Successful Strategies to Sustain Profits from Tourism Following a Hurricane

Abstract

Hurricanes have caused billions of dollars in damage to the hotel industry in Florida, significantly affecting tourism flow. The unpredictable impact of hurricanes makes sustaining profits challenging. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that hotel leaders use to sustain tourism profits following a hurricane. The theory of image restoration provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data was collected from company documents and semi-structured interviews with 5 hotel leaders in Central Florida. Transcribed data were coded then validated using member checking during the data analysis, which revealed 5 themes: storm impact, accommodations, operations, communications, and planning. Results indicated the relevance of the theory of image restoration to help hotel leaders get operations back to normal following a hurricane by emphasizing how effective crisis response strategies can help create opportunities to sustain profits beyond tourism. Results may be used by hotel leaders to sustain profits and support their communities during hurricane recovery by providing accommodations, safety, and security to stakeholders other than tourists, such as first responders, state, and residents.