How to Prep Your Hospitality Staff to Communicate During Emergencies

Kara Stamets, Content Marketing Specialist, Alertus Technologies

With visitors flocking to hotels, theme parks, resorts, theaters, and more this summer, it’s important to make sure everyone feels safe, including your staff and guests. Providing ways to call for help, report an incident, or spread critical information to guests gives peace of mind to your staff. Below, we highlight a few scenarios in which staff members can quickly call for help and notify guests and visitors in various emergencies.

Scenario: Unruly Guests or Medical Emergencies in Hotels and Resorts

A hotel receptionist encountering a disruptive individual presses the USB Multi Panic Button to call for help.

To ensure the safety of front desk staff and receptionists in busy hotel or resort lobbies, discreet panic buttons placed on desks provide a direct and immediate way for staff to call for help in the case of an emergency. With the USB Panic Button and Multi USB Panic Button, staff can trigger emergency notifications from the Alertus System to integrated products or activate their mass notification system. 

Handheld devices, like the WiFi Panic Button, are useful for housekeepers, maintenance workers, property managers, and concierges when facing disorderly guests or assisting guests experiencing a medical emergency. These discreet devices connect to your existing wireless internet infrastructure and can be kept in a pocket or lanyard. Once pressed, they immediately call for help and send location information to security personnel and first responders. 

Learn More: Panic Button Solutions

Scenario: Severe Weather Threatens an Amusement Park or Outdoor Event

A large concert can hear critical emergency notifications over High Power Speaker Arrays.

During the warm summer months, crowds flock to outdoor venues and amusement parks. Since severe weather can threaten to cancel, postpone, or temporarily pause events and operations, an effective outdoor warning system is a must. Amusement park attendants and emergency managers can utilize High Power Speaker Arrays (HPSA) to provide clear, enunciated notifications across large areas. The Mobile HPSA delivers the same capabilities but on a mobile trailer, making it convenient for temporary use.

Learn More: Mass Notification for Large Events and Amusement Parks


Scenario: Fire Danger in Theaters and Event Venues 

Digital signage placed on pillars throughout a theater lobby display emergency notifications of fire danger.

Theater fires can break out for numerous reasons, including arson, electrical faults, or kitchen accidents that threaten guest and staff safety. Smoke inhalation and burns are significant hazards; therefore, time is of the essence to activate and distribute emergency alerts. The Alertus Fire Alarm Control Panel Interface takes fire alarm event information from the fire panel, applies innovative logic technologies, and broadcasts messages over multiple communication paths.

Digital signage override is especially useful in communicating announcements in high-occupancy areas and is zoneable, so individual screens or groups of screens can be targeted to display alerts that display warnings and evacuation information to event guests in the event of a fire or other emergency.

Learn More: Mass Notification for Museums, Performing Arts, and Movie Theaters 


Ensuring that your staff is prepared to respond to emergencies with mass notification will give them confidence to react in threatening situations. They will be able to get emergency personnel on the scene quicker with one-touch activation solutions and mitigate and diffuse other potential emergencies. Contact us to learn more about effective solutions for the hospitality industry. 

Kara Stamets