What should you say during a crisis?
And what shouldn’t you say?
These are questions we are often asked during our crisis communication training courses.
And finding the right words – and avoiding the ones that could make the situation worse - when you are under the spotlight can feel daunting.
The key is not to be surprised.
Bad things will happen, even to your organisation.
And you need to carefully consider the unthinkable and plan how you might respond.
But let’s look at this question a different way, through a case study – they are always a good way to learn.
Travelodge has faced some particularly damaging recent headlines, and its response offers a case study in what not to say during a crisis media management incident.
The budget hotel company has been asked to meet MPs to discuss a case where a woman staying at one of its hotels in Maidenhead was sexually assaulted.
The attack took place after Kyran Smith was given the victim’s room number and key card by the hotel staff, having claimed he was her boyfriend.
Smith, 29, from Staines, was jailed in February after being found guilty of sexual assault and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.
And a group of more than 20 MPs have now written to the hotel to find out more about the hotel chain’s security processes and procedures that led to it offering the victim an “insulting” £30 refund after the incident.
Well, a spokesperson said in a statement: “The safety and security of our guests is our priority and we were deeply concerned to hear of this distressing incident and our sympathies are with the victim.
“We want to apologise to the victim for the way this incident has been handled.
“Travelodge adopts industry standard security procedures which were followed at the time of the incident in 2022.
“We will carry out a full review of our room security policies to learn from this incident and further strengthen our procedures.”
What do you think of this response? It’s not great.
I’m going to start with the apology.
Many companies struggle with apologies, and it seems that Travelodge is one of them.
Wanting to apologise is not the same as apologising.
Say that you are sorry about the horrendous incident the victim suffered in one of your hotels, and make sure it sounds genuine and human.
I also find the “industry standard security procedures” line troubling from a crisis communication and reputation management perspective.
It sounds defensive and complacent.
It also doesn’t feel reassuring. Is it standard practice to give keys to strangers?
That’s what it looks like. And that feels like a flawed policy.
It could also be seen as an effort to pull other hotels into the story and deflect some of the blame.
Now, it does go on to say a “full review of our room security policies to learn from this incident and further strengthen our procedures”.
That hints at action – a vital part of crisis communication responses.
But, considering the sexual assault happened in December 2022 and the court case is surely not the first time it has heard about it, this action seems pedestrian and flatfooted.
Have there really not been any changes made or lessons learnt since the attack more than three years ago?
I would also question why, considering the significance of what has happened, the statement came from a spokesperson.
Visible leadership is integral in effective crisis media management. It shows that what has happened is being treated seriously and that those at the top of the organisation care.
And that’s why this statement should have come from one of the hotel chain’s leaders. It feels proportionate considering the horror of what has happened.
This is a response we are likely to highlight during our crisis communication training courses. And not in a good way.
But, from this uninspiring beginning, things improved.
A few days after the initial statement, it was reported that Travelodge chief executive Jo Boydell has offered to meet the victim – a move that shows some of that visible leadership we discussed.
And she issued a response that sounds more compassionate and caring.
She said: “I am deeply sorry for the significant distress experienced by the victim.
"We have apologised to her for the way the incident has been handled and have invited her to meet with us to discuss how we can further improve our procedures.
"I am committing to an independent review of our room security policies to learn from this incident and further strengthen our procedures.
"Our guests deserve to be reassured that their safety and security is of the utmost importance to us."
It’s much better, isn’t it?
It includes a lot of the elements of the CARE (Compassion, Action, Reassurance and Examples) methodology we teach during or crisis communication training courses, with a genuine and human-sounding apology, and an example of action being taken, with an independent review and reassurance for guests.
It is a good response. And it was added to on Sunday with a further statement outlining "immediate changes" to its door key policy, with additional or replacement keys now only being issued with permission from the person staying in the room.
Ms Boydell said the hotel should have "acted sooner" and added: ""We have done an internal review of our room access security policies and have made some immediate changes to ensure that an additional or replacement room key is only issued with explicit permission from the person, or people, staying in the room.
"This has been rolled out to all of our hotels, supported by training for our 12,000 customer-facing colleagues."
But this improved response leaves us with questions.
Should it really take two or more attempts to get it right?
And can your organisation afford not to get its crisis communication right first time?
Media First are media and communications training specialists with more than 40 years of experience.
We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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