Around 240 million 911 calls are made in the United States throughout the year, so being able to contact an emergency responder is as crucial as ever. Even in the age of cell phones, it’s equally as important to have reliable fixed-line phones in businesses such as hotels in the event of an emergency. Unfortunately, dial-out prefixes previously used in hotels, such as 9-911, further complicated matters which led to the implementation of Kari’s Law. For this reason, hotel owners should know how Kari’s Law helps keep their guests safe, as well as how installing the proper signage around their hotel relays this information.
How Did Kari’s Law Come About?
Kari’s Law is named after Kari Hunt, who was murdered in a Marshall, Texas hotel room in 2013. After taking her children to the Marshall Hotel to meet their father, Brad Dunn, Kari was stabbed multiple times during an argument with her estranged husband. Her oldest daughter tried calling 911 several times from the phone within their hotel room, but she didn’t know that a prefix (9-911) was required to dial out, delaying emergency services. Due to this tragic situation, a new law named Kari’s Law was put into place in 2020 that required direct dialing configuration in hotels, removing the need for prefixes when dialing 911 from a phone located within a hotel. Ultimately, federal law has codified the need to eliminate any dialing prerequisites for multi-line telephone systems (MLTS). These are typically the phone systems used in large facilities such as office buildings, hotels, or on a university campus.
Who Does Kari’s Law Affect?
The compliancy standards of Kari’s Law are found at 47 CFR Part 9, 911 Requirements. These state that any “person engaged in the business of operating an MLTS” must comply, which certainly applies to hotels. This guideline means that telephones have to be configured to directly dial 911 without any prefixes. Kari’s Law went into effect in February 2020, and although most of the hospitality industry has updated its MLTS to meet the requirements of the Law, signage reflecting the change has lagged behind. Though Kari’s Law does not affect signs per se, contradictory informational signage will defeat the purpose of the law, keep hotels out of compliance, and potentially confuse guests.
How to Comply With Kari’s Law?
After reconfiguring your hotel’s MLTS, the next step is to ensure that all the signs in your hotel prompt guests to dial the correct numbers during an emergency situation. While most hotel emergency signage now reflects this change, evacuation maps are often overlooked. For example, if evacuation maps list prefixes before 911, guests would continuously dial rejected numbers during an emergency. So in addition to updating your telephone systems, be sure to check and update all of your signage to reflect the new change.
If your emergency hotel signage doesn’t reflect Kari’s Law, HOTELSIGNS.com can help. We’re your number one place to order any type of signage that you need, including hotel emergency signs. We guarantee that any sign you order from us complies with national laws and regulations, keeping your guests both informed and safe in the event of danger.