Emergency Management in a Tropical Resort: Steps to Take and Policies to Implement

This case study discusses the emergency management steps to take during a tropical resort emergency and the for future prevention. It also highlights the poor customer service and lack of team spirit among the staff. The article suggests conducting meetings, providing training, and installing facilities to avoid risks and enhance customer service.

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CASE STUDY 2
SCENARIO: EMERGENCY IN A TROPICAL RESORT

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What steps need to be taken immediately?
Since the weather forecast of cyclone is true emergency alert has to be executed. The
emergency ring should be blown to reach the information of impending storm and cyclone to
every guests as well staffs in the hotel. All windows and doors should be locked and latched.
Necessary arrangements should be made if in case power goes off. All the electrical machines
needed to be unplugged. Some technicians or engineers are needed to be called up urgently or
take help from neighbourhood hotels in order to take out the person stuck in lift (Wang &
Ritchie, 2013). All the guests who has gone for the exhibition both as participant and
audience or has gone elsewhere should be called individually and asked to be back to the
hotel immediately in order to ensure their safety. The guests who were about to leave but
their flights have been cancelled should be made some arrangement to stay back for the night
with proper care, empathy and good quality of service (Singal, 2014). To make the people
feel cosy and safe more heaters or fire should be arranged mainly for those who comes back
to hotel rain soaked. The water on the floor needs to be mopped so that no one falls or trips
and get injured.
After the restoration of relative normality, what would you do next?
From the case study it can be understood very clearly that both the services provided
by the supervisors, reception staffs and management of the hotel are very poor and not up to
the mark specially when emergency situation like weather calamity hits. The service is not
only poor but also very casual, careless and lacks empathy. They are poorly informed or
apply their own judgement over the reality. When guests asked about weather condition John
misguided them saying it was normal thunderstorm and they can easily move out. He also
lacked empathy and denied to cooperate when Mrs. Cox’s flight got cancelled and she
wanted to stay. This reflects poor customer service and miscommunication (Hu, 2016).
The unavailability and poor condition of torch reflect the lack of maintenance of
necessary aids in time of emergency. Nigel’s coming late and Phillip’s extra hour in work
reflects lack of supervision on the labours sign in and sign offs. This reflect that there is no
strict rule as well as monitoring on the total working hour maintained or served by each
individual staffs within the hotel. This depicts a poor condition of team performance in the
emergency management (Hu, 2016). Jill’s feelings of anxiety fear due to thunderstorm were

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not noticed by anyone reflecting lack of team spirit bonding among the staffs. This reflects a
poor organizational behaviour within the hotel where individuals even though work together
but not connected at all. There is no consensus, participation by all in decision making. Every
junior staffs keep asking John the supervisor to make any move. This not only reflects
inefficiency but also too much dependence that leads to a biased environment. John being
senior supervisor is faulty at his role. He is careless, not bothered to get information, believe
them and act accordingly. He is judgemental and opinionated and very rigid. He ignores the
rattling sounds o doors.
It is important to ensure that such problems do not occur again and for that making the staffs
aware of their mistakes, casualness is very important. So as a facility manager I will conduct
a meeting and make everyone aware of their expected behaviour, duties as per the job role
(Sisson & Adams, 2013). Stricter monitoring would be exercised on the staffs and also focus
would be given on making arrangements to deal with emergency like natural calamities.
To ensure that these problems would not occur again, what polic’ies,
if any, would you investigate and implement?
To avoid such problems again management needs to conduct a meeting where all these issues
are addressed and proper solutions are taken. They are needed to be given training on
hospitality management so that they conduct good quality of service and handle emergency
efficiently. Each department starting from housekeeping, general staffs, supervisors, juniors,
reception staffs etc needs to revisit their roles and ensure such situation should never occur in
near future (Zhou,Ye, Pearce & Wu, 2014).
Proper supervision of all the facilities is to be done. The management of the hotel needs to
come up with some solution for situation of over booking or if any guests want to extend his
stay. The hotel authority should not ask the guest to leave or force them. Services like
elevator should be checked up monthly if there is any fault that might disrupt the service.
Proper arrangement should be done to beat the natural calamities like cyclone, cold storm etc.
Rooms should have good heating facilities (Sisson & Adams, 2013). The hotel management
needs to ensure that every individual guest gets good quality of food and hygienic atmosphere
within hotel. In order to make the staffs grow bonding among them, they should be gathered
and give time for relaxation. Management should conduct one on one meeting with every

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staffs to know them better and enlighten them about their duties better and motivate them to
take care of his duties well (AlBattat & Mat Som, 2013).
It is important for the management to install facilities that avoid risk of injuries among the
staffs as well as keeps the guests secured and safe. The hotel needs more communication
within staffs and between staffs and the guests. The supervisor or senior authority
representative should be more responsible and intrinsically motivated for his work. He should
take into account others feelings, opinions and conditions over his mere assumptions.
Management needs to take up democratic style of leadership where views, opinions of
individuals are taken into account and decision is made with a consensus. This would help
effectively to grow more team spirit and connection among the workers (Sisson & Adams,
2013). In order to enhance the quality of customer service the customer relationship
management should be executed properly.

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