Art of Hotel Reputation Management

The best way to handle crises in hotels is to anticipate them. This sounds counterintuitive, but it is important to develop a proactive approach to crisis management.

Even if you have the best staff or service, a small oversight or issues beyond your direct control can lead to a major crisis.

Your hotel can create a welcoming atmosphere, but problems like theft or foodborne illness outbreaks may be out of your control. Imagine if news of a foodborne illness spreads. That will surely damage the hotel's reputation.

That's why it's best to have proper crisis management in place before problems arise.

Here's how to do just that:

• Anticipate potential reputation crises

Consider where your hotel's weaknesses lie and what crises are common in hotel services. Then create an action plan to deal with them promptly. Examples of common crises in hotels include accidents involving guests, data breaches, or employee strikes.

Preparing for a crisis is a great way to protect your hotel's reputation.

• Create a crisis communications strategy

Work with PR professionals to create a customized crisis communications plan. They will help you create a proactive crisis management action plan.

In addition, they offer media training for your managers. This training will help hotel managers respond effectively to potential media issues.

• Responding effectively to negative press or backlash

The first thing you should do after reading any negative press is to stay calm. Then, put your crisis communications plan into action (if you have one).
In your crisis communications plan, you should focus on honest and sincere communication. In the event of negative press or social media backlash, the first step should be to apologize for the wrongdoing.

Express in your apology that you will do everything you can to fix the problem and make sure it doesn't happen again.

If you are confronted with questions as a manager or representative of the hotel, remain polite and calm in your responses.