Ms. Lutz

Social Media & PR

Handling a Crisis in the Social Media Era

By Didi Lutz, President, Didi Lutz PR

Whether it was a guest who made a scene in the lobby, a random falling ladder by the elevator, noisy construction episodes bothering the community, a room fire or a property flood, or any act of terrorism, your hotel needs a plan to respond and handle the situation. As experts in hospitality, we understand the process of anticipating guests' needs and wants. Amidst daily operations and the focus on streamlining tasks and procedures, it is our duty to be responsible and anticipate the potential issues that cannot only impact the guest experience, but seriously compromise the safety of everyone on property.

Crisis management is the process that identifies, analyzes and suggests resolutions to real potential scenarios that can affect your hotel. Your PR agency and/or professional should be part of this process and must be involved at an Executive Committee level. The first step to successful crisis management is to create a simplified yet thorough crisis handbook that will be distributed to each department head.

Until a couple of years ago, traditional approaches to crises worked well. The handbook pretty much covered the issues, and the possible scenarios as they affected the property. Your PR team was proactive and updated it every 10 to 12 months or so. Now, everything has changed. With the economy on the way to recovery, the dynamics, and the communications vehicles have changed. We've officially entered the Era of Social Networking and there's no turning back. Hospitality as an industry, appears to be hesitant to immerse itself in social media, but in the past few months this has changed.

A tactical approach to hotel crisis management is still they way to go, I think. A crisis handbook should be completely rewritten from the perspective of internet media and Web 2.0. Twitter and Facebook are part of any PR person's checklist, and don't forget the myriads of blogs out there that post news and comments every minute of the day. When a crisis hits, it's important to remember how fast the news will spread and at a much faster rate than it did just five years ago. It is therefore important to understand the concept of social media, but to also appreciate their practicality and power.

Here is one thing that remains unchanged in a crisis situation: you are on track to resolving a crisis when you begin containing the problem/issue. Traditionally, the most effective way to do that is to tell all and be truthful. While a crisis management strategy can be very involved and complex for each property, some general aspects that should be included in a crisis handbook include the following:

• Draft four or five talking points, depending on the severity and complexity of the issue. Talking points should be clear, concise and straightforward, so that they leave little room for doubt or discussion.

• Appoint a spokesperson. For each issue, one or two spokespeople should be assigned to talk about the issue. Even in the social media era, this should still be the case. It is so easy for everyone who has a Facebook and Twitter account to take matters in their own hands and start answering questions. Don't encourage this. There should be a central point of communication from the hotel, otherwise messages will get mixed and the crisis may escalate. This is why it is important to talk to and inform your employees about the problem, and what measures you are taking to resolve the issue. Remember, your employees want to help solve a crisis that could affect their jobs, so stay in control and tell them how you can work together.

• Create a list of social media to contact first. As messages have the potential to become extremely viral in the era of social media, make sure you anticipate public reaction. If you have a Facebook page and Twitter account, monitor it and post messages as needed to contain the issue.

• On that note, spend the time and money to train your staff to use social media effectively. Encourage your staff to have Facebook and Twitter accounts to monitor what's going on from the perspective of their friends/followers. Retweeting has become an effective way to spread news, and could be an effective tactic in a time of serious crisis, for example. Remember that social networking is casual, and traditional press release-type messages won't help identify with the audience. Tailor the messages accordingly, and update statuses and pages often.

• Don't forget traditional media. People still read newspapers! Yes, daily papers may be threatened to shut down, merged with others, but they still have power, and also have their online counterpart that reaches thousands of visitors every day. It's important to have a statement ready for print/online reporters.

• Beware of broadcast media. You really need media training to handle an impromptu TV crew arrival. If you are the GM of a hotel, and the local station arrives and starts shooting, what are you going to do? You won't call security to toss them out, you have to approach them calmly and get your message across on camera. TV editing can be cruel, cutting a 30 minute interview down to 30 seconds sometimes, so be sure to repeat your talking points, and repeat them often enough so your message makes it in the story. Reporters are there to do a job, and it is important to remember that they aren't on your side.

• If you have a hotel blog, certainly use that as a vehicle to help contain an issue, while providing answers to media and questions from the public. Blogging is a great way to post messages while encouraging public feedback. I do recommend scanning through comments first before publishing them though!

As our industry embraces the dawn of a new communications era, it is important to feel prepared to handle its challenges. At times of crisis, a well-appointed PR team, a strategic handbook, and a holistic approach to managing issues tactically will help your property be safe and comfortable for everyone.

Didi Lutz is an internationally acclaimed hospitality public relations professional specializing in boutique hotels, luxury travel, destination and tourism communications. Prior to starting her own business in February 2005, Ms. Lutz was the Director of Communications for the Hotel Commonwealth, a 150-room luxury property in Boston. Within the first year of the Hotel Commonwealth's opening, she established the media relationship that led to worldwide recognition for the property as one of Ten Best New Business Hotels by Forbes.com. Ms. Lutz can be contacted at 561-628-7422 or didi.lutz@gmail.com Extended Bio...

HotelExecutive.com retains the copyright to the articles published in the Hotel Business Review. Articles cannot be republished without prior written consent by HotelExecutive.com.