Hotels in Crisis – Are They Ready to Communicate in an Emergency?
By Heather Sandlin for Hotel Owner
‘Six found dead at Grand Hyatt Bangkok.’
‘Detectives investigating devastating Glasgow hotel fire’
‘Woman found dead at five star Surrey hotel – man suspected of murder.’
These headlines from the BBC website and major newspapers, all from within the last three months, are a reminder of how often hotel owners and management suddenly have to communicate with the press, customers, owners, staff and neighbours in response to a crisis while in the media spotlight – at the same time being swamped by dealing with the practical consequences of the emergency.
It is in such moments that hotels that don’t have a crisis communications plan think ‘We would struggle to cope with that’ and put it close to the top of the To do list. Too often it is too late.
Preparation is key
Being well-prepared and everyone knowing what to do is the key to handling crisis communications. In fact, many leading hotel groups and independent properties update their crisis communications plan annually just as they check that the fire extinguishers work properly and that all the fire marshals know their roles. That is best practice in both crisis preparations and in crisis communications.
Those organisations fully understand the benefits of being well-prepared and of having an up-to-date crisis communications plan. In emergency response, the first 60 minutes are the ‘golden hour.’ Issues that are assessed quickly and handled well create a good start. The way the fire brigade prepares and responds demonstrates the value of preparation.
These hotels understand that the consequences of handling a crisis badly can be huge – loss of business, severe damage to the brand’s reputation and loss of trust. By contrast, communicating calmly and appropriately in a crisis is vital in alleviating concern, even panic, especially when there is a lack of information, misinformation and rumour. Maintaining control of the story is crucial.
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