Crisis management Planning Case Study of Holiway Garden Resort & Spa in Bali and the Volcano Agung
Introduction
Based on the dynamic nature of the business, unexpected incidents can happen hence, the need to have a strategic plan to help the company mitigate the impacts and allow the company to get back to its feet sooner. The hoteling industry is a unique industry that significantly depends on brand awareness and reputation. Hence, the need to have an excellent reputation for operating effectively in the market. To maintain good reputations, hoteling companies invest in procedures, processes, and other emergency response tactics to help them recover when necessary. Crisis levels are characterized based on the aspects that trigger them; hence, some can entirely be prevented while in the other case, impacts can be mitigated with proper planning and preparation. This research paper discusses the categories of crisis as encountered by Holiway Garden Resort & Spa in Bali and the Volcano Agung and how the company can effectively mitigate the respective risks based on previous studies on the company’s crisis awareness levels.
Crisis management and planning
Initially, types of disasters are divided into two major categories depending on the aspects that cause them. There are naturally triggered crisis like floods, hurricanes, etc. while, there also exists human factored crisis conditions that include: bombing, kidnapping chemical attacks that are caused by lack of proper control by a human. Renner, Miriam agrees that the highest priority in any emergency needs to be human life protection by all possible means. In this case, all crisis plans are intended to stabilize the accident to minimize its influence on humans. Hence, in each of the types of crisis, the plan involves earlier notification of a crisis, preventive and protective actions that will help in saving and protecting visitors and employee lives when needed. Lifesaving activities include safety evacuations for fire crises, drills of protection against tornadoes, and other weather simulated causes include sheltering drills to build awareness in severe weather conditions (Tate, William, 2019). For instance, prevention practices, in this case, involves directing guests and staff to move away from windows. Protection from chemical poisons and acts of violence within the hotel premises. Hence, according to Rauch’s law, there is a need first to avoid the worst impacts while protecting human lives with the best possible tools if necessary.
Holiway Garden Resort & Spa in Bali and the Volcano Agung Case Study
Initially, the first step towards crisis management is the understanding of the threats that a facility falls subject to. This aspect is the most critical part of crisis management as it determines the respective interventions to be used in the process as it determines the techniques and, in other cases, the operation of the facility (Renner, Miriam.2018). The above is influenced by the direct link between the crisis and several variables in the business. They include cost, investments and financing, human resource management, food, and beverage management, cost management, and quality management; hence, there is a need for proper interventions in the respective areas. Hence, the need for an adequate response in the respective areas.
Bali is a common holiday destination in Indonesia and based on its remote geographical location of many hotels in the area, and they fall prey to the primary crisis causatives. In this case, based on the volcanic geophysical perspectives, there is a need for concerns on the safety of employees and guests. The Holiway Garden Resort in Bali sits in an active volcanic base of mount Agung. The area faces significant risks as it lies on an active volcanic base that lies 100km from the surface of the earth. Hence, there exists the threat of a potential eruption that could turn to be disastrous. This potential crisis is dynamic, and effects are catastrophic to the hotel and the underlying community that surrounds the area (Renner, Miriam.2018). These risks include earthquakes, poisonous gas leaks, and volcanic eruptions that need to be addressed separately. As in some cases, prior intelligence information on the respective case can help in preparedness and evacuation of hotel occupants within a radius of 100 km depending on the geographical dynamics.
Threat Analysis and evaluation.
The Holiway Garden resort is located 27km from the Agung and does not lie within the radius of the direct impacts of a volcanic eruption. However, the hotel also faces the challenge of being affected by ash and earthquakes dangers of a natural crisis. Hence, the risks that affect individuals lie in two significant frontier aspects that include the collapse of buildings due to the increased weight of ash produced due to eruptions. Hence, the hotel level of crisis can be described as latent crisis threats (Renner, Miriam.2018). In addition, based on the nature of volcanos and other natural disasters, they are characterized by severe economic impacts on a large area hence a financial crisis in the tourism sector. In this case, there is a need for a generic crisis response plan to combat the impacts of a looming crisis.
Generic Crisis response interventions Strategies.
As outlined earlier in the research paper, there is a need for the hotel to invest in various intelligence-gathering facilities that will help them have knowledge of a natural disaster and evacuate occupants before the situation becomes grave. In this case, there is a need for a communication strategy to help the company get information about a crisis before it reaches the hotel (Renner, Miriam.2018). On the other side, the hotel’s communication intervention strategy will help in the product, pricing, place, and people communications that will be vital for the organization in resuming operations.
The second aspect of planning is management level response planning. This aspect is the most crucial as it determines the preparedness of an institution to agents of collapse. Response changes in this perspective majorly lie in loss incurring and decentralization of decision making as well as the communication process response (McDowell, Walter, p 39). The best response would include the decentralization of decisions and ensuring the property to prevent huge losses in the event of a crisis.
Another important aspect of concern is the human resource management aspect that takes care of the employee dimensions of emergency preparedness. Responses at this stage include the need to have the proper training for employees to understand the severity of the crisis situation and take necessary measures to mitigate the impacts of the crisis (Tate, William, 2019). This also involves the availability of a response team that will be in charge of maintenance and ensures the working conditions are reported to the management for better decision making.
Other significant areas of consideration include operation response and quality management interventions that will help the company regain its operations after the crisis, hence, based on the threat levels there is need for restructuring of services to minimize panic while trying to be operational at the same time (Renner, Miriam.2018). The aspect is essential as it involves quality management interventions that help remove the negative impacts of the crisis while improving confidence in the existing infrastructure and operations.
Finally, investment and financing is another important aspect of consideration in the response process. The hotel needs to have actionable plans for areas of finance during the crisis to help mitigate long term economic impacts of the crisis on the business (Tate, William, 2019). This strategic planning aspect enables the company to get back on its feet within the shortest time possible while saving lives and sources of livelihood for the employees.
In conclusion, the process of crisis management is made of two major components that need to be effectively utilized; in this case, institutions need to put in place planning and communication strategies to improve the effectiveness of the campaign (McDowell, Walter, p 39). This is due to the aspect that the success of the process being judged by the efficiency of implementation as guests and employees would need to understand where and what to do during and after an incident. The communication process involves close collaboration with other relevant stakeholders to help effectively communicate accurate updates that will mitigate the impacts of the event on the institution.
Works cited
McDowell, Walter S. “The brand management crisis facing the business of journalism.” The International Journal on Media Management 13.1 (2011): 37-51.
Renner, Miriam. “Crisis management in hotel business: The case of Holiway Garden Resort & Spa in Bali and the Volcano Agung in 2017/2018.” (2018).
Tate, William. “Crisis Management, Planning, Response, and Recovery.” (2019).