By: Eleanor Waddell, Vice President Strategic Growth and Business Development, Avendra. Published in the ILHA Q2 Luxury Hoteliers Magazine.

Weather. Illness. Global unrest. Labor strikes. They all have one thing in common: they arrive unexpectedly but can all be planned for. Communication, relationships and staffing are the key elements of a hospitality emergency preparedness plan.

As Vice President of Strategic Growth for Avendra, I recently moderated a conversation among luxury hotel executives who shared their best practices for navigating emergencies at their properties at the International Luxury Hotel Association’s annual INSPIRE Conference. Below are a few key highlights to help you prepare for the next time disaster strikes.

Transparent Communication

All the panelists agreed that communication is one of the most important elements in helping your guests and staff navigate an emergency. “Crisis communication is 90% preparation and 10% execution,” said Allison O’Connor, former Global Vice President of Public Relations, Ritz Carlton. It’s critical to have a prepared communication plan in place before a crisis occurs.

While clarity and accuracy are always important in your communication efforts, during an emergency, Allison stressed the importance of:

• Leading and communicating with empathy
• Prompt, timely and frequent communication
• Transparency to build trust

Another key to successful messaging is to have designated spokespeople who are thoroughly trained on your brand’s emergency protocol and message strategies. Make sure all employees can speak about where the facts are coming from. They should all be briefed on the core messages and trained to direct questions to the property’s spokespeople. Avoid fanning the flames of misinformation and ensure everyone knows who the spokespeople are and how to reach them.

Communication with your current guests, and those who have not yet arrived, is critical when an adverse event is anticipated. For example, if a weather-related emergency is imminent in your region, communicate with the guests who have not yet arrived and advise them of the situation to try and avoid having more guests in the path of a potential storm.

“As a general manager, you only have a short time to make these decisions. You don’t want to turn away business, but you also want to reduce any difficulties you might have,” said Gamal El Fakih Rodriquez, Vice President of Operations, Luxury, Marriott International.

Timely communication with your current guests is important. With luxury guests, pre-printing a basic letter about the situation and having it prepared to be hand-delivered to each room is important. You can hand-write the details, fill-in-the-blank style, as they become clearer.

“Phones and Wi-Fi are likely not going to work during many emergencies,” said Martin Smith, General Manager, Eden Roc Miami Beach. Pre-printing basic letters is a good way to be prepared and to keep guests informed.

All three panelists agreed that frequent communication with both internal and external stakeholders is critical. Be honest and don’t promise what you cannot deliver. Your guests expect you to be on top of the developing situations and tell them what’s happening. Your staff expects transparent and frequent communication. Most importantly, make sure your messages are aligned throughout the organization.

Solid Relationships

Relationships facilitate effective communication as well as help ensure your properties are well-prepared for emergencies. Key supply partners, utilities and local emergency service providers are among those with whom general managers should be continually communicating to ensure everyone is on the same page when a crisis strikes. Water management, diesel suppliers and staffing agencies will serve those partners who have taken the time to build positive relationships with them.

Martin shared how when Hurricane Maria struck, he was working at a property in Puerto Rico. He had built a good relationship over time with the local diesel supplier who ensured they had enough fuel to keep their 49 generators going for 12 days until the supply chain improved.

Advanced preparation includes having a plan and basic supplies on hand. Gamal explained they have water, fuel, perishable and non-perishable items stored in a few rooms on their properties. They keep current contracts for emergency services and evacuation services.

I also contributed to the discussion as I walked through a workforce strike situation that affected several properties in Los Angeles. Thanks to positive, ongoing relationships with supply partners, deliveries were shifted from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. – 3 a.m. to reach the hotels without incident. “It’s so important to be fluid and to work with your partners to shift gears.”

Relationships with your guests help ensure their safety and that of your staff. A positive guest experience, even during a crisis, reinforces your brand promise. Gamal advises working closely with local authorities and considering the following guest concerns during an emergency:

• Reducing headcount is critical
• Guests need to feel safe
• Guests need to feel there is a way to go back home

Relationships with trusted, credible local journalists will help bolster or rebuild a property’s reputation during and after an emergency. “Great communication is essential, but it doesn’t happen overnight. Building really strong relationships with credible journalists is essential before a crisis ever happens,” Allison explained.

She suggests building lists of credible journalists you can call when a crisis occurs, and your brand name may be in question. These people will know and share the truth of a situation because of the relationship you have built over time with them.

“You should have a playbook for each property and region,” Allison said. This ensures the fundamentals are in place and staff have the room to pivot to address the nuances of each situation. Being able to lean on strong relationships with journalists will ease communication functions during and following an emergency.

Well-Trained Staff

Staffing with the right people and trusting their judgment means you can take yourself (as general manager) out of the equation for certain decisions. Your engineer and security director are trained for emergencies. They will approach the situation methodically and promptly to protect property and people. “Give control to the people who are trained to do it,” Martin suggested.