Content area
The Algonquin, like most hotels in Manhattan, is grappling with how to protect guests and staff. [Christina Zeniou] said the threat of attacks is difficult to forget with police patroling past the Algonquin and the other hotels with which it shares a block on 44th Street, including the Sofitel and the Harvard and Princeton clubs.
Hotels are spending slightly more to protect their guests, said Steven Goldman, executive vice president at Manhattan-based Epic Security Corp., one of the largest Manhattan security firms. "Weve gotten a few hotels asking for extra guards," he said, adding that most of the calls came in the past couple of days, though he did not name any of the hotels. Zeniou said the Algonquin hasnt hired any extra guards.
Quotes: Sept. 11 was a dry run of what you do when you hunker down. Theyre still in a mode that theyre in a slowdown. - Christina Ampil, director of research at PricewaterhouseCoopers
The historic Algonquin Hotel has quietly made plans to protect guests from terrorist attacks. Although not prepared for chemical warfare, it has purchased dust masks in the past couple of weeks and identified rooms that it considers secure gathering places.
Discussions at biweekly management meetings are increasingly focused on security. "We all know the emergency manuals," said Christina Zeniou, director of sales and marketing at the hotel.
But in the end, the 174-room hotel believes its best defense is a staff of longtime employees who know the regular clientele. "Were like a bed and breakfast in the craziest part of town," she said.
The Algonquin, like most hotels in Manhattan, is grappling with how to protect guests and staff. Zeniou said the threat of attacks is difficult to forget with police patroling past the Algonquin and the other hotels with which it shares a block on 44th Street, including the Sofitel and the Harvard and Princeton clubs.
Hotels are spending slightly more to protect their guests, said Steven Goldman, executive vice president at Manhattan-based Epic Security Corp., one of the largest Manhattan security firms. "Weve gotten a few hotels asking for extra guards," he said, adding that most of the calls came in the past couple of days, though he did not name any of the hotels. Zeniou said the Algonquin hasnt hired any extra guards.
Meanwhile, theyre also dealing with a drop-off in bookings. While New York City has been on code orange alert since the Sept. 11 attacks, with the outbreak of war, city hotels are finding that their already depressed industry may slump a bit more.
This comes at a normally busy time for the travel industry, when students travel on spring break, and before the Easter holiday, according to James Cammisa, Miami-based publisher of the monthly newsletter Travel Industry Indicators. Hotels are discounting an increasing number of rooms to keep occupancy rates high, he said.
So far, cancellations have been minimal, and mostly confined to international travelers, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers director of research Christina Ampil. Also, hotels are better prepared to weather a drop-off in visitors. "Sept. 11 was a dry run of what you do when you hunker down," she said. "Theyre still in a mode that theyre in a slowdown."
As a boutique hotel with loyal longtime customers, the Algonquin has fared better than some of its larger competitors, with only a slight drop in business. Usually the Algonquin has a 94 percent occupancy rate in March. Its down to 90 percent, mostly because of cancellations in the past week from international travelers. Lower bookings will cost the hotel $43,000 this month. And reduced revenue will continue as long as the war does. The hotel is getting few new reservations, Zeniou said.
Compare that to the 686-room InterContinental The Barclay on East 48th Street. The hotel had occupancy rates of 40 percent to 50 percent before March, which have dropped to about 35 percent since the outbreak of war, according to manager Simon Chan.
Peter Strebel, senior vice president at Manhattan-based Cendant Corp., the largest hotel franchiser worldwide, said although business has dropped 3 percent or 4 percent, the general mood is positive. Travelers, he said, are searching for good deals and are not as concerned about security.
(Copyright Newsday Inc., 2003)