When reports of traveler deaths in the Dominican Republic
surfaced this past spring, Marty MacKay, global alliance president of Hosts
Global, became concerned. The destination management company consortium was
hosting its annual event there in July, and the 200 expected attendees were
contacting MacKay about their concerns.
"The news was not favorable, from a U.S. media
standpoint, so we obviously started watching it," MacKay said. "Coverage
from outside the U.S. was 100 percent different, so we had a lot of different
concerns. Being in the hospitality industry, we felt pretty strong that pulling
the event was not the right decision … but it was also our responsibility to do
whatever we could to ensure everyone was safe and comfortable."
Her team came up with an idea for an app feature that would
give attendees instant access to help if they needed it. The attendee could
push a red button to connect directly to the local 911 service, an orange
button to trigger a text directly to MacKay or a green button to email the
event team. The red button would be for serious emergencies, while green might
be used if a hotel staffer had delivered a room gift despite a do not disturb
sign, MacKay said.
She approached Hosts Global's meetings software partner,
Lenos Software, to see if it quickly could develop such a feature in Lenos'
mobile app, Sync. "They wanted it in seven days," said Lenos
president Patti Tackeff, but the software company completed the request.
Hotline, as the feature is called, is now available to all
Lenos clients. "Whenever a client asks to add a feature, we make sure it's
productized for all other clients," Tackeff said. Lenos CEO Debbie Chong added:
"The feature is configurable. Some people have their own security on-site
for a program. The client has the option to add whatever number they want, and
in terms of email and texts, they can have them go to whomever they want them
to go to." Also, for clients that manage multiple events, the button-alert
communications include the event, the registrant's ID and the person's name.
Hotline also includes a Mark Me Safe feature for larger emergencies,
such as earthquakes. "When you switch it on, assuming you have internet or
phone coverage, it sends a signal to a reports portal and shows the cell phone
number and what time that person marked themselves safe," Chong said. Tackeff
added that the feature also helps when someone is feeling harassed at a
conference and "something is going on that the organizer needs to know
about."
MacKay was pleased with the result—and even more relieved
that no one felt the need to use it during her event. She let attendees know
about the new feature before the conference, and during opening remarks, she
showed screenshots of Hotline and explained how to use it.
Among attendees, 90 percent downloaded the app. She said
Hotline was easy to configure and she "absolutely" would use it for her
next event, in Spain. "We received a lot of positive feedback about
it," MacKay said, adding that one attendee said she opened it every night
for her walk back to her room and that "it made her feel more safe."