How will your hotel react in an emergency?Every hotelier will at some point face an emergency situation. Whether it is a relatively minor emergency or something more catastrophic, having a plan in place and being well prepared to handle an emergency will lessen the risks faced by you, your employees and your guests, and will help your property get back to business as soon as possible (American Hotel and Lodging Association 2005-09-01).Some questions for thought:• Are you compliant with all life-

safetyandlocalfirecodes?• Do you have documented emergency

responseprogramsforfires,hurricanes,tornadoes and health issues?

• Do you provide training for employees includingfirstaid/CPR?

• Do you run emergency drills?• Do you work with the local agencies, i.e.,

Police,Fire,EMSandHealthDepartments?• Do you test all alarms and associated

equipment on a regular basis?• How do you communicate the procedures

and policies to guests and vendors?This list of questions is just a small sample of what may actually need to be addressed if a situation arises. Emergency response plans that are currently in place must be continuously tested and updated as operations change and grow, or as new potential threats are identified.Formalauditsofplansshouldbecompletedatleast annually and more frequently if possible. Keeping emergency response plans current adds a layer of protection in safeguarding your business.The overall goal of emergency response plans is to help mitigate and minimize the effects an emergency situation may cause to your operations, your employees, and potentially the local community.

Reviewthebelowsection“StepstoHelpPrepareforFutureEmergencies”foramoredetailedapproachtopreparing or evaluating your emergency response plan.

Steps to Help Prepare for Future Emergencies• Identify the hazards that your business is exposed to,• Assess the likelihood of their occurrence and

your vulnerabilities to the hazards in terms of your people, property and business as ongoing entities. Hazards to consider at minimum include:• natural disasters (weather related and geological)• manmade (biological) events, whether

accidental or intentional.• Conductanimpactanalysisofthe

hazards on the following:1. the health and safety of persons in your operation2. the health and safety of people

responding to the incident

The principles contained in this material are general in scope and, to the best of our knowledge, current at thetimeofpublication.LibertyMutualInsurancespecificallydisclaimsallliabilityfordamagesorpersonalinjury alleged to arise from reliance on the information contained in this document.

A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER : from Liberty Mutual Insurance

FOCUS on HospitalityAPRIL2014

RISKCONTROLSERVICES VOLUME6•ISSUE2

LifeSafetyandEmergencyResponse

FOCUS ON SAFETYRISK CONTROL SERVICES APRIL 2014 • VOLUME 6 ISSUE 2

The principles contained in this material are general in scope and, to the best of our knowledge, current at thetimeofpublication.LibertyMutualInsurancespecificallydisclaimsallliabilityfordamagesorpersonalinjury alleged to arise from reliance on the information contained in this document.

3. the continuity of your business4. the damage to your property and facilities5. the delivery of services6. theeconomicandfinancialconditions7. the regulatory or contractual

obligations you may have8. the reputation of your business

• Before the event occurs, have a written plan in place that includes:1. Astrategicplandefiningthevision,mission,

goals and objectives of the program.2. Anemergencyoperations/responseplan

that assigns responsibilities to individuals andorganizationsforcarryingoutspecificactions at projected times and places.

3. A mitigation plan that establishes actions to eliminate hazards that impact the business or to reduce the impact of those hazards that cannot be eliminated.

4.A recovery plan for restoration of services, facilities and programs.

5. Acontinuityplanthatidentifiescriticalapplications,vital records, processes and functions that should be maintained while your business is recovering.

• Communicatetoallemployeesthepossiblenature and extent of disasters and what their roles will be during and after a disaster.

• Establish regularly-scheduled drills, which will familiarize employees with their assigned roles and responsibilities.

Media Relation GuidelinesAsk yourself: when the event is over and the questions starttofly,whatplansdoyouhaveinplacetohandlethemedia?The way the media presents an event can have a huge impact on how others perceive your business. The best scenario is to have one person (and a backup) designated and trained in how to address the media.

When communicating with the media consider applying these three basic rules:1. Be truthful, eventually the true facts will

come out, which in turn will lessen your credibility if you should be dishonest.

2. The media has the right to ask anything related to the event; some of their questions may be difficulttoaddress.Bepreparedforanything.

3. You have the right to answer any way you want; being honest in an effort to remain truthful and transparent is the best way to establish a favorable relationship.

Resources/ToolsTheU.S.DepartmentofHomelandSecurityhasprepared a booklet and a sample emergency business plan. These documents are available on AH&LA’s emergency preparedness web page at http://www.ahla.com/content.aspx?id=15706

CommercialFacility-RiskSelf-AssessmentToolhttp://www.ahla.com/uploadedFiles/RSAT%20Fact%20Sheet_05172012.pdf

NFPA1600,2004Editionwww.npfa.org

Dept. of Homeland Securitywww.dhs.gov/dhspublic/index.jsp

FederalEmergencyManagementAgencywww.fema.gov

OSHAwww.osha.gov

ReferencesEmergencyPreparednessMonthAH&LAPartnerswithAmericanRedCrossandU.S.DepartmentofHomelandSecuritytoIncreaseAwareness Among Hoteliers2005-09-01http://www.ahla.com/advisory.aspx?id=19150&terms=emergency

For More InformationContactLibertyMutual’sRiskControlConsultingCenterTelephone:(866)757-7324E-mail: RCConsultingCenter@LibertyMutual.com