How Hotels Prepare for Natural Disaster Risks

Natural disasters do not provide much, if any, advance warning. When a business suffers a catastrophic loss as a result of a natural disaster, there are wide-ranging impacts to consider. 

Hotels are a type of business that can operate in a variety of locations. As a result, when a natural disaster strikes, a hotel is particularly susceptible to suffering significant harm. 

Property damage may occur both to the interior and exterior of the hotel structure. Hotels often employ many people to attend to various operational needs. The more detailed a hotel’s disaster preparedness, the quicker it is able to bounce back after suffering a loss. On top of bouncing back quicker, the more prepared a hotel is when it comes to natural disasters, the safer its employees and guests are. 

Understanding the risks from natural disasters faced by hotels

The owner of a hotel must have a firm grasp on the potential impacts of a natural disaster. On top of that, hotels face unique challenges associated with natural disasters depending on the location of their property. A hotel on a beach faces different threats from natural disasters than does a hotel located at the foothills of a mountain range, for instance. 

Hotels located on the Gulf Coast and southern Atlantic coastline are in harm’s way as far as hurricanes and other tropical systems. Large amounts of rain can fall in short periods of time with these storms. Flooding becomes a major concern for hotels along with high winds. The winds can break windows and toss property a significant distance- often at the building itself. 

Insurance policies that purportedly cover losses associated with natural disasters are infamous for excluding from coverage many common scenarios that arise from natural disasters. 

Preparing for natural disasters means examining an insurance policy ahead of time to review the types of losses covered by the policy. If a beachside hotel’s insurance policy only covers losses to the structure itself- but not the exterior grounds or other property- then a policy revision may be necessary. 

How can hotels best prepare for natural disasters?

A plan must be created by a hotel to prepare for a natural disaster. Once a natural disaster occurs, there are so many issues to contend with that it is too late for a plan to be created. Rather, a hotel owner should face these threats head-on by devising a plan geared towards addressing the unique problems created by the different types of natural disasters. 

Natural disasters do not wait for a hotel’s off-season to impact the business. Rather, it may be that a hotel is struck by a hurricane on a busy Summer weekend. Guests will be worried about their health and well-being. By preparing for this type of occurrence, hotel ownership and management can help employees avoid becoming inundated with questions beyond their knowledge base. 

Imagine a well-meaning employee providing a guest with incorrect information during the aftermath of a natural disaster. By engaging in property emergency preparedness, the employees will have been coached on how to reasonably answer predictable questions, helping to spread calm instead of panic. 

Proactive communication between the hotel and guests

Natural disasters require diligent communication from the hotel to its guests. When a natural disaster strikes, the hotel ownership and management team must ensure that all information regarding the disaster and its impact is centralized. Instead of communication on evacuation, emergency preparedness, and vendor shipments going to three different people, those communications should, instead, be filtered through one person. This ensures that the necessary coordination to minimize disruption to the management of the hotel during the disaster occurs. 

Understandably, any guests on site will have questions regarding the natural disaster. In some situations, such as with a hurricane, guests and hotel staff will have days to prepare for the arrival of the storm. The questions of guests can quickly overwhelm hotel staff and management. An overwhelmed employee is more likely to provide a guest with incorrect information. Hotel management should be communicating with their staff to ensure accurate information can be disseminated to guests. 

Review emergency preparedness plans on a regular basis

Every hotel should have a plan to enact in case of an emergency. Natural disasters cannot always be anticipated. However, when disaster strikes, a hotel should have a plan in place, tailored to the needs of the hotel and the specific emergency it is facing. 

Again, communication is of the utmost importance when enacting an emergency preparedness plan. When the internet and phone systems are not functioning, walkie-talkies, radios, and other emergency systems should be available. Important information is exchanged from governmental bodies through the radio during natural disasters. To rely solely on the internet for communication is a major oversight and mistake. 

Property damage claims for hotels

Insurance claims, unfortunately, cannot always be paid in a timely manner. Hotel owners rely upon their insurance policies to repair or replace damages suffered in a natural disaster. When an insurance company denies a valid claim, it becomes a point of major frustration and stress for a property owner and their management team. 

As the vast majority of hotel owners have at least one insurance policy on their property, when that company fails to pay a valid claim, it creates a backlog of repairs on site. That backlog may prevent the hotel from operating at all until the claim can be processed. The question remains- what can be done by a hotel owner when their insurance claim is submitted correctly but is wrongly denied?

Pearson Legal, P.C., serves property owners in disputed insurance claims

When an insurance company wrongly denies your claim, don’t wait around. Contact Pearson Legal, P.C. today for a consultation. Receiving information and feedback based on your specific circumstances is an invaluable tool when facing an insurance company.

Insurance companies that wrongly deny claims do so with the assumption that the insured will not fight back. Instead, take the fight to the insurance company with the help of the experienced legal team with Pearson Legal, P.C. We understand the property damage claims process and advocate for our clients to receive what they are promised within their insurance policy.