Emergency Evacuation Planning

Emergency Evacuation Planning for hotel companies with operations in remote and politically sensitive regions of the world

Unfortunately, we live in a dangerous world. Threats to hotel companies operating in remote and unstable regions of the world come in many forms: armed conflict and war, terrorism, crime, civil unrest, violent protest and natural disasters.

Hotel companies with operations located in remote and unstable regions need, therefore, to have detailed contingency plans for evacuation of employees and their dependants to a safe destination if the local situation ever deteriorates to the degree where the safety and security of employees and their dependants is endangered.

What is "Emergency Evacuation" in this context?

Emergency evacuation is a risk management strategy which may be essential as a means of mitigating the effects of an emergency or disaster. It involves the movement of employees and their dependents to a safer location. However, to be effective, an emergency evacuation must be carefully planned and properly executed. The window of opportunity to implement an emergency evacuation plan is often brief and can close quickly.

When would an Emergency Evacuation be appropriate?

Circumstances that might require evacuation or relocation of the staff may include natural catastrophe (e.g. earthquake, tsunami), health emergency (e.g. infectious disease outbreak), widespread lawlessness, ethnic violence, coups d'état, civil war, large-scale terrorist incident; chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear incidents; or other crisis situations.

For example, if the socio-political situation in a hotel's host country deteriorates to the degree where the safety and security of expatriate hotel employees is endangered, it may become necessary to implement the evacuation of selected personnel out of the country to a safe destination. It is likely that such a deteriorating situation will manifest itself as either:

• A Gradual Deterioration

In this scenario the deterioration in the socio-political climate will be gradual and observable, with clear warning signs. There is also expected to be a proportional deterioration in public services and communications. In such circumstances, management will have sufficient time to conduct a phased evacuation of selected employees and their dependants.

• A Sudden Deterioration

This is a "worst-case" scenario, the cause of which could be a coup d'état or military hostilities. In this situation it is likely that there would be a complete breakdown in public services and communications. Airports will most likely be closed to commercial traffic and road movements limited. It may also be extremely hazardous to move personnel due to violent activity on the ground. Evacuation points such as airports and docks are likely to be potential areas of conflict.

When would a hotel company order an evacuation?

The circumstances necessitating an evacuation are many and varied. Consequently a hotel's emergency evacuation plan has to be comprehensive and flexible.

Who would be evacuated?

In a hotel's emergency evacuation plan, personnel would normally be grouped into three categories; "Dependants", "Non-Essential" and "Essential". These categories of personnel will be evacuated at different times as threat levels escalate, commencing with Dependants.

MJ FINCH Emergency Evacuation Planning Service for Hotels

We have considerable experience in the preparation and execution of detailed contingency plans catering to the mass repatriation of employees and their dependants in a crisis situation. The plan, to cater for BOTH a gradual and deteriorating scenario, is designed to provide a framework upon which senior management can make informed decisions and take appropriate actions in accordance with the situation prevailing at the time. The plan will provide strategies and options which can be followed in a methodical and logical sequence in order to facilitate the orderly evacuation of personnel, whilst at the same time continuing with business operations for as long a period as possible without unnecessarily jeopardising the lives of employees.

The components of an Emergency Evacuation Plan would cover:

• Hostile Environment & Travel Safety Awareness advice and procedures
• Staff Security Awareness advice and procedures
• Classification of Threat Levels
• Organisation, Structure, Role and Responsibilities of the Crisis Management Team
• Establishment of a functional Crisis Management Centre
• Organisation of a Warden System to facilitate communication between senior management through to employees and dependants and vice-versa.
• Recommended Sources of Assistance
• Evacuation Phases & Methods
• Primary and Alternate Evacuation Modes
• Assisting & Evacuating Casualties
• Safe Havens & Assembly Points
• Communications
• Media Management
• Protection of Business Interests and Protecting the Brand Name

Benefits of an MJ FINCH Emergency Evacuation Plan

You will be able to enjoy the peace-of-mind that comes from knowing that your company has an Emergency Evacuation Plan in place to respond to any crisis situation. By effective management of a crisis you can reduce risk, deliver corporate governance obligations, and increase employee confidence.

Further Information

Please don’t hesitate to contact us, should you require any further information or wish to discuss your bespoke requirements. We would be delighted to meet with you and your colleagues to explain the benefits of our Emergency Evacuation Planning Services and look forward to hearing from you.

To contact us, please initially use the "Contact Form" on the "Contact Us" page, or alternatively e-mail us at info@MJFinch.com. All enquiries will be treated in the strictest confidence and promptly processed by our dedicated and experienced team.

Case Study

After decades of fighting for independence from the north, southern Sudan seceded on the 9th July 2011 and became the Republic of South Sudan. In the following months, tensions between the neighbours crystallised into fears of direct confrontation. Owing to the deteriorating situation at that time, MJ FINCH was requested to undertake Emergency Evacuation Planning for two major hotels operating in Khartoum, defining emergency evacuation procedures that could be initiated in the event that the socio-political situation in Sudan were to deteriorate where the safety and security of the hotels' expatriate employees and their dependants were to be endangered. As it currently stands there has been no cause to initiate the emergency evacuation plans but the plans remain in place in case of deterioration in the security climate in Sudan.