Crisis communications for travel operators – lessons from the Suzanne Rees case
The death of Suzanne Rees, the woman who was left on an island after a cruise ship set sail without her, is a tragedy. One can only imagine what her family must be going through. All tour operators hearing about the story in media will be hoping that they’re never responsible for something so awful happening to someone on one of their holidays.
There are serious questions about how this tragic situation arose and an inquiry is underway. Meanwhile, as crisis communications providers for travel operators, we took an interest in how Coral Expeditions, which ran the cruise, responded.
In much of the coverage, chief executive officer, Mark Fifield, is quoted as saying that the company “prides itself on delivering high-quality experiences to our guests,” and that “It was increasingly apparent, given the circumstances of the last week, that we could not deliver on this promise.”
Crisis communications training courses for travel companies
In our crisis communications training courses for travel companies, we work closely with their in house press offices and PR companies to identify the words and phrases that their spokespeople should use when these tragedies occur. We would say that these widely quoted comments don’t quite hit the mark. No, they certainly, didn’t deliver on a promise to delivery high quality experiences, since, tragically, one of their guests died while on holiday with them.
The recent BBC coverage of the incident quotes Mr Fifield saying that he was “deeply sorry that this has occurred,” and talking about “the tragic passing of Suzanne Rees.” During our crisis communications courses for travel operators, we advise the participants to express concern when things go wrong.
Obviously, you have to be very careful here. Saying sorry might be seen as an acceptance of liability. However, you can still express concern and sympathy in a way that we would say is more human and heartfelt than the comments from Coral Expeditions. The phrase “that this has occurred,” sounds rather distanced and passive, while “the tragic passing,” might easily prompt the question: “Weren’t you involved in this tragic passing?”
Crisis communications courses for cruise companies and travel operators
The other mistake that we would the company has made is not to put a statement up on their website, not, anyway, at the time of writing.In our crisis communications courses for cruise companies and travel operators, we recommend that they post the crisis statement on their website. Offering holidays similar to the one that forms the basis of the crisis or tragedy is another no-no, we would argue
The company did react sensibly and with some sympathy by cancelling the cruise and promising a full refund to passengers. We always recommend taking action to the participants in our crisis courses for travel operators.
As questions mount over how this tragedy could have occurred, the media has, as usual, being looking for experts for comment. Because all of our crisis communications trainers are working journalists (operating under strict non-disclosure agreements) they know that in the absence of facts and specific details from the company the media will look for commentators to provide thoughts and insights. Making sure that you monitor this coverage and correct any false claims or incorrect statements is essential. It also shows the value of giving comment to the media in these situations. The less we hear from those at the centre of the story, the more will have to go to these talking heads to fill airtime and column inches.
Crisis situation
One final thought on this terrible situation and human tragedy. ABC News is reporting that the “cruise ship has been experiencing mechanical problems ahead of the decision to end a cruise during which a passenger died.” Very often in a crisis situation, new facts will emerge. In our crisis communications training for travel companies, we build these fast-developing scenarios into the programme.
However, we also recommend that organisations at the centre of one of these crises release all relevant information – even if it’s bad news for them. Revealing unhelpful facts might sound counter intuitive. We would argue, though, that it means that you get the whole story out there in one go. It also makes it clear that you as an organisation are open and transparent as well as being in charge of events rather than just rushing to respond to them.
Tailor made crisis communications courses
Get in touch for more information on our crisis communications courses for travel operators. We can create one tailor made to your needs and budget. You can follow us on LinkedIn here.
