issues. Disasters can bring an increased reliance on the phone system, and failure to secure the phone system can result not only in a failure in communications, but also in vulnerabilities both inside and outside the system. Hackers, for example, can use the telephone system to gain access to personal computers that might be using telephone lines within the hotel; if a disaster such as SARS forces guests to stay at the hotel for an extended period of time because of quarantine--as an example--having a secure phone system can be critical to maintaining the hotel's security as well as the service level for guests (Jainschigg, 2002).
During disasters, guests often expect hotels to have disaster management plans in place, according to a study published in 2000. Since hotels provide shelter and often food, it is not unexpected that guests expect them to be relatively safe havens during and after natural disasters. Such is the case when hurricanes or earthquakes occur, for example. However, many hotels do not have extensive disaster management plans in place, and are unable to accommodate the influx of refugees that might come to the hotel seeking shelter. Disaster management plans can assist in these situations when they occur, and can help the property identify potential vulnerabilities for particular types of disasters. Included in the disaster management plan, in addition to communication, evacuation and security protocols, should be an understanding of how the hotel will operate during the disaster as well as long-term consequences--financially and otherwise--on the hotel (Drabek, 2000).
Increasingly, the hospitality industry is concerned not only about natural disasters, but also those that are manmade. The anthrax scare in the United States that occurred subsequent to the attack on the World Trade Center demonstrated the fear that could be generated by a biohazard, and throughout the world, increased security has been i...