Crisis management: natural disasters

Natural disasters can happen. The old saying, ‘when the going gets tough the tough get going’, couldn’t be truer than when a natural disaster strikes. While none of us want to entertain having to deal with natural disasters, it’s inevitable that on occasion we will have to.

At Solterbeck Events we have extensive experience with handling crisis situations: you can trust us, we’ve got your back!

In such a case, we have three clear and simple guidelines:

  • People first, always – keep them safe, get them home.
  • Business is a very close second – our job is to protect our client’s money, reputation and business interests.
  • Establish strong, enduring supplier relationships and robust supplier contracts – in a crisis, they are insurance – they account for everything.
An example from our experience:

When hurricane Irene hammered New York – Incentive trip 2011

We had high end incentive client group due to reach NYC at about the same time as Hurricane Irene was expected to make landfall.

How did we handle this?

  • Aware of the hurricane’s imminent arrival, we began carefully monitoring the weather.
  • As a precaution, our team began thoughtful negotiation with the hotel in Time Square to guarantee extended accommodation, should it be needed.
  • When Irene hit, New York went into lock down. Our group remained safely accommodated – with families and employers informed – until it was safe to leave.
  • Additional costs were only for food and extended accommodation.

We are meticulously organised, remarkably resilient and have a team that are willing to take shifts 24/7… for as long as it takes. We will do our best to save your event!