Support and sympathy

Families of passengers on the missing Flight MH370 line up to dine at the hotel's restaurant.Photo Provided to China Daily

Malaysia Airline chose to host the first news conference at the hotel, and within the next two days, hundreds of reporters from around the world gathered outside the hotel, some even camping on the hotel lawn overnight.

"The last time it got so chaotic was back in the summer of the 2008 Olympics," Li Zhanguo, the head of the hotel's security team says. "But that was nothing compared to this."

Li says his main priority is to make sure all the relatives can wait it out in the hotel safely without being disturbed by media.

It has been a rough time for everyone but for some more than others.

For members of the security team, it means constant rounds in and out of the hotel and pulling all-nighters.

"In an emergency like this, we are doing everything we can to prevent panic and avoid incidents like stampedes," Li, says.

He is visibly tired, with bloodshot eyes.

All departments in the hotel are coordinating efforts.

The hotel cafe, with a normal seating capacity for 150, has added seats to cope with a crowd that is five times as large.

"Our cafe used to open from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm for lunch and reopen from 6 to 9 pm for dinner. Now, for the families, we open at 6:30 in the morning until midnight," says Wang Hanjun, an intern working at the cafe.

For the past couple of days, she has been working about 17 hours per day, but "the same thing can be said of most of our hotel employees".

Under the special circumstances, Wang says many hotel employees would come to lend a hand in the cafe during peak hours, including the general manager and the various heads of departments. They help in setting tables or serving drinks, and even staff from the MetroPark's sister hotels have volunteered to help.

"I can now set a table in less than 30 seconds and so can my GM," the 17-year-old says, not forgetting to keep her sense of humor even in such a stressful situation.

Even in the kitchens, the chefs are feeling the heat. They now have to prepare a buffet lunch for at least 600 people daily, and on March 11, the cafe set a record when it served a total of 846 diners.

Still, everyone at the hotel hopes and prays that the families will find closure soon. In the meantime, they do their best to keep those waiting for news as comfortable as possible.