National hotel chains have made real progress enabling...

National hotel chains have made real progress enabling guests to dial 911 directly, FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai said Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1v24oLt). Pai said in January he would contact major hotel chains to ensure 911 works wherever it’s dialed (CD Jan 14 p14). He raised a December incident in which a child tried to dial 911 when her mother was being strangled by her estranged husband. The child “tried to call 911 four times but never reached emergency personnel” because the hotel required her to first dial 9 to get an outside line, Pai said then. The Wyndham Hotel Group reported earlier this year that only 80 percent of its owned and managed properties allowed direct dialing to 911, but now all its properties do so, Pai said. Hyatt initially reported that 75 percent of its managed properties allowed direct 911 access, but it now provides this functionality at 99 percent of its properties, he said. The American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA) is “continuing to play an important role in solving this problem,” Pai said. “AH&LA has now issued an industry-wide recommendation that encourages all of its members to move to direct 911 dialing.” AH&LA is hosting a members-only webinar on the issue Thursday (http://bit.ly/1v28wLs).