Emergency Planning and Disaster Recovery Management Model in Hospitality—Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle Approach

Abstract

This study aims to present the impact of disasters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, on the possibility of recovering from and mitigating such impacts. The paper proposes a new emergency planning and disaster recovery management model (EPDRM) which links the ISO 31000:2018 (Risk Management) requirements with the process approach. The model was validated through its application to ISO-certified and ISO-non-certified hotels. The analysis was performed by using an online questionnaire based on the ISO 31000:2018 requirements, where given questions were grouped into 14 categories and presented according to the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle. The proposed methodology has not been used by other researchers for similar problems. Current results are especially important, because they were collected after the lockdown that had a significant impact on hospitality and tourism in the world. This paper discusses the effect of hotel properties (such as size, certification, and categorization) on the implementation level of the emergency planning and disaster recovery management model. This survey was conducted in 109 hotels in Serbia. The results show that the average level of application was 35.80%. The survey also points to the development possibilities of alternative tourisms in response to COVID-19, and whether the hotel facilities were suitable for such changes in times of increased uncertainty. The results represent the basis of scientific data for improving the national policy, especially during the recovery from a disaster such as COVID-19, as well as emergency planning activities during the pandemic. The study limitations can be identified in the small research sample and insufficient cooperation of contacted hotels as well as the willingness of hotels’ managements to participate in the study. The hotels’ managers should be aware of the implementation of emergency planning measures, and without their willingness, this cannot be achieved at any level.