Disaster management of hotels: empirical results from the lodging industry

Among other business types, hotels serving as temporary accommodation for visitors with solid ties to local conditions present unique hazard-prone characteristics, and show vulnerabilities based on their location. Departing from the significance of the topic for the Turkish case, this paper focuses on the risk perception and responsiveness of the lodging industry. In doing so, an empirical study was carried out in Ankara city. Data from 75 hotels were gathered via a questionnaire designed to identify their locational attributes and operationalized by multiple logistic regression analysis. Although hotels in the sample accepted that safety is a significant issue for both the continuity of their operationality and guests, hotels were reluctant in developing systematic and effective tools for disaster management.