- Case Study -
Hotel Chain Crisis Communications
When the staff at a popular hotel chain made inappropriate comments to customers and national media caught wind of the story, hotel leadership came to Next PR for support in getting the negative story out of the headlines.
THE CHALLENGE
Once the situation at the hotel went viral, the hotel was inundated with negative comments on social media, without a plan for how to respond. Damaging news stories were published without comments from the hotel to share its side of the story and some even made false claims.
HOW WE GOT THERE
Next PR met with hotel leadership to gather the facts and nuances of the incident to determine the best path forward. Using a suite of AI-powered tech tools, the team was able to monitor the news in real time, flagging stories that were factually inaccurate and following up with those reporters to correct the story.
The Next PR team offered a quote or interview with hotel leadership to apologize for the employee’s actions, acknowledged the severity of the situation and shared what actions would be taken moving forward. The team drafted the quotes and talking points and coached the hotel on the media outlets to connect with.
The Next PR team also created sample social media responses bucketed into four categories: derogatory comments, negative comments, questions about the incident and positive responses for the way the situation was addressed by hotel leadership. This helped the team respond quickly and proactively to all posts.
After the immediate crisis subsided, Next PR pitched stories to the media about the hotel’s philanthropic efforts and room renovations, changing the bad perception and burying the negative stories.
THE RESULTS
As a result of Next PR's crisis communications efforts, negative social media buzz immediately dwindled; one user even responded saying, “I appreciate your response. I wasn’t planning to stay at your hotel anymore, but I am grateful for how you’ve handled the situation, and I feel you’ve made it right.”
Now, when searching the name of this hotel, the first news stories that appear are about its philanthropic efforts and not the incident.
Reporters amended their stories to include quotes from the hotel and the headlines evolved from accusations to factual, two-sided accounts of the incident. Within one week, no new stories emerged.