IJIC, Volume 6 (2022)

Synopsis

The Everglade Hotel had just completed a lengthy period of renovations to the public areas, including the lobby and the restaurant. Anticipation was high for a busy summer season and occupancy rate was forecast to be around 77%. When COVID-19 became a public health issue the Hotel had to shift gears quickly. With prior experience responding to SARS in a hotel in China, the GM looked to Douglas, Director of Rooms to be a key lead in the response, and Douglas needed to act swiftly. In a 24/7 business that had emergency and contingency planning for a range of disasters (flood, earthquake, tsunami, fire) Douglas quickly determined there was no emergency plan or contingency plan for a pandemic. Douglas was tasked with bringing the hotel leadership together to develop a joint emergency plan and contingency plan. Use this case to provide students with the opportunity to consider what to do immediately in a crisis, and how to create a contingency plan. The name of the hotel in this case is disguised.

Keywords

Emergency response, contingency planning, COVID-19, pandemic, tourism, hotel

Target Audience and Usage

This case supports business, hospitality, and tourism students at the undergraduate and graduate level to explore the content and development of an emergency closure plan ‘on the fly’ and a follow up contingency plan.  This case would be suitable for undergraduate students in business, operations, and project management or disaster management courses.  The case is also suitable for tourism and hospitality courses such as facilities and hotel operations management.

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