107th IOC Session - LA84 Foundation

Spectators pack the
area around the east exit
of Nagano Station.
256
or participation in Olympic Games, and English
conversation classes were offered to boost the
confidence of staff dealing with international
visitors over the telephone. Over 2,600 people
participated in these training sessions.
Accommodation facilities were contractually
obliged to offer only their standard services.
However, because Games-related guests followed
schedules that varied greatly from that of
the average guest, the staff at many hotels and
inns made extraordinary efforts and worked extremely
long hours to provide extra services for
their guests. Some hotels hired additional staff
or renovated their facilities. Thanks to the enthusiastic
support and efforts of the accommodation
providers, only a few minor problems with service
were encountered.
To ensure that services for international
guests ran smoothly, Games volunteers with foreign
language ability were assigned to hotels
and inns that had no staff members conversant
in a foreign language. For hotels where media
personnel were staying, NAOC arranged for the
temporary installation of additional public telephones
and fax machines with international
lines, and outsourcing of laundry services for accommodations
with no in-house service.
Various multi-language publications were distributed,
including signage and banners, maps
showing hotels and foreign exchange banks,
safety instructions, and shuttle bus schedules. To
avoid potential misunderstanding between
hotels and their guests, NAOC sent explanatory
information regarding hotel rooms, storage
space, and available facilities / services to
organizations with room reservations.
Guest Lists
Along with the confirmation sent to each organization
upon receipt of payment, NAOC requested
a list of the names of persons who were
to use the rooms, as well as the name and telephone
number of a contact person at each organization.
Although the deadline for submission
was November 30, 1997 a number of these lists
were not received until the middle of January
1998.
Games Services
• Accommodations Centre and Offices
An Accommodations Centre was established
at NAOC Operations Headquarters and
was open 24 hours-a-day from January 24 to
February 25. The centre and the accommodations
offices which were set up in the IOC
hotel and seven areas including the host sites,
were staffed by NAOC personnel, volunteers,
and travel agency professionals. Work at the
Accommodations Centre included making
changes to reservations, collecting payment
for room charges, and settling accounts with
the hotels and inns. The staff at the offices
were responsible for dealing with any problems
that arose at the hotels as well as providing
support for language volunteers assigned
to hotels.
The centre handled approximately 700
changes to room reservations after the
October 1997 reservation deadline, over half
of these arising between January 24 and
February 25. When a need for more rooms
became apparent after the Games had begun,
NAOC conferred with the IOC Secretariat,
which agreed to release some rooms it did not
need. Other problems arose when NOC extra
officials and other members arrived later than