Prelims
Disaster Planning and Preparedness in the Hotel Industry
ISBN: 978-1-78769-938-0, eISBN: 978-1-78769-937-3
Publication date: 4 February 2019
Citation
Albattat, A.R. and Mat Som, A.P. (2019), "Prelims", Disaster Planning and Preparedness in the Hotel Industry, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-xxiii. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78769-937-320191006
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019 Emerald Publishing Limited
Half Title Page
DISASTER PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY
Endorsement
Praise for Disaster Planning and Preparedness in the Hotel Industry
‘During the last several decades, natural and man-made disasters have significantly impacted human lives, the social fabric, and the built environment. The hospitality industry is one of the most vulnerable to disasters and hazards but it has not received substantial attention from scholars. Disaster Planning and Preparedness in the Hotel Industry highlights the lack of preparedness and planning and recommends that hotel managers and industry leaders should establish comprehensive emergency management plans engaging different stakeholders in the sector for collaborative success.’
Dr Naim Kapucu, Professor and Director, School of Public Administration, University of Central Florida
Title Page
DISASTER PLANNING AND PREPAREDNESS IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY
BY
AHMAD RASMI ALBATTAT
Management and Science University, Malaysia
AHMAD PUAD MAT SOM
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia
United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China
Copyright Page
Emerald Publishing Limited
Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK
First edition 2019
Copyright © 2019 Emerald Publishing Limited
Reprints and permissions service
Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-78769-938-0 (Print)
ISBN: 978-1-78769-937-3 (Online)
ISBN: 978-1-78769-939-7 (EPub)
Dedication
We dedicate this book to God Almighty, the creator who gives us wisdom, knowledge and understanding. The book is also dedicated to our families for their kindness, devotion and endless support. Our special dedication to communities around the globe who have been severely affected by disasters; their sacrifices and hardships have truly inspired us to realize this book. We praise those institutions, organizations and individuals that have taken active efforts in reducing disaster risk in their communities and advocates for disaster risk reduction.
List of Figures
| Chapter 2 | ||
| Figure 2.1. | Emergency Preparedness Framework for Hotels. | 15 |
| Figure 2.2. | Four-phase Emergency Management. | 18 |
| Figure 2.3. | Disaster Preparedness Model. | 24 |
| Figure 2.4. | Preparedness Cycle. | 25 |
| Figure 2.5. | The Map of Exploded Hotels in Amman Bombings 2005. | 49 |
| Chapter 3 | ||
| Figure 3.1. | Mind Map of Main Themes and Sub-themes from the Disaster and Emergency Planning System in Jordanian Hotels. | 75 |
| Figure 3.2. | Mind Map of Main Themes and Sub-themes from the Level of Readiness for Disaster and Emergency Planning in Jordanian Hotels. | 76 |
| Figure 3.3. | Mind Map of Main Themes and Sub-themes from the Factors and Barriers of Effective Disaster and Emergency Planning in Jordanian Hotels. | 77 |
List of Tables
| Chapter 2 | ||
| Table 2.1. | Selected Notable Disasters throughout History. | 8 |
| Table 2.2. | Disaster versus Crisis: Criteria Differences. | 8 |
| Table 2.3. | Disaster and Emergency Definitions. | 10 |
| Table 2.4. | An Array of Business Disasters. | 13 |
| Table 2.5. | Major Hospitality Disasters and Their Impacts on the Industries (Compiled from the Literature). | 16 |
| Table 2.6. | Quarantelli’s Principles of Disaster Preparedness Planning. | 30 |
| Table 2.7. | Membership of HCCD | 47 |
| Table 2.8. | Top Natural Disasters Reported in Jordan. | 51 |
| Table 2.9. | Average Disasters per Year. | 51 |
| Table 2.10. | Losses from Natural Disasters (from 1980 to 2010). | 51 |
| Table 2.11. | Jordan’s Inflation Rate. | 53 |
| Table 2.12. | Fuel Costs Rising. | 53 |
| Chapter 3 | ||
| Table 3.1. | Disasters and Emergencies Emerged from Interview Transcripts. | 56 |
List of Abbreviations
| CCTV | Closed-circuit Television |
| CID | Central Intelligence Department |
| CISD | Critical Incident Stress Debriefing |
| CMT | Crisis Management Team |
| CRM | Crew Resource Management |
| CRT | Crisis Response Team |
| DTP | Double Tourist Plan |
| EMAP | Emergency Management Accreditation Program |
| FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency |
| GAM | Greater Amman Municipality |
| GDCD | General Directorate of Civil Defence |
| GID | General Intelligence Department |
| HCCD | Higher Council of Civil Defence |
| IAEM | International Association of Emergency Managers |
| IHG | International Hotel Group |
| JHA | Jordan Hotel Association |
| JTB | Jordan Tourism Board |
| LPD | Loss Prevention Department |
| MOTA | Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities |
| MOH | Ministry of Health |
| MOI | Ministry of Interior |
| MPWH | Ministry of Public Works and Housing |
| NGO | Non-governmental Organization |
| PPRR | Prevention, Planning, Response, and Recovery |
| PSS | Plan Safety Standard |
| SWOT | Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats |
| UNISDR | United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction |
| UNWTO | United Nations World Tourism Organization |
| USAID | Unites States Agency for International Development |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
About the Authors
Ahmad Rasmi Albattat is an Assistant Professor, Management and Science University, Selangor, Malaysia. He is a visiting Professor and External Examiner in Politeknik Pariwisata Medan. He holds a doctoral degree in Hospitality Management from University Sains Malaysia (USM); he worked as an Assistant Professor at Ammon Applied University College, Amman, Jordan, Senior Lecturer and Research Coordinator in School of Hospitality & Creative Arts, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia, and as a researcher at Sustainable Tourism Research Cluster (STRC), Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. He has been working for the Jordanian hospitality industry for 17 years. He is an active member of the Scientific and Editorial Review Board on hospitality management, event management, disaster and crisis management, and human resource management. His latest works have been published in refereed international journals, conference proceedings and book chapters.
Ahmad Puad Mat Som a Professor currently attached to Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Terengganu, Malaysia. His main specialization area is in tourism studies which include tourism planning and development, sustainable tourism, community participation in tourism, tourism marketing, tourism crisis management and Muslim-friendly tourism. He previously worked at Universiti Sains Malaysia and spent two years on secondment to Al Faisal University, Prince Sultan College for Tourism and Business, Saudi Arabia. He obtained his bachelor degree from Iowa State University, USA, as well as master and doctoral degrees from University of Lincolnshire & Humberside and Strathclyde University, United Kingdom, respectively.
Foreword
Disasters are not merely ornamental or interesting events that adorn our collective historical record; these disruptions have served to guide and shape it. Theorists have even ventured to suggest that many of history’s great civilizations were eventually affected by the impact of disasters. The former represents situations where the causes of the problem are associated with on-going change and the failure to adapt to this, while the latter are triggered by sudden events over which control is difficult. Disaster and emergency management have four stages when dealing with emergencies: preparedness for, response to, recovery from, and mitigation of all emergencies. In the stage of mitigation, the effect of hazards should lessen and the vulnerability is estimated to decrease the losses; an emergency response plan should be developed. In the preparedness stage, effort will be done to ensure plan tuning, updating the employees’ training and education. When the event occurs, the implementation of plans will be the organizational response to the emergencies. While in the recovery stage, all systems should return back to the normal state in a possible short time, and start rebuilding and mitigating the next hazards. The hotel industry is as vulnerable as any other to the hazards associated with man-made and natural disasters. Organizations exiting as microcosms within communities, hospitality organizations, regardless of size, type, mission or location, on a daily basis face many of the same risks and threats that confront small businesses, multinational corporations, governmental bodies and private citizens. Organizations in existence for practically any length of time have likely faced multiple threats ranging from natural disasters to man-made disasters, but few hospitality leaders would deny the responsibility to plan and anticipate for potential emergencies and disaster events.
The Authors
August 2019
Preface
The hospitality industry tends to be highly sensitive to the negative impacts of hazards such as natural disasters, clashes, conflicts and terrorist attacks. Hospitality industry can be easily affected by internal and external impacts. As a year-round industry, the hospitality industry has a special vulnerability to hazards, including the inseparability between the guests and the employees as part of the product itself. These events are very hard to control and forecast, and they can affect even the well-prepared organizations. Regarding several disasters and hazardous events affecting the hospitality industry, it has become very important to be well-prepared and able to control the hazards. The hospitality industry could not develop its business in hazardous and dangerous destinations. Emergency risk and vulnerability are very important to understand in order to develop measures of reduction and mitigation. Researchers argued that better understanding of the emergency management will help to mitigate the effects of disasters even if prevention is out of the question. In hospitality organizations, potential emergencies could be avoided by using proactive emergency planning. Disaster and emergency planning should be applied and hotels should be well prepared before the disaster strikes; during the disaster, emergency planning should be applied effectively, and rapid recovery to the normal stage should occur after the disaster. Recently, hospitality scholars have paid more attention to the term ‘disaster and emergency planning’. Although numerous research has been done to investigate the impact of disasters and emergencies on organizations, comparatively few studies have examined the disaster and emergency planning in hotels and how they can be prepared for the next disaster and mitigate the effect of such an hazard. Not surprisingly, there was no particular study covering the role of disaster and emergency planning and preparedness within the Jordanian hospitality industry, with a lack of studies focussing on disaster and emergency planning and preparedness for hotels. Limited research was conducted to study the impact of natural and man-made disasters on the Jordanian hospitality industry. A study mentioned the terrorist bombing of three Jordanian hotels in 2005, killing around 67 persons and wounding more than 150 others. It concentrated on terrorist activities in general, using the internet in planning for terrorist activities, but there was no mention about the emergency planning and preparedness in the hotel industry. By using qualitative research, this study tries to illustrate the impact of disasters on the tourism industry and establishes a strategic approach to crisis management. This book provides various decision analysis theories and support tools in disaster planning and preparedness in particular. We sincerely hope that this book becomes a reference in the field since it addresses approaches on how to plan and prepare for the different kinds of disasters and emergencies. This book starts with an introduction about disaster management and emergencies. The second chapter discusses the literature review of existing concepts, theories and related studies on emergency planning and preparedness, and disaster management, explaining their relation to the hotel industry. The third chapter discusses the empirical findings in the related literature. The last chapter provides a summary and recommendations. The contribution of this book to the existing body of knowledge are also discussed in this chapter.
Acknowledgements
Writing this book has had a big impact on us, and many people were involved and contributed to this book. We would like to reflect on the people who have supported and helped us so much, especially the team of researchers under Sustainable Tourism Research Cluster of Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia. We are very grateful to all of those with whom we have had the pleasure to work during this research project. They have provided extensive personal and professional guidance and taught us a great deal about both scientific research and life in general. This work would not have been possible without the financial support of Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Research Grant under the cluster entitled ‘Tourism Planning’ [Grant No. 1001/PTS/8660013] and the Fellowship Scheme APEX (1002/JHEA/ATSG/4001).