Bug threatens hotels with millennium chaos

THE millennium bug is an "impending hurricane" which could wreak havoc in the hotel industry, an expert has warned.

Consultant Martyn Emery said the bug - caused by computer chips that cannot tell the difference between the years 1900 and 2000 - could strike the industry in a number of unforeseen ways.

"The unpredictability of the event is one of its scariest dimensions," Emery told the Hotel General Managers Conference, held in London last week.

Most hotels he has looked at have tackled the millennium problem in their computer systems, and to a lesser extent in "embedded chips" in equipment such as air conditioning.

The main risk of disruption now comes from external suppliers of essentials such as gas, water and electricity, he warned.

And, because of its increasing reliance on low stockpiles and "just-in-time" deliveries, the supply chain for food and drink was also "very susceptible" to the millennium bug.

This could spell trouble for hotels that have already sold a millennium night package that is based around a specified menu. "It's going to be very difficult to guarantee products that are in great demand," Emery claimed.

Managers would be wise to buy in enough bottled water to last for three to four weeks in case there was disruption to local water supplies, he added. But they should buy in emergency stocks early and not leave the task until the final three months of the year.

by David Shrimpton