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JHTT
6,2
Using social media in hotel crisis
management: the case of
bed bugs
102 Bingjie Liu and Lori Pennington-Gray
Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport Management,
Received 14 August 2014
Revised 17 November 2014
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA, and
16 January 2015
Accepted 16 January 2015 Louisa Klemmer
Department of Business Studies, Harz University of Applied Sciences,
Wernigerode, Germany

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide greater insights into the-state-of-the-art in crisis
management and aid in better response to health-related crises, with a specific focus on the hotel
industry. This study extends the tourism crisis management model to include social media, concerning
the role of monitoring and responding.
Design/methodology/approach – This study enhances the classic 4R (readiness, reduction,
response and recovery) crisis management model to include social media for hotels facing a bed bug
crisis and/or other health-related crises.
Findings – This paper discusses the use of social media at different phases of managing a bed bug
crisis, which include risk reduction, readiness, response and recovery. Recommendations are also
provided for hotel managers to combat health-related crises that are fought out on social media.
Practical implications – Social media has helped to bridge the communication gap between
customers and hotels. Bed bug infestations are a growing health crisis, and they have obtained
increasing attention on social media sites. Without managing this crisis effectively, bed bug infestation
can cause economic loss and reputational damages to hotel properties, ranging from negative comments
and complaints, to possible lawsuits. Thus, it is essential for hoteliers to understand the importance of
social media in crisis communication, and to incorporate social media in hotels’ crisis management
plans.
Originality/value – This study serves as one of the first attempts in the hospitality field to offer
discussions and recommendations on how hotels can manage the bed bug crisis and other crises of this
kind by incorporating social media into their crisis management practices.
Keywords Hotel industry, Social media, Bed bug crisis, Monitoring and response,
Tourism crisis management, Health-related crises
Paper type Conceptual paper

Introduction
To date, the rise in new media channels has helped to bridge the communication gap
between the customer and the supplier of the product. Particularly, social media has
Journal of Hospitality and
Tourism Technology changed the landscape of crisis communication by providing platforms that are low cost
Vol. 6 No. 2, 2015
pp. 102-112
and easily accessible (Veil et al., 2011). Unlike traditional media, where information
© Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1757-9880
normally follows a one-way path, social media allows instant communication between
DOI 10.1108/JHTT-08-2014-0036 all stakeholders in both directions, offering more opportunities for people to share
information and express opinions (Anderson, 2010). The public also perceives Social media
user-generated content (UGC) on social media sites as more authentic and trustworthy, in hotel crisis
which contributes to a communication network that builds upon storytelling, dialogue
and collective knowledge (Freberg et al., 2011). Indeed, the wide use of social media helps
management
individuals keep up-to-date on information regarding the current state of the crisis,
while also facilitating individuals and organizations to engage in communication before,
during and after a crisis event, enabling various stakeholders to be involved in crisis 103
management practices (Wright and Hinson, 2009). As a growing trend, the on-site and
online crisis management activities are now becoming more simultaneous and
intertwined, and it becomes necessary for practitioners to understand the need
and importance to incorporate social media into their crisis management plans (Sigala,
2011; Veil et al., 2011).
Bed bugs, declared “a pest of public health importance”, recently emerge as a
main health crisis and have obtained substantial public attention on social media
sites (Anderson and Leffler, 2008; CDC and EPA, 2010; De Lollis, 2011). As bed bugs
travel on human hosts, infestations are more common in places such as hotels and
motels as many people come and go in these establishments. Because of the
increased mobility within our society, various hospitality establishments have
already proven their vulnerability to bed bug infestations based on the increase in
travelers and the resulting high turnover rates of hotel room sales (NYC Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene, 2013). Thus, using the case of the bed bug health
epidemic, this paper introduced the role of social media in monitoring and
responding to crises. In doing so, the tourism crisis management model is expanded
to include social media explicitly throughout the 4R phases of crisis management:
reduction, readiness, response and recovery.

Crisis management in the hotel industry and social media

The hotel industry is susceptible and vulnerable to different type of crises. These may
range from major crisis such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters and health-related
crises [such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), H1N1, Legionnaires disease
or foot-and-mouth diseases], to more common issues such as minor crime or even a case
of food poisoning (Henderson, 2004; Kim et al., 2005; Ritchie, 2004). The outbreak of
health-related crises has recently caught a vast amount of public attention, which has
led to profound impacts on the hotel industry (Chien and Law, 2003; Henderson, 2004;
Kim et al., 2005). Impacts include a general decrease in tourism demand as observed in
the UK market due to the outbreak of H1N1 in 2009, or economic impacts as exemplified
by the loss of over $28 million in the Singapore hotel market due to the SARS outbreak
in 2003 (Henderson, 2004; Page et al., 2011).
Various frameworks, guidelines and strategies have been established regarding the
subject of tourism crisis management (Chien and Law, 2003; Henderson, 2004; Ritchie,
2004); however, the hotel sector has traditionally adopted more of a risk management
perspective which has focused on safety and security (Wang and Ritchie, 2010). Because
of this limited focus, hotel managers tend to be less able to handle the situations outside
their rehearsed crisis situation, such as health-related crises (Henderson, 2004; Wang
and Ritchie, 2010). To develop effective crisis management practices, scholars
recommend that crisis management plans should address a range of possible crises
events (even ones which have not been experienced before) and a comprehensive
JHTT communication plan as part of the response phase, Coombs, 2014; Pennington-Gray
6,2 et al., 2011).
Recently, the significance of social media in crisis communication practices has
been addressed, which resulted from the intensive use of social media among the
travelling public, as well as the pragmatic utility of social media as an effective
communication platform for the various hospitality establishments (Coombs, 2014;
104 Sigala, 2011). Taking a demand-side perspective, tourists regard health and safety
as a main concern when making travel-related decisions, and they tend to stay in
hotels that are free from any kind of safety issues (Jonas et al., 2010; Kozak et al.,
2007). In an attempt to reduce or avoid crisis, numerous sources are sought out for
information, including word of mouth from friends and relatives, online blogs, social
media sites and others. Undeniably, social media is increasingly becoming one of the
top sources of information, especially during the times of crisis (Anderson, 2010;
Schroeder et al., 2013; Jacobsen and Munar, 2012; Xiang and Gretzel, 2010). Tourists
also use social media to share their crisis experiences, express their concerns and
participate in conversations that relate to crisis issues (Sigala, 2011). Empirical
research has documented people’s intensive use of social media to participate in
crisis communication regarding travel (Schroeder et al., 2013). Similarly, a national
report shows that 48 per cent of Americans participate in online communities and
social networks and more than half of this group is likely to share crisis information
through these channels (American Red Cross, 2012).
Regarding the supply side of the hotel industry, it is suggested that practitioners
should fully embrace the benefits of using social media in crisis management plans,
both from a marketing perspective and a research perspective (Sigala, 2011). In
regular settings, social media has been extensively used by hoteliers as an
innovative platform to manage customer relationships, and to establish positive
brand images (O’Connor, 2010). In addition to the marketing function, scholars (Fall,
2004; Liu et al., 2015) suggested that the crisis management function of social media,
in terms of monitoring and responding, should not be ignored. Monitoring the
contents generated on social media sites is meaningful for practitioners, in that these
conversations can help them better understand guest concerns, detect signals for
potential crisis, and, therefore, increase their readiness toward a crisis (Coombs,
2014). Additionally, social media allows the tourism industry and its respective
sectors to provide direct responses, enabling practitioners to engage in dialogues
with concerned tourists/consumers. A recent study found that tourists have a
tendency to express their concerns during a crisis via social media, and they are
particularly interested in responses from the tourism industry (Liu et al., 2015).
Appropriate and effective responses can lead to less tourist anxiety and, thus, aid in
achieving positive decisions for the destination (Sigala, 2011).
In summary, to develop the best practices for hotels regarding crisis
management, practitioners need to listen to the customers and understand tourists’
concerns, in addition to equipping themselves with crisis management plans (Veil
et al., 2012). This holds true to the new medium of social media, which offers a
unique opportunity for practitioners to monitor the public discourse surrounding
the crisis issue, respond to concerned guests straightforwardly and stay connected
with them at all times (Veil et al., 2011). However, most research that has been
undertaken in recent years attempted to avoid or reduce the impact of a crisis on
people’s travel experiences (Ritchie, 2004); however, the role of using social media to Social media
monitor a crisis situation and to respond to tourist concerns has been generally in hotel crisis
overlooked (Sigala, 2011; Liu et al., 2015).
management
Bed bug crisis and the hotel industry
Cimex lectular is known as the common bed bug and is an insect that feeds
exclusively on blood. Although bed bugs are unable to transfer diseases directly, 105
bed bug bites can cause certain types of health problems, such as itching, swelling,
allergic reactions and secondary infections (Quarles, 2007). Bed bugs can be found
globally, but more specifically within the USA. Hotel rooms have become the most
frequently reported spots for bed bug infestations, accounting for three-fourths (75
per cent) of all the bed bug reports (National Pest Management Association, 2014).
Because of the physical characteristics, bed bugs can quickly hide in a hotel room –
between the mattress and bedding, behind the wall decorations and under the
furniture (Davies et al., 2012). In addition, these tiny insects can be transported in
luggage, handbags and on clothing as people travel from one place to another. Bed
bugs have a strong reproductive ability so that the population can grow rapidly and
easily become infestations affecting hundreds of individuals (Quarles, 2007). It is
hard to control bed bugs because they are small and elusive, and they can detect and
resist many chemicals and cleaning agents (Quarles, 2007). In most cases, both the
hotel guests and the hotel staff do not learn of a bed bug infestation until guests are
affected by them during an overnight stay in a hotel room.
Similar to other health-related crises, bed bug infestation can exert epidemic
impacts on the hotel industry. For many tourists, bed bugs have evolved into a
serious concern. A recent national survey reports that approximately four in five
Americans (80 per cent) are concerned about the bed bug issue in hotels (National
Pest Management Association, 2014). Encounters with bed bugs in a hotel room
definitely cause hotel guests physical and mental distress; such experiences can also
diminish hotel guests’ satisfaction of the lodging experience, as well as decrease
their intention to revisit the hotel (Kozak et al., 2007; Rittichainuwat and
Chakraborty, 2009). For potential customers, the concern over bed bugs, in the form
of increased risk perceptions and perceived threat, may lead to changes in their
travel decisions, as well as cancellations in their actual hotel bookings. For the
suppliers in the hotel industry, bed bug infestations have been claimed as a major
factor contributing to economic losses (Doggett, 2013). Direct costs occur when hotel
properties are required to fix the infestation, while reputational damages manifest
as a distorted brand identity and poor public image (Doggett, 2013; Rittichainuwat
and Chakraborty, 2009). Additionally, hotels may also experience revenue reduction
and damages in profit margin as a result of the negative image that is featured in
media coverage, the increasing guest complaints, as well as substantial fees due to
legal liabilities (Anderson and Leffler, 2008; De Lollis, 2011; Kim et al., 2005).

Managing the bed bug crisis

4R crisis management model
The necessity of developing crisis management plans has been broadly
acknowledged in the hospitality industry and many approaches have been utilized,
including the life cycle approach, strategic approach, action-oriented approach and
JHTT integrated approach (Huang et al., 2008). Findings of an empirical evaluation of
6,2 these models suggest that the action-oriented approach performs most effectively in
tourism crisis management (Huang et al., 2008; Pennington-Gray et al., 2010). The
4R model, which was first proposed by the Pacific Asia Tourism Association
(PATA), has been found to be a good example of the actions-oriented frameworks
(PATA, 2003). In fact, when applying the 4R model to the hospitality industry, its
106 pragmatic utility has been supported by multiple studies (Pennington-Gray et al.,
2010; Ritchie, 2008). It is noted that the adoption of the 4R model allows an in-depth
analysis of the crisis situation, and, therefore, achieves a useful and comprehensive
framework of crisis management (Pennington-Gray et al., 2010). Researchers not
only used the 4R model to evaluate tourism organizations’ crisis management
practices, but also expanded the model to include social media and analyzed the
practices that were carried out by hospitality practitioners (Pennington-Gray et al.,
2010, 2011).
As a first step, this paper extended the 4R tourism crisis management model to
incorporate the use of social media, highlighting the function of monitoring and
responding.
As presented in Figure 1, the 4R model includes four phrases of managing a crisis:
reduction, readiness, response and recovery (PATA, 2003; Pennington-Gray et al., 2010;
Pennington-Gray et al., 2011; Ritchie, 2008):
• The reduction phrase aims to increase organizations’ awareness of a crisis,
identify the potential risks and seek ways to reduce crisis impacts. At this stage,
hotels should create standard operational procedures (SOPs) that monitor social
media for perceptions of crises and reactions. On the basis of guests’ opinions,
hotels can assess the situation related to an existing crisis event, or determine if
there is an unaddressed crisis which needs attention by the hotel. In the risk
reduction phase, it is important for hotels to budget and plan for a social media
expert who will manage social media on a daily basis. However, ideally this
person will also be part of the hotel crisis management team, and monitor and
respond to both perceived and real crises.
• The readiness phase intends to increase organizations’ preparedness for a crisis.
The contingency plans include establishing a crisis management plan and setting
up health and safety measures.
• The response phase refers to organizations’ activities and movements following a
crisis. Both the appropriateness of a response strategy and the timing act as a key

Reducon Create SOP related to monitoring social media for

percepons of crises and reacons to crises in the hotel

Readiness Include a social media staff person (“monitor”) in the

tourism crisis management plan as an SOP

Figure 1. Engage the social media staff person and empower them
Response
4R hotel crisis to respond regularly to posts unl the crises slows or
ends
management
framework including
Recovery Use social media in the recovery plan—as well as
social media connue to monitor what is being said about the hotel
 to the success of a response strategy. At this phase, it is essential for hotels to Social media
provide time for the social media expert to monitor, respond and report findings in hotel crisis
back to management. This time specific task is continued until it is deemed by
management that the crises no longer need direct attention on social media
management
channels.
• The recovery phrase stands for organizations’ movement to resume normal
business. Based on the lessons learned from the crisis, both business continuity 107
plans and resource reallocations (e.g. human resources) are required as essential
steps. Consistently, hotels should address the monitoring role of social media in
their recovery plans.

A management framework for bed bug crisis in the hotel sector

At present, the hotel industry is facing the challenge of bed bug resurgence, and the
substantial amount of attention given to this topic on social media makes the issue even
more profound (De Lollis, 2011). An effective crisis management plan, therefore, is
critical to the mitigation of the negative consequences that are associated with a
health-related crisis (Henderson, 2004). For hotel practitioners, the effective
management of a bed bug infestation not only requires crisis management plans that are
specifically designed for such a health-related crisis, but also requires additional
attention to the role of social media in their crisis management plans. This study applied
the 4R crisis management model to a hotel crisis, and more specifically, incorporated the
role of social media in this model (Table I).
In the reduction phase, the main task for a hotel property is to identify potential
sources that may lead to the outbreak of a crisis. Given that the bed bug crisis is

Phrase of crisis Actions

Reduction Appoint a crisis management team

Assess the potential risk of bed bug infestation in the hotel property
Identify external agencies that can assist the hotel in times of crisis
Increase hotel staff’s awareness of the situation and what is being done
Propose SOPs surrounding social media
Readiness Establish specific plan for bed bugs
Provide education and training programs for hotel staff regarding to the bed bug crisis
Monitor guests’ comments on social media platforms
Review and revise the crisis management plan on a regular base
Response Activate emergency services
Make decision about response to the guests in the hotel
Employ appropriate communication strategy (e.g. apology, corrective action,
mortification) both online and in traditional communication methods
Provide updates to hotel guests, employees, the general public, and involved
stakeholders
Assign social media personnel to provide quick responses to concerns, comments and
information requests using the social media platform
Recovery Continue to provide messages both in traditional platforms and social media platforms
identifying the safety of the hotel Table I.
Review the existing crisis management practices and enhance the crisis management A management
plan based on new information that has arisen framework of bed
Provide intensive skill trainings for hotel staff and engage them in recovery activities bug crisis in hotels
JHTT ongoing, hotels can assign a crisis management team that will include as a part of its
6,2 focus, bed bug infestation. This team should formulate ideas and select strategies
that are appropriate to address the bed bug situation. Responsibilities of this team
also include identifying external agencies (e.g. pest control company) that can assist
the hotel in times of the bed bug crisis, and increasing hotel staff’s awareness of a
crisis. SOPs dealing with bed bug issues are required. One SOP surrounds creating
108 a dedicated staff person to monitor comments on the Internet and social media sites.
It is recommended that managers use social media as unsolicited feedback on the
bed bug condition in their hotel to improve the service quality of the hotel (Liu et al.,
2015).
At the readiness stage, the main objective is to enhance the organizations’ level of
preparedness for a crisis. This preparation phase is of significance because it can
enhance the establishments resilience to crises and thus reduce the vulnerability of the
organization (Ritchie, 2008). In addition to developing plans, holding seminars to
educate and train hotel staff regarding bed bugs, monitoring the UGC on different social
media platforms and developing partnerships with external agencies that can help
alleviate the crisis situation. Management plans should be reviewed and revised on a
regular basis (Pennington-Gray et al., 2010).
At the response stage, hotel properties need to maintain effective crisis
communication, which involves the process of disseminating and receiving
crisis-related information and covers both internal and external crisis
communications (Coombs, 2007; Ritchie, 2008). Upon the onset of a crisis, hotels
need to activate their plan which may mean securing the facilities, alerting hotel
guests if necessary and updating staff about the crisis situation. Internal crisis
communication plays an important role in this process because a communication
mechanism of high efficiency can help organizations to collect the necessary
information and therefore, better control the crisis situation. When considering
external crisis communication, it is necessary for hotel properties to both monitor, as
well as respond. Monitoring will enable dedicated staff person to assess what people
are saying about the hotel and respond directly to the comments, as well as craft
messages surrounding the hotels’ responsiveness to the situation (e.g. if they are
spraying regularly or the last sighting of a bed bug). Trained staff should be aware
of and choose the most appropriate crisis response strategy (e.g. apology, corrective
action and mortification) based upon the crisis situation (Coombs, 2007) and design
the messages that are clear, honest and targeted for different market segments.
Additionally, they need to ensure that there is consistency across all these crisis
communication processes on different media outlets (e.g. hotel’s home page, UGC
sites and online advertisements) (Coombs, 2007; Pennington-Gray et al., 2010).
The recovery stage offers an opportunity for hotel establishment to resolve the
problem and restore the image to pre-crisis levels (Ritchie, 2004). More importantly,
previous experiences with the health-related crises can provide special lessons for
hotels to continuously modify their crisis management plans for a similar crisis,
which may lie ahead. In a long-term perspective, hoteliers should focus on creating
and disseminating crisis communication strategies that aim to restore the hotel’s
reputation of health and safety. In examining the current crisis management plans,
hotels should also renew the relationship with various stakeholders, reallocate
resources to prepare for crisis managements, as well as engage hotel staff in crisis Social media
recovery activities. in hotel crisis
management
Conclusions
The resurgence of bed bug infestations not only pose a challenge to the hotel industry, but
also puts demands on the hotel sector to deal with these rampant health-related crises. This
study has extended the 4R crisis management framework to include social media and 109
applied the framework to the new context of health-related crisis. In doing so, the results of
this study have generated important managerial implications. First, as one of the early
attempts, this paper has presented a framework that is action-oriented and meets the criteria
of an effective crisis management plan. By outlining the practices that are useful at different
stages of a bed bug crisis, it is expected that the findings of this study can elevate a
traditional risk management plan used by hotels to a more comprehensive plan that is
proposed by experts (TCMI, 2014) and used by some destinations. Second, this study has
focused on the use of social media in crisis management plans, considering the role of
monitoring and messaging. This correlates well with the main stream of tourism crisis
management research, which emphasizes the need of proactive and responsive approaches
in crisis management practices (Wang and Ritchie, 2010; Pennington-Gray et al., 2011). The
hotel industry is starting to embrace social media as a part of crisis management practices.
For example, during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the hotel Trump SoHo New York used social
media successfully to communicate with their guests, providing updates on the hotel status
and answering different questions (Hotel News Now, 2013). Similarly, in the immediate
aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, the Lenox Hotel very effectively used social
media to communicate with the public, which helped accelerate the process of property
evacuation, reduced the public’s fear regarding the crisis situation and helped to reassure the
hotel guests (Hotel News Now, 2013). Hence, hotel managers are beginning to see the
effectiveness of being prepared and having social media crisis plans in place. Third, this
paper addressed a rising problem in the hotel industry, which deals with managing
health-related crises. Given the unexpected nature and the profound impacts, it becomes
imperative for the hotel sector to pay attention to health-related crises and increase their
preparedness toward these crises. (Henderson and Ng, 2004). More importantly,
practitioners should make the best use of social media – collecting unsolicited feedback on
social media sites as a means to identify potential crises, as well as providing quick, clear and
personalized feedback to concerned guests as a way to mitigate the adverse consequences
that are associated with the crisis.
To extend this line of research, empirical research is encouraged in the future to test the
utility of the presented model, investigating the use and impact of social media on hotel
operation during crisis situations. Additionally, expanding the scope into other
health-related crises, such as Legionnaire’s disease or Ebola, can also make significant
contributions to our understanding of hotel crisis management.

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About the authors

Bingjie Liu is currently PhD student in the Department of Tourism, Recreation and Sport
Management at the University of Florida, US, under the advisement of Dr Lori Pennington-Gray.
She received her Bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management from Sun Yat-sen University in
China, and her Master’s Degree in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management from Clemson
University, US. Her current research mainly focuses on the role of social media in tourism crisis
management, particularly its influence on the relationship between tourists’ risk perceptions and
their travel decisions. Bingjie Liu is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:
beckylau1110@gmail.com
Lori Pennington-Gray, PhD, began her appointment in the Department of Tourism, Recreation
and Sport Management in 1999. She is currently Director of the Tourism Crisis Management
Institute. Her research program’s common theme is tourism planning and development from a
demand and supply perspective. Her other major research initiative is in tourism crisis
management. Her main aim is to provide destinations with research findings, which enable them
to make more informed policy choices and better market their destinations. She has worked with
several stakeholders, including non-profits, private sector businesses, public sector businesses
and governments, as well as residents.
Louisa Klemmer, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Business Studies at Harz University
of Applied Sciences in Wernigerode, Germany. She is also the undergraduate coordinator for
Tourism Management. Her research focuses on hospitality management. She has managed hotels
in Germany prior to completing her PhD at the University of Florida in 2009.

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