Housekeepers say panic buttons could be a nuisance

Local New York City hotel housekeepers waiting for the arrival of Dominique Strauss-Kahn to enter Manhattan Supreme Court in June 2011.

Panic room
Hotelier Middle East spoke to InterContinental New York Times Square assistant director of housekeeping Ekland Skifteri, who remained sceptical over the feasibility of panic buttons.

“How much will it cost to equip all the staff members, and what's the cost/benefit ratio?” he asked.

Skifteri raised other concerns too: “How advanced is the panic-button technology and how accurate are they? I understand that the buttons use technology similar to GPS tracking, are there any privacy violations?

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“Will there be a group of designated people trained to respond to these alarms? How will guests feel? Will they be uncomfortable if they see someone servicing their room that has a panic button ‘just in case’ something happens? Will the guest feel at home away from home, or simply offended?” he continued.

Lasry said: “Guests could take offence, but the button would have to be discrete — not a red button on top of their uniform!”

But a concern echoed by Middle East hoteliers is that of false alarms.

Crowne Plaza Kuwait director of housekeeping Akshi Singh says panic alarms may be “more of a nuisance than a boon”.

“Handicap toilet alarm and smoke alarms in hotels are going off routinely due to mistakes, children’s pranks and so on. We’re not adding another alarm to an already over-laden security system. Everyone working in a hotel is perfectly capable of warding off unwelcome gestures from guests,” said Singh.

“Panic buttons could be handy, but are not necessary,” he concluded.

Prabhat Shukla, executive housekeeper at Holiday Inn Downtown Kuwait, and chairperson of Kuwait Housekeepers’ Group was also cautious of the initiative: “You have to examine the chances of it being blown by mistake. This can create an unnecessary nuisance and lead the hotel to an embarrassing situation.”

Lasry added: “The only emergency we have usually is the fire alarm going off because the staff pressed the wrong button while cleaning it. I’m worried the panic buttons may get misused by accident. I don’t think the initiative would be welcomed here.”

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