Choice Hotels Franchisee Crisis Plan Final 6 PDF

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Crisis management...

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CHOICE HOTELS INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY CRISIS RESPONSE PLAN Prepared by Tierney June 2018

Table of Contents Overview...…………..…………………………………………………………………………………..2 General Guidance ……………………………………….………..………………………………….4 If a Crisis or Issue Occurs ………………………………………………………………………….5 Crisis or Issue Evaluation Checklist.…………………………………………………………..6 How to Handle Media Calls………………………………………………………………..……..7 Local Emergency Contacts List………..………………………………………………………..9

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Overview The hospitality industry has seen brands suffer significant reputational damage as a direct result of not preparing for, or not reacting quickly enough to, crises at the local, brand or enterprise levels. The proper action and response to a crisis is a critical element to protecting a brand’s reputation, and effective crisis management must be a top priority for every organization. This crisis response plan was prepared as a resource to support your communications response to a crisis, issue or threat at a hotel. Our goal is to provide best practices and suggested guidance in an easy-to-use format to protect the reputation of an individual property, the hotel brand and the Choice brand. The plan presents suggested crisis response protocol for franchisees, and sets forth suggested guidelines for involving the Choice Public Relations team. The following pages: 1. Establish protocols for assessment, notification and communication of a crisis; 2. Define and map the process for handling a crisis; 3. Provide best practices for handling media inquiries; and 4. Ensure properties know when and how to engage the Choice Public Relations team during a crisis. Below is a brief overview of a crisis or reputational issue, what your role is, and what the role is of the Area Director and Choice Public Relations team. What is a crisis or reputational issue? •

Crises are unexpected, reputation-defining situations that can result in negative public perception of an individual, property, company, or organization. They can range in topic from a gaffe on social media to extreme natural disasters.

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Reputational issues may occur if there is inability to meet public expectations. An issue can escalate if poorly managed, or when a company simply fails to properly respond.

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Negative media coverage is often the result, but the internet – and social media - now enables exposure far beyond the reach of the evening news. Today, anything a company or hotel does, or doesn’t do, is subject to more public scrutiny than ever before. Anyone with access to a keyboard and the internet can be a self-appointed journalist.

Best practices for hotels during a crisis: • • •

First, ensure the immediate safety of yourself, your staff and guests. Complete a situation assessment and initiate any notifications to regulatory agencies, law enforcement, etc. Determine and notify the correct personnel from Choice Hotels: Area Director, Choice Cares, Reputation Management and/or Corporate PR.

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• • • •

Work to protect the hotel brand, and all guests and employees from reputational threats. Field media inquiries and share with Choice Area Director and/or Corporate PR, as necessary. Manage media presence on-property, if applicable, following all local laws. Provide ongoing updates to Choice Area Directors and/or Corporate PR, as necessary.

Area Director role during a crisis: • • •

Determine and notify the correct personnel from Choice Corporate: Regional Vice President, Choice Cares, Reputation Management, and/or Corporate PR. Coordinate media inquiries to share with Corporate PR for best practice strategic guidance and/or suggested response. Provide ongoing updates to Corporate PR, as necessary.

Choice Public Relations team role in a crisis is to: • • • •

Protect the hotel brand, the Choice master brand (Choice Hotels International), and all guests and employees from reputational threats. Provide best practice crisis communications guidance and resource support to properties as needed. Educate and inform relevant parties during a crisis. Engage appropriate parties to speak with media, as appropriate.

Choice Area Directors and Choice Public Relations team are unable to: •

Speak directly on behalf of the hotel.

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General Guidance Who should I contact? And when? There are many ways a situation can rise to the level of crisis – from customer complaints to employee issues. Choice Hotels offers several resources to help, including Choice Cares, Reputation Management, and the Choice Public Relations team. Below is a guide on which team can assist in each situation. Always keep in mind to always use your best judgment.

LOCAL HOTEL STAFF

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AREA DIRECTOR

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• •

CHOICE CARES

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REPUTATION MANAGEMENT

PR TEAM

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Negative customer review, customer complaints via phone, email or social media that can be resolved by hotel staff. Local issues impacting hotel, i.e. local construction, street repair, etc. Any other guest issue able to be resolved directly by hotel. Minor hotel damage not requiring guest relocation.

Local hotel staff should notify Area Directors in the event of any issue that is impacting the property. Area Directors will use discretion in elevating issue with Corporate.

Situation where guests need to be relocated or evacuated from hotel. Hotel facing a natural disaster, man-made disaster, fire or other significant local/property event. Issues or disrupted service with phone lines, internet, etc. Power outages.

Negative customer review, customer complaints via social media that cannot be resolved at hotel level and/or which gain social media attention. Moderate media or social media attention.

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Property facing issues with online reputation, Medallia and/or GIS surveys, ChoiceHotels.com ratings and reviews, and social review sites.

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Negative media or widespread social media attention, resulting from: o A major threat or injury to human life. o Major property destruction. o A government or law enforcement investigation outside “routine” business. o A security breach that compromises the hotel.

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If a Crisis or Issue Occurs When a crisis or issue occurs, the guidance below provides suggested best practices for how to manage a situation. • • • • • •

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First, work to ensure the immediate safety of yourself, your staff and guests. Alert law enforcement, public safety officials and/or any other first responders, as necessary. Try to assist victims and those immediately impacted to the best of your ability, and provide direction to staff or guests as appropriate. Work to conduct a situation analysis using the checklist on the following page. Communicate with your Area Director and provide updates on the situation. In collaboration with your Area Director, determine who from Choice should be notified of situation (consult guidelines in the table on the previous page: Choice Cares, Reputation Management, or Choice Public Relations Team or others, as appropriate). Work with your Area Director to create a list of action items to mitigate and/or resolve the situation in partnership with corporate contacts, as appropriate. Continue to monitor the situation in lockstep with your Area Director; provide Choice PR updates as is necessary and as the situation evolves.

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Crisis or Issue Evaluation Checklist This Evaluation Checklist can be used to gather facts, help you determine your next steps and develop action items with your Area Director to respond to the issue. CONDUCT A SITUATION ANALYSIS:  What happened?  Who raised the issue?  How isolated is the incident?  Does it have the potential to become more serious? GUEST IMPACT:  Has a guest committed an illegal activity on property?  Are guests’ lives in immediate danger? What about potential danger?  Are there any serious injuries or deaths?  Are there any serious allegations against the hotel that impact guests? (i.e., illegal activity within the property, serious guest mistreatment)  Are there a large number of impacted guests?  Are guests speaking to the media or on social media, and are any social media posts or review website posts gaining traction? PROPERTY IMPACT:  Are hotel employee lives in immediate danger? What about potential danger?  Does the entire hotel need to be closed? For how long?  Is the hotel inaccessible (i.e., due to natural disaster)?  Do guests need to be evacuated/have guests been evacuated?  Is there a health or safety threat (i.e., mold, asbestos, building damage)?  Is law enforcement on site?  Has misinformation been reported or circulated about the hotel? MEDIA IMPACT:  Is there significant media attention (i.e., negative stories, stories by national media)?  Is the media on site or nearby?  Is the media calling?  Has the media ambushed hotel ownership or employees?  Is the media speaking with guests or employees? SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT:  Has anything gone viral (i.e. 50+ likes, comments and/or shares)?  Are photos or videos circulating?  Has a high-profile person or someone with a significant following posted about it?

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How to Handle Media Calls When a crisis or issue arises and gains attention, media may contact you for comment. While Choice PR cannot respond on your behalf, if a situation arises that is a threat to the brand, PR may help to craft a response to the media. The following directions will help you gather information from the reporter to relay to your Area Director and deal with a persistent reporter. If a reporter calls, properties can take the following steps… 1. Let the reporter know you will be happy to take down their information and have someone get back to them who can help answer their questions. 2. Politely ask for: a. Reporter’s name (including the correct spelling) b. Name of organization or media outlet the reporter is with c. Contact details: phone number, email d. Topic or questions the reporter is looking to answer e. Reporter’s deadline 3. Thank the reporter for their call. 4. In some situations, commenting at all is not recommended. If a reporter is asking about an ongoing investigation, ongoing litigation, you should not comment. If there is an emergency where the authorities are involved, you should refer media to the authorities for comment. 5. Notify your Area Director that you received a media inquiry and send the above information via email to your Area Director, who can then notify Choice Corporate PR for guidance on how to respond. If the reporter is persistent… It is appropriate to ask the media to wait for a response from the proper representative. If, however, they push you for a statement, please refrain from commenting. You may use some of the below language in your conversation, if it is helpful. Reporter: “I’m on a tight deadline. Couldn’t you just answer my questions?” Suggested Response: “I am not the most appropriate person to answer your questions, but I will make sure someone gets in touch with you as soon as possible.” Reporter: “You work there; you must have thoughts about the situation. Don’t worry; our conversation is off the record.” Suggested Response: “I’d prefer to put you in touch with the best person to answer your questions.” Reporter: “I’ve already been told XYZ. Can’t you just confirm it for me? We don’t want to print something that is incorrect.” Suggested Response: “I’m happy to try to connect you with the best person to respond, but I want to make sure the information you receive is accurate.”

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If a camera crew arrives on site… 1. You can ask them kindly to refrain from filming on private property. 2. You cannot stop the media from filming or reporting from a public location, and should not interfere with their shot unless they attempt to gain access to your hotel without permission. If they are endangering the safety of guests or employees, impeding traffic, etc., you can alert your local authorities and request their assistance. 3. When dealing with a camera crew, try to remain calm and assume the camera is always on, particularly if they try to verbally provoke you or escalate the situation. 4. Consider refraining from commenting or providing an interview and encourage staff to do the same while they are working. While media cannot engage employees while at the hotel, they can try to speak to employees after they leave the hotel. Consider advising your employees that they should not to speak to the media.

About Tierney Tierney is a leading full-service communications agency, offering integrated advertising, PR, brand planning, digital, media planning and buying, and content creation and deployment across paid, earned, and owned channels. The agency has been honored twice by Ad Age as one of the Best Places to Work. Tierney is headquartered in Philadelphia and operates offices in Harrisburg and New York. The company is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG).

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Local Emergency Contacts List Print and fill in all relevant emergency contact information so you have it on hand in case of a crisis or issue on property. Area Director: Emergency Phone Numbers Fire Department: Police Department: Ambulance Service: Rescue / Paramedics: Federal Bureau of Investigation: Chemical Spills—EPA National Response Center: 1-800-424-8802 Insurance Claims Representative: Fire Alarm Service Contractor: Emergency Phone: Central Station for Fire Alarm System: Emergency Phone: Elevator Emergency Service: Special Services: Franchisor Emergency Contact: Utilities Electric Company: Emergency Phone: Natural Gas Company: Emergency Phone: Water Department:

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