http://www.amcity.com/washington/stories/1999/12/27/story8.html

A bug-free New Year's; D.C. hotels prepare for whatever may come

Christine Cub Staff Reporter

The fun's never going to stop in Washington on New Year's.

At least that's what hotels are promising guests as they gear up for the millennium celebration. But what you won't hear them talking about is all the behind-the-scenes work they're doing to keep the celebration bug-free.

Several properties have Y2K contingency plans in place and nearly all are stocking up on essentials in case of disaster.

D.C.-based Classic Collection, which owns the Sea Catch Restaurant in Georgetown and five hotels in Washington, already has ordered extras: bottled water, batteries, flashlights and first aid kits.

"We're really quite ready," said Wim Pastoor, vice president of hotel operations for the Classic Collection, which owns the Morrison Clark Inn and Henley Park Hotel. "Anybody that's prudent in the safety of their guests will take these measures."

Six months ago, Pastoor began working with hotel general managers to develop the Classic Collection's readiness plan. In addition to beefing up staff, the company's taking no chances on electrical glitches once the clock rolls over. It's closing elevators at all properties between 11:45 p.m. and 12:15 a.m. for testing, and cars will be valet-parked to ensure guests aren't trapped behind electric garage doors.

New York-based PricewaterhouseCoopers Hospitality and Leisure Practice estimated the U.S. lodging industry will spend $1.2 billion on Y2K by year-end.

Most of the money will be spent updating old hardware embedded with microprocessors like refrigerators, fire safety systems and reservation systems -- in the search for applications that are Y2K compatible.

In Bethesda, Marriott International's working on a Y2K plan for its hotels. The price tag: $30 million.

In the event that the electricity goes out, generators on hotel properties will kick in. And between Dec. 28 and Jan. 3, Marriott is setting up a global information center to monitor its national and international properties. The data center will collect status reports on hotel computer systems and operations as the new year unfolds.

Roger Conner, vice president of communications, said Marriott's 1,800-plus properties have contingency plans in place. "Our hotels will be ready," he said. "We're used to dealing with a lot of the `what ifs' that occur."

Jay Haddock, president of Capital Hotels in D.C., plans to have a small army of 16 at his two hotels to handle security and maintenance over the holiday. The company's two properties, St. James Suites and Governor's House Hotel, both are Y2K-compliant in terms of computers and elevators, and back-up generators will shed light on public areas in case of emergency.

Haddock said Washington's going to have a wonderful holiday -- free of serious glitches. But in the event of a power outage, guests will be armed with candles and flashlights.

"If Washington's impacted," he said, "there'll be a lot of romantic settings in hotel rooms that night."

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@AOL.COM), December 27, 1999

Answers

Here in southern California (Ventura County) local newspapers had stories today about local hotels having New Year's parties, as they've had in previous years. Ticket sales are way down, less than half of normal. Some hotels have cut the cost to 50% of normal, and are still unable to sell tickets. Some have cancelled parties. When asked why, the universal reply is....."it's Y2k, people seem to want to stay home this year."

-- linda (lindasue1@earthlink.net), December 27, 1999.