| PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas, Sept. 15, 1999 - Instant action
on the part of a lot of dedicated employees was just about all it took
to turn a potentially dangerous situation into a positive experience for
guests at the Sheraton Grand Resort Paradise Island when Hurricane Floyd
came ashore. Although the storm hit The Bahamas, including New Providence
Island where Nassau and Paradise Island are located, quick thinking on
the part of management and staff of the 340-room beachfront resort kept
guests safe and unhurt.
"We were able to evacuate all guests from their rooms by midnight Monday
and housed them in our Grand Ballroom, along with more than 100 members
of our 250-person staff," said Alfred Gorlick, Vice President and General
Manager of the Sheraton Grand.
Through the island "grapevine" and local radio news interviews, Gorlick
spread the word to residents of New Providence offering rooms at a 75%
discount. "There were 30 takers," Gorlick said, "who felt they would be
much safer in the hotel than at any of
the island shelters or in their own homes."
 He
added that many of the resort's vacationing guests left the island prior
to the hurricane making landfall, but that approximately 200 of them, including
about 40 children, rode out the storm at the hotel.
"We pulled in all of the chaise lounges from the pool deck and set them
up in the ballroom as sleeping accommodations. Our activities staff went
into action by keeping the guests occupied with bingo and other games,
as well as limbo dancing, which lightened everyone's spirit."
During the times that the electricity was shut down, Gorlick had the
resort's generators running and his kitchen and wait staff personnel were
able to serve more than 1,200 meals -- complimentary -- during the night
guests had to sleep in the ballroom.
"We received nothing but praise and appreciation from the guests," said
Gorlick, who added that the hotel, which was undergoing major renovations
when the storm hit, will now speed up the process of getting the hotel
into tip-top shape. |
