One of the greatest public relations challenges a hotel - or any business - will ever face is communicating in a crisis. Fortunately, the corporate world is full of examples of companies attempting to handle misfortunes of varying kinds; granted, these are often instances of what not to do, but they are examples nonetheless. Unfortunately, most companies (hotels included) rarely pay any attention to these examples, and are often ill-prepared from a communications standpoint when a mishap occurs.
This is a mistake because good PR planning and rigorous communications preparation are the first and most important steps to mitigating a crisis, and in a time of inherent uncertainty are among the few aspects of a crisis completely under the company’s control.
A good crisis communications plan can also help a hotel to reduce the amount of lag time between the onset of a crisis and its resolution. As the nature of the crisis may itself dictate a period of slow or stopped business, any reduction of this time away from generating revenue is particularly important. Take, for example, the recent
Hilton Hotel closure in Chongqing province, China.
It’s true that no crisis communication plan would have prevented the hotel’s closure; the authorities’ investigation into the alleged prostitution ring determined that for them. But the right communications strategy would allow the hotel to reopen swiftly, and with less disruption to normal business levels than might be possible otherwise.
Having a crisis plan in place helps hotels to avoid succumbing to the natural, knee-jerk reactions to a crisis: stonewalling; premature, categorical denial; the withholding or censoring of pertinent information; ill-conceived, unfortunate statements made by unprepared corporate officers; and, any sentence that includes “no comment”. Almost always, corporate reactions in a crisis lead to either a continuation of the negative business repercussions or worse from a financial standpoint to long-term damage to the property’s brand image.
The elements of an effective crisis communications strategy may initially seem counterintuitive, but will in the end better position the hotel for recovery, and will limit the effect of a crisis on the brand. As a crisis is often the first time a hotel is required to focus exclusively on PR, it’s important to get the strategy right.
Do’s and don’ts for crisis communications:
Be accessible
Make every effort to be available to the media and the public, and prepared for any questions they may have. This might mean making the highest ranking executive with public relations or communications experience the ‘point’ person for the crisis, or scheduling multiple press conferences and interviews with another well-coached officer. Do not hide key corporate personnel behind claims of privacy or privilege.
Maintain a streamlined communications process
Random and inconsistent dispersal of information leads to damaging lack of control over the flow of information. Establishing a process early on to deliver announcements and responses can help a hotel maintain some valuable control over its visibility in a crisis. Designating a spokesperson, having regular briefings and response sessions, and making sure that information is passed on through a single channel is key. Do not encourage line-level employees to comment (though be wary of issuing unreasonable prohibitions), and do not issue conflicting statements through different executives.
Show empathy for involved parties
This may be common sense, but consistently declaring and demonstrating that the hotel is empathetic toward those affected by the crisis goes a long way toward shoring up the brand image in the wake of an unforeseen event. In the case of the Chongqing Hilton, this might include expressing contrition to the community, and demonstrating an understanding of how something as disruptive as a prostitution ring can affect a neighborhood and its citizens.
Be direct
Answer questions honestly, and be as conservative as possible when predicting future outcomes. Don’t be evasive. Instead, try to emphasize other more positive aspects of the hotel or property that are not affected or are not related to the crisis. Don’t try to misdirect lines of questioning, as this will make your property look guilty in the eyes of the general public. As a hotel’s revenues are directly affected by consumers’ impressions of the company and the property, it is important to minimize any impressions of guilt or negativity associated with the company.
Provide as much information as possible
The natural reaction may be to withhold information as long as possible, and indeed there may be some PR firms that give this advice. But more often than not, the deliberate withholding of information backfires on a hotel in crisis, and once information does surface, it can be tough to shake the reputation that a hotel may earn for being invasive.
While many of these strategies seem self-explanatory, they are often ignored or forgotten when a property is faced with a crisis. These points may not be enough to make a crisis disappear completely, but they can certainly help a hotel to develop a good communications plan in advance and to minimize the damage experienced after the event. The most important lesson that a hotel can take from a PR crisis is to learn from other companies’ mistakes and to be prepared for anything. Getting back to business quickly and with your brand image intact requires having a successful crisis communications plan at the ready and implementing it without delay.
Jennifer Rodrigues, Visibility Development Manager with ThinkInk Communications, is a seasoned public relations professional with a passion for the hospitality industry. In her role at ThinkInk’s travel division TravelInk’d, she is responsible for developing cost-effective and creative public relations and marketing strategies for clients in the travel and tourism, airline, lodging, cruise and meeting/event sectors. Contact Jennifer at
jlr@travelinkd.com or visit
www.travelinkd.com
Article commissioned by Hotel Management Asia
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