Survey shows 911 direct calls still difficult for hotel guests
Thousands of US hotels do not allow guests to directly phone emergency services from a hotel room, according to a new survey sparked by the media coverage of the killing of a hotel guest in Texas.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association survey found only 45% of franchised hotels and 32% of independent hotels have direct 911 dialing from a hotel room.
It says independent hoteliers and franchisees make up the "vast majority" of the estimated 53,000 hotels in the US.
The murder of Kari Hunt Dunn in a Texas motel room and the difficulty of the victim’s 9-year old daughter getting through to emergency services spurred a petition of more than 440,000 signatures calling for action.
Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai, announcing the findings of the survey said: "These statistics are alarming, they show that the telephone systems at tens of thousands of lodging properties across this country could fail Americans when it counts."
"My message to the hospitality industry is this is not acceptable," Pai said.
Pai said he would speak with makers of multi-line telephone systems used in hotels to see if hotels can easily configure systems to allow direct calls to emergency services.
He also said that InterContinental, Marriott and Hilton hotels are among the brands currently looking at alternate dialing systems for their properties.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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