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October 2007 Article

Be Prepared
Contingency planning in today’s world

When disaster hit New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001 all flights in the U.S. were canceled. While the nation reeled in shock travelers were stranded everywhere, many with urgent needs to return home and locate loved ones.

Imagine having a group of guests on the West Coast who wanted nothing more than to get home to the East. Bob Carey of PRA Palm Springs was one meetings industry professional who faced such a challenge. He called on all the contacts his DMC had built up over the years and corralled enough buses and fuel to transport his group back East.

During a panel discussion on Contingency Planning for the Unexpected at the recent GEP Summit, Bob stressed that relying on a destination expert at a DMC can relieve the planner of much of the burden. He cited another case where a close relative of an attendee was in a serious accident in Oklahoma. Through their resources, PRA located a private jet in less than 45 minutes and put the guest on the plane home at 11 p.m.

In a less urgent case, a visitor was injured during a hike. But thanks to good communication and preparedness, the visitor was well treated on the site; the event planner was notified and waiting for her charge when he arrived back at the hotel. He felt well cared for, Bob said.

“Talk sooner, rather than later with your DMC about a contingency plan,” Bob recommends, and “certainly before guests arrive.” Communication is one of the keys to being prepared, he says. A crisis management team should be set up with everyone having contact information for everyone else. “Thank goodness for cell phones,” he commented.

Organizations need an overall company contingency plan and then should discuss one prior to each event. Depending on the nature of the event and the location, the needs could vary. Weather may be a big factor in some areas, but no so much in others. On the other hand, the destination may be warm and sunny, but guests are delayed because they are leaving from snow-prone homes, Bob warns. Be prepared. If you are meeting in a city where a political event is taking place, you many need to plan for demonstrations that could block roads, curtail access, and delay schedules.

In some cases insurance can help, especially in medical emergencies. For a modest amount, planners can cover all attendees at an event. Insurance offered by the state of Florida helps planners financially if weather forces a cancellation.

You’ve scheduled an outdoor event. The rains or winds or cold front moves in. Are you ready with a backup? You’ve just been seated for lunch and the building needs to be evacuated due to a fire or a bomb scare. What do you do with your 200 guests? Think about such things ahead of time and your team can swing into action.

When meeting overseas, another range of issues are raised from language barriers to location of medical resources.

Here is an outline to help serve as a guide as you review your current contingency plans and plan ahead for specific events.

The Unexpected

• Natural Disasters & Severe Weather
• Medical Emergencies & Death
• Guest Safety Issues
• Political & Civil Disturbance
• Mass Casualty
• Bio Terrorism

Basic Contingency Planning

• Identify, evaluate and prioritize specific categories of
  risk
• Develop risk management protocols for a variety of
  scenarios
• Create a crisis management team
• Obtain all emergency numbers and distribute to team
• Ensure that all team members have a communication plan in the case of emergency
• Research what plans your hotel and DMC have in
  place
• Determine if medical evacuation may be required
• Determine how to deal with repatriation of remains
• Research the importance of insurance and apply appropriate coverage to programs as needed

Insurance Coverage to Consider

• Emergency Care & Medical Evacuation Coverage
• Inclement Weather – Hurricane Season (Florida)
• Travel Interruption & Cancellation
• Liquor Liability
• Off-premises Coverage

Medical Emergency & Evacuation Insurance

• Most personal/group insurance programs do not cover Medical Evacuation or Emergency Care outside of the country.
• Not all hospitals/emergency rooms outside of the US accept US health insurance and so may require cash for care.
• Emergency Medical & Evacuation insurance usually costs less than $10.00 p.p. per day.

International Issues

• Translation for language barrier in the case of an
  emergency
• Immigration
• Time Differences
• Protocol
• Cultural Issues
• Food & Water Threats
• Costs for Health Care & Medical Evacuation

International Support

• US Embassies & Consulates
• Office of American Citizens Services and Crisis Mgmt.
• State Department’s Overseas Citizens Services
• Tourist Boards & Convention Bureaus
• Destination Management Companies

The MPI Meetings and Conventions: A Planning Guide has a fairly detailed Risk Management Checklist on pages 165-167 and the PCMA has a crisis management exchange online.  The site includes case studies on how planners have handled specific crisis.

You know if you bring an umbrella, it won’t rain. Be prepared for anything and you should have a carefree event.

Bob Carey is president of PRA Destination Management - Palm Springs. His DMC is well versed in all aspects of destination services from creative planning and risk management to budget adherence and return-on-investment.

Also on the GEP panel on Contingency Planning were Bonnie Lam Greenberg, CMP, Gray Consulting International, and Anita Moore, CMP, BlackRock.