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Case Studies
 The case studies that follow, as told by our clients, detail specific events that required ACT’s disaster response, recovery and restoration services. These emergencies resulted from storms or mechanical problems, and required services for water, smoke, wind, mold and trauma damage.
CASE STUDY: ARKANSAS
Tad Stricker
General Manager
TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Bentonville, Arkansas
479-621-0202
Email: tstricker@aghospitality.com
I just wanted to take a moment to thank both of your teams for the service that we recently received. As you already know, we had a major catastrophe on our hands during Christmas Eve of 2004, and the days to follow.
On December 24, I received a phone call from my front desk staff saying that the fire alarms were going off and the fire department was there … the fire panel on the wall said “attic water flow.” I knew that we must have had a water pipe break. But I wasn’t prepared for what I found when I arrived at the hotel.
I immediately saw thousands and thousands of gallons of water coming through the first floor ceiling, flowing like a river across the hallway, and gushing like a waterfall into the bottom of our elevator pit. There was water everywhere!!! It was apparent that over 30 rooms in the hotel had some form of water damage, all the way from the attic, down all 4 floors.
Our company, just a few weeks earlier, had talked to your ACT and CWC teams about our plans in the event of a major catastrophe at our hotels. At first, I was a little skeptical … but I went ahead and put your laminated card in my wallet that has your 24-hour disaster toll-free number. I am so glad that I had that card!
I called an emergency staff meeting … and my very next step was to call that toll free number on the card you had given me. I was thinking that on Christmas Eve, there is no way that I was going to get any help until a day or so after Christmas.
Much to my surprise, I got a phone call from Jeff Chester with ACT within minutes of hanging up the phone. He said that they would call a local crew to begin water extraction within an hour, and that ACT would be loading a box truck with equipment and supplies, and send a crew to us. He said the crew would drive throughout the night on Christmas Eve, and be there early morning on Christmas Day.
As promised, everything happened as Jeff described. Later, I found that not only was it Christmas Eve, but Jeff was at the hospital with his wife, and he was working from the Emergency Room waiting area. After I found that out, I thought “talk about dedication and customer service!” It would have been so easy for your teams to say that it was Christmas Eve and that you had other things going on; but you had a dedication to our hotel, and you definitely came through on your promise.
The clean-up and repair process went at a much faster pace than what I thought. The communication level, responsiveness, and the professionalism of your staff far exceeded my wildest expectations. It is true when you say that we only have to make one phone call, and you take care of the rest.
Your teams did an excellent job of handling the disaster, thereby enabling us to continue to focus our time and effort on operating the remaining portion of our hotel. I can’t sing enough praises about Jeff, Brett, Wayne, and all of your team members with ACT and CWC!
Thank you so much for taking control of the disaster we had, and resolving it so quickly. Without your company, I wouldn’t have a clue what we would have done.
If anyone has any questions about the level of your service, your dedication, your superb attention to detail, or any other issue, please do not hesitate to give them my contact number as a reference.
Thanks again for all you have done for us!
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CASE STUDY: DENVER
Sally Brand
Sage Hospitality Resources
(303) 595-7274
Email: sbrand@sagehospitality.com
We have a big, big hotel in Denver. Last summer there was a huge rainstorm and the roof was damaged. It caused more than $100,000 damage and 40 rooms were down because of water. The hotel was booked full that weekend. ACT worked with the insurance company and got the work done fast. We ended up walking only eight guest rooms to another hotel.
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CASE STUDY: NEW ORLEANS
Sally Brand
Sage Hospitality Resources
(303) 595-7274
Email: sbrand@sagehospitality.com
The Saturday before Hurricane Katrina hit, one of the ACT execs called and said, ‘I’m in Jackson, Miss., and ready to go into New Orleans if you have problems.’
As soon as the hurricane ended ACT tried to get in, but it was tough getting through the National Guard. So I hooked them up with our hotel owner. Between the credentials ACT had and the connections the owner had with the mayor, they got in within 24 hours after the hurricane. Long before anybody else.
The demolition work was extensive because of water damage. In one hotel they went all the way down to the studs in the guest rooms. But within a few weeks they finished their recovery work. Then ACT brought contractors to our place, and, in less than five days, they had the roofs repaired.
While other businesses were scrambling to bring in construction crews from Canada, our work was getting done. ACT’s connections got us into the top end of the market. People are clamoring to get into these hotels. Thanks to ACT, our New Orleans hotels are going to open soon and be better than ever before.
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CASE STUDY: NEW ORLEANS
Craig Guidry
Asset manager for Saint Ann Lodging LLC in New Orleans
Guidry works with a number of different companies that develop and manage condos and office buildings as well as five hotels.
(504) 830-4224
Email: craig@mccgroup.com
After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, ACT worked on four of our hotels as well as some condos we developed and an office building. They even did some work on my own home. Their work was timely and efficient.
Obviously we’d never experienced anything like this before. It was overwhelming. We had nowhere to turn until our insurance adjustor recommended ACT. They were here, they were ready and they moved, wasting no time. While we were still scratching our heads trying to figure out what to do, they acted.
They understood the timeliness – how important it was to be up and running to get some money in the door. One of the hotels opened in only five weeks and another in eight weeks.
Working with ACT was very educational with regards to the environmental issues of disaster recovery. They knew what we should be looking for above and beyond what we were aware of.
Our Marriott was at ground zero, right across from the Convention Center, and it suffered a lot of looting and vandalism. We had only $30,000 in wind damage, but $2.5 million in other damage.
With the help of ACT, the Marriott was ready to open again on October 6.
Letter to ACT:
Dear Brett:
The recent devastation to the Gulf Coast region put local property owners in an unprecedented situation. As the owners of several hotels and other properties in the New Orleans area, we were faced with the daunting task of cleaning up our properties in order to reopen them as quickly as possible. We are grateful to have found ACT to assist us with that process.
The knowledge and professionalism of ACT’s personnel and their rapid response enabled us to open the Marriott within six weeks of Hurricane Katrina. The Bourbon Orleans was opened eight weeks after the storm.
ACT worked side by side with our staffs and the insurance companies to ensure the most efficient processes were followed. Their teams handled the clean-up of lobbies, hallways and guest rooms as well as restored kitchens to their pre-loss condition.
We are thankful to ACT for their hard work and, while we hope we never have to go through a situation like this again, we can rest assured they are there to help us again if we need them.
Sincerely,
Craig M. Guidry
Asset Manager
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CASE STUDY: DELEWARE
Sally Brand
Sage Hospitality Resources
(303) 595-7274
Email: sbrand@sagehospitality.com
In January we had a fire in a smaller hotel in Delaware. I called one of the guys at ACT, and he said, ‘My guy’s going to be there in a few minutes.’ It was right after the holidays, but he dropped everything, worked with the insurance adjustor, and got the hotel back up and running in days. And the smoke smell is gone in all three rooms that were damaged.
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CASE STUDY: DENVER
Sally Brand
Sage Hospitality Resources
(303) 595-7274
Email: sbrand@sagehospitality.com
We have a historic renovated hotel, the Marriott Courtyard in Denver. One day I got a call from the manager, ‘We’re going to flood sewage into our basement in about 30 minutes.’ The pumps had broken and sewage wasn’t passing into the city sewer system. We contacted a company with a pump truck, but they had to dump a load before they could come to the site.
This was a class 3 sewage problem, so toxic that it was just one step from being classified as ‘hazardous chemical.’ We couldn’t have it getting into the basement, which is an art gallery and houses our catering services.
I called ACT to have them on stand-by, and they showed up immediately with a small pump truck for back up. Then, when the 3,000-gallon truck was slow getting started, the ACT representative hurried things along. As a result we didn’t have any sewage invasion into the hotel.
That is really customer service. ACT is based in Kansas, yet 20 minutes after I call there’s somebody here on site in Denver wearing an ACT shirt. And they were even willing to come on standby.
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