EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OF RESORT MANAGEMENT

What is Emergency preparedness?

- is the preparation and planning necessary to effectively handle an emergency/crisis. - strategic organizational management processes used to protect critical assets of an organization from hazard risks.

Crisis
- Any situation that has the potential to affect long-term operation of an organization, which may interfere with its ability to continue operating normally.

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Survey findings @ Ocean Shores, Washington on September 2005 regarding level of tsunami hazard knowledge and response planning3

18 hotels surveyed, motels and other accommodation establishment.

Result: Number of employees trained for tsunami and general hazard response was found to be low. Only 4 out of 18 reported being exposed to training on how to respond to hazard events, such as tsunami warning. Only 1 out of 4 to have an on-going training programme for tsunami hazards, and regular exercises such as drills and evacuation practices. 3 other organizations had tsunami specific training described it as part of their orientation to employment. Only 3 establishment reported having information available to guests that was specific to tsunamis. Usually consisted on of a brochure or a poster available for guests to view. Only 1 hotel have information included in every room and made readily visible to guests.

Issues/Difficulties to plan for successful Emergency Preparedness:-

Organization: General low level of awareness among the public as well as the state1 Lack public awareness and appreciation of the need for disaster preparedness; public awareness and policy interest in disaster risk reduction1 Predictive limitations, difficult to prepare for all type of disaster.6 Plans are draft and made, and then left it aside. No continuous process to update or amend it.5 Perception of business owner that any emphasis on hazards may be bad for business.3 Operations reliance on automation, hotel fail to take into consideration of structure down time.2 False alarm affect the effectiveness of future warning response. If a false alarm has occurred in the past, the public may be less likely to take action in response to a future warning. 3 Assume that if there has been disaster planning there will be successful crisis or emergency time management.6 The preparedness may stand in conflict with preserving hotels hospitable and welcoming image creating potentially negative effects on customer service.6

Employees: Responsiveness varies from person to person and on a managers ability to think outside the box when crises occur.1 Difficult to keep planned response properly because employees turn-over and only have drills to reinforce the emergency preparedness procedures.2 Plans are too rigid, employees do not have flexibility to adapt according to the situation.2 Willing employees are not given chance to learn by the management.3 Employee orientation fail to pass on essential information, results in employees to learn from informal sources and assumptions which may be highly inaccurate or misleading.3 Employees react intuitively and in a relative state of un-preparedness when there are insufficient knowledge.1

Guests: Inadequate information about plan are provided to guests.3 Communications between hotel and guests are limited.2

Impact: SARS epidemic and Iraq war affected across Asia and the Pacific Region, decline in tourists arrival ranged from 10 to 50% as an indirect outcome of the uncertainty and increased level of anxiety.1 Suspend operations and risks of losing customers confidence.2

Good examples: Walt Disney World Resort2

Cause Walt Disney to fine-tune its disaster plan, with an emphasis on communication and support of employees, the companys plan allowed the Walt Disney World Resort to resume operations after the storms, even while it assisted employees with storm relief. Employee communication broad communication using internal e-mail system and hotlines, ensure employees understood the expectations of their actions. Guest communication Provide guests with information from relevant authority for the situation assessment and updates. So guests can prepare and are aware of whats happening. Ability to use broadcast media to give and get information working with broadcast media to provide operating information to guests and employees. Compassion considered the impact on employees and not just on the physical assets.

Suggestions: To have crisis pre-planning in employee training programmes and to ensure that staffs are empowered to take appropriate action.1 Continually update contact list of all relevant personnel. Example: Starwood Hotels & Resorts empowered employees to take key decisions in the event of a crisis.1 PATA framework, suggest that simulation exercise might be used to prepare employees to implement plans and here, speed of response is a key issue in terms of effectiveness of threat reduction.1 Emergency management training should be an essential component of new employee orientation. However, organizations often leave training modules on the periphery of OSHA out of orientation in order to trim short term costs.3 Need a sufficient structure to hold and exchange valid information that will support agents actions towards the common goal and processes of self-organization where informed agents initiate action, but adjust their action to that of others operating towards the same goal in accordance with changing needs.4

Suggestions:Social science knowledge, not myths, should guide program activities, priorities, and implementation strategies.5 If disaster plans are to be relevant guides for the behavioral response, they must be developed by those who will implement them.5 Involve the local emergency response agency in the plan development, this will allowed the response agencies to integrate their plan with the hotel.5 Plan for what actions can reasonably be executed by the property.6 Structure media relationships.6 To have crisis pre-planning in employee training programmes and the ensure that staffs are empowered to take appropriate action.1

Conclusion :Studies show that businesses willing and able to adapt to the disaster event recovered faster than those businesses that thought they would be unable to combat the effects of the disaster. In order to have an effective emergency plan, it is important for the top management to be involved and committed to the planning. In conclusion, it is important for the resort to have a clear communication line with the emergency response agencies in order to have a smooth recovery. A good communication with the guest and employees as well will improve recovery effort . We conclude that an emergency plan for resort will benefit in the event of any disaster or crisis.

(1) Malhotra, R and Venkatesh, U. (2009). Pre-Crisis Period Planning: Lessons for Hospitality and Tourism. Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes, [online] Vol. 1, pp 66-74. Available from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=1782760 [Accessed 1st November 2011]. (2) Higgins, B.A (2005). The Storms of Summer: Lessons Learned in the Aftermath of the Hurricanes of 04. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, [online]. Available from: http://cqx.sagepub.com/content/46/1/40 [Accessed 1st November 2011] (3) Johnston, D. Becker, J. Gregg, C. Houghton, B. Paton, D. Leonard, G. and Garside, R (2007). Developing Warning and Disaster Response Capacity in the Tourism Sector in Coastal Washington, USA. Disaster Prevention and Management, [online] Vol. 16 No.2, pp 210-216. Available from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0965-3562.htm [Accessed 1st November 2011]. (4) Paraskevas, A. (2006). Crisis Management or Crisis Response System?: A Complexity Science Approach to Organizational Crises. Management Decision, [online] Vol. 44 No. 7, pp 892-907. Available from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0025-1747.htm [Accessed 1st November 2011]. (5) Drabek, T. E. 2005. Sociology, Disasters and Emergency Management: History, Contributions, and Future Agenda. In McEntire, David A. (ed.) Disciplines, Disasters and Emergency Management: The Convergence of Concepts Issues and Trends From the Research Literature, [online]. Available from: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/downloads/DrabekSociologyDisastersandEM.pdf [Accessed 30th October 2011] (6) Soraghan, E. (2009. Management and Disaster. Professional Papers. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, [online]. Available from: http://digitalcommons.library.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/638 [Accessed 30th October 2011]. (7) Hoontakul, P. Laitamaki, J. PhD. Tourism Crisis Management Framework: The Thai Experience. Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration of Chulalongkorn Univeristy, [online]. Available from: http://www.pongsak.hoontrakul.com/papers/071005_Tourism_Crisis_Management_Framework_Th e_Thai_Experience_by_Hoontrakul_n_Laitamaki.pdf [Accessed 30th October 2011]. (8) Hystad, P. and Keller, P. (2006). Disaster Management: Kelowna Tourism Industrys Preparedness, Impact and Response to a 2003 Major Forest Fire. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, [online] Vol. 13 Num. 1 pp.44-58. Available from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb1385/is_1_13/ai_n29263649/ [Accessed 30th October 2011].