How to Successfully Deploy Panic Buttons in Your Hotel
In the world of Hospitality, it’s critical to have a system in place to respond quickly to employees that are in distress and other emergencies that occur on the hotel’s premises. Investing in a panic button system is an effective way to enhance the overall safety of your hotel. Numerous states and local municipalities have passed hotel panic button legislation that require hotels to provide employees with safety devices/panic buttons as a safety measure. Major hotel brands have also established panic button requirements for their properties as a part of the AHLA’s 5-Star Promise. Panic buttons enable hotel employees to receive immediate assistance when confronted with threatening behaviors or during an emergency. But common mistakes are made during the deployment process that can have serious consequences for hotels.
Not Choosing the Right Panic Button System
Selecting the right panic button system is crucial for the success of the deployment. Choosing an outdated or unreliable system can lead to false alarms, delayed response times, or system failures. It’s important to select a panic button system that is reliable, user-friendly, and one that provides location and real-time alerts to hotel personnel or authorities.
Ignoring Local and State Regulations
Many states and localities have regulations regarding hotel panic button deployments. Ignoring these regulations can result in fines, penalties, or legal issues. It’s important to research and comply with all applicable laws before deploying a hotel panic button system.
Not Conducting a Thorough Assessment
One of the most common mistakes made during panic button deployments is not conducting a thorough assessment of the premises. This can result in panic buttons not covering all the necessary areas. It’s important to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the premises to identify potential risks in order to ensure sufficient coverage.
Failing to Test the System
Another critical mistake that can be made during a panic button deployment is failing to test the system. It’s important to test the panic button system thoroughly to ensure that it works correctly and is fully functional. This can include testing the panic buttons themselves, as well as the monitoring systems and response protocols.
Not Providing Adequate Training
Even the best panic button system won’t be effective if the people using it don’t know how to use it properly. It’s essential to provide adequate training to all employees on how to use the panic buttons and the response protocols. This can help ensure that the panic buttons are used correctly and that everyone knows what to do in an emergency.
Choosing the Right Panic Button System
There are a number of panic button solutions on the market, hotels need to consider local and state laws before choosing an employee safety system. Panic button devices should have the ability to provide precise location information down to the exact floor and room number and as the location changes, panic button devices should send updates in real time. Hotels should research different panic button systems and compare their features, reliability, and user-friendliness.
User Friendly
Choose a panic button system that is easy to use and provides clear instructions on how to activate it. Panic button devices should be easily activated by a single action like a push, pull or tap. They should provide a sustained signal without delays caused by entering passwords or waiting for the system to turn on.
Reliable Connectivity
Panic button signals should be detectable in all locations, reliable connectivity and complete coverage is essential in locating employees in distress. There are hotel panic button solutions that combine Bluetooth, GPS, cellular LTE, and Wi-Fi to ensure reliable connectivity and prevent loss of signal in dead zone areas.
Wearable
Panic button devices should be wearable and easily accessible. Panic buttons can be worn around the neck, they can be attached to belts or worn anywhere on the employee’s clothing that allows for easy access in the event of an emergency.
Battery Life
The battery life of hotel panic buttons is crucial, as employees will wear devices every day for the entirety of their shifts. Panic buttons can be powered by rechargeable batteries, non-rechargeable batteries, or swappable devices. Some panic button devices offer a battery life of 2 years and other solutions are rechargeable and don’t require batteries to be replaced.
Successful Panic Button Deployment
Panic buttons are an effective way to respond quickly to employees in distress and other emergencies on the hotel’s premises, by avoiding common mistakes, hotels can ensure that their panic button system is effective and provides the necessary level of protection for employees.
Choosing the right panic button system is essential, as well as complying with all applicable regulations can help to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone on your property. Following panic button legislation and brand standard requirements helps to ensure the success of your hotel’s panic button deployments and will enhance the safety of your hotel.
Conducting a thorough assessment of your premises, testing your panic button system, and providing adequate training to employees, all goes hand in hand in having a protocol in place to effectively respond to any number of incidences that may occur on your property.