental Hotels Group in
the year 2000.

Case Evaluation

The following is the problems of the Downtown Hotel:

The hotel's neighborhood had become more dangerous, the inner-city central district had become less
desirable to businesses, and the hotel building had begun to look dated. The structure of the building
was still sound, and it was located next to an interstate highway.

Proposed Solution

Attaining these objectives necessitates a multifaceted strategy that begins with staff training and guest
education on safety and security issues. In addition, management must consistently enforce established
security policies, such as allowing only registered guests on hotel property. Constant planning is also
required to stay ahead of these issues, especially when the hotel hosts public events.

An vital pre-requisite for maintaining total peace of mind and happiness would be keeping the hotel
contemporary in terms of security concerns, and hotel room safes or in-room safes are the ideal
approach to maintain security. Installing safes in each hotel room not only boosts visitors' trust. Carrying
valuables such as iPods, computers, passports, and so on is very natural. But you can't carry all of this

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 with you all of the time. Thus, keeping all of your belongings in Hotel Room Safes while you are gone
from the hotel is a smart idea to avoid complications like as misplacing them. Some reputable hotels
employ safes from reputable companies such as Global Safe Corporation.

Conclusion

Faramarz must first consider how he might persuade guests and tourists to reconsider staying at his
hotel. Make a quick decision on how he can make his guest feel more secure. We believe that the
Faramarz should provide an attractive environment for guests while also assuring their safety and
security. Presenting security personnel in a customer service position, with officers dressed in upmarket
business attire rather than standard police or military uniforms, creates a more approachable
appearance. This delicate mix of customer service and security needs years of expertise, specific training,
and supervision. Your guests will feel more at ease if they know they are both welcome and being cared
after.

The things they can implement or do to are the followings:

 Maintain Security-Minded Customer Service

 Key Card Access Review
 Establish Evergreen Background Screening Protocol
 Control After Hours Access
 Assess Location and Local Crime Statistics
 Security Officers Who Welcome and Protect
 Bolster Public/Private Initiatives
 Maintain Emergency Response Plan and Team
 Commitment to Ongoing Training

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