Natural disasters of any kind have the potential to strike with little warning. These events can leave businesses with severe damage that can significantly impact operations if not mitigated promptly. Hotels, in particular, are no strangers to these events and, depending on where they are, can experience vastly different risks.
When a natural disaster or severe weather event is likely to impact a hotel, the business must anticipate the worst, including potential damage to the property’s exterior and interior. Not only that, but employees and guests alike may have to react quickly to escape a potentially dangerous situation for their safety. Detailed plans can help hotels prepare for potential natural disaster risks and help mitigate damage to people and property.
Hotels and Natural Disaster Risks
Understanding how hotels can prepare for certain natural disaster risks is incredibly important for owners of these establishments. These business models must prepare for various potential disaster events depending on where the insured property is located. While the commercial property owner of a hotel chain may be located in California, the insured property may be located on the East or Gulf Coasts. These potential weather events will likely affect a Texas hotel differently than one in Massachusetts or Oregon.
Disaster risks experienced regionally by hotels across the United States include:
Texas and Coastal Hotels
In Texas and other coastal states, the risk of a hurricane or tropical storm is much higher than elsewhere in the nation. Hotels should be prepared for potential water and wind damage, as they can leave many operations with no option other than to close entirely.
With hurricanes and tropical storms, hotel owners should be cognizant of on-site pools, sidewalks, and paved surfaces. Owners must ensure the business has appropriate commercial insurance coverage for potential wind and flood damage. Because of coverage limitations and exclusions, typical insurance plans may only cover damage to the building itself and not to the property’s landscaping, foundation, and/or underground piping and plumbing.
Hail is also a concern for Texas commercial property owners. Hotel and business owners in hail-prone areas should consider installing protective measures such as hail guards on roofs to protect the roofing materials, air conditioning systems, and other important items on top of the building from damage.
West Coast Hotels
Disasters common to California and other states on the West Coast are different from those experienced in southern states. For instance, these states often see disasters in the form of earthquakes and wildfires. In recent years, California has experienced several devastating wildfires that have ravaged portions of the state. With extreme cases like these, it is essential to ensure hotels located in these areas have extensive fire damage coverage.
Unfortunately, however, hotels located in these wildfire-prone areas have found that insurance carriers have resisted writing coverage due to these particular dangers. Some insurers may write policy exclusions into insurance policies such that if a hotel or property caught fire due to brush being nearby, the carrier would not cover any fire damage stemming from the incident.
This is especially true following the aftermath of the eight wildfires that impacted the Los Angeles metropolitan area and San Diego County in January 2025. These massive fires have resulted in billions of dollars in damage, likely leading insurers to increase premium costs for policies, include stricter terms, and offer much fewer coverage options for home and business owners in the area.
Northern Hotels
In northern states like New York, Montana, and Illinois, the potential for heavy snow is all too familiar. If a hotel is preparing for a snowstorm or deep freeze event, owners should protect the business’s pipes from potentially freezing and bursting. Burst pipes could cause extensive water damage to the interior of the property.
Ways Hotel Owners Can Prepare Their Establishments for a Natural Disaster
Because hotels can experience a wide array of disaster risks depending on where they are located, they must have some sort of disaster response plan in place for natural disasters and other potential large-scale threats. Some of the most critical disaster planning aspects include:
Communication Management
When the threat of a disaster is imminent, all communication between staff and guests must be consistent. Owners must contact key stakeholders, senior management, and third-party vendors to ensure everything is funneled through one person.
Guests will also likely have many questions and concerns that can quickly create a stressful environment for employees. The last thing hotel owners need is a misinformed employee giving a guest the wrong information during a high-stakes situation. Effective communication management can help avoid these and any other missteps by facilitating open, accurate, and timely dissemination of information to staff members, stakeholders, and guests.
Communication plans should also designate someone responsible for contacting employees and their emergency contacts if needed. Properties that serve international guests should also identify and train bilingual staff members to assist in communication with any non-English speaking guests.
Drafting key messaging for each potential disaster scenario can help keep messaging consistent and controlled, avoiding any potential for reputational damage and ensuring everyone is on the same page.
Update Any Current Emergency Processes and Systems
Hotel owners can update their internal emergency processes and systems in several ways. Having easy-to-locate backup options like reliable radios, walkie-talkies, emergency alert systems, and in-person communication plans can ensure the business can stay informed and access critical information. The following alternatives can also help owners coordinate strategies when traditional methods, like cell phones or data-dependent communication methods, become unreliable:
- Invest in battery-operated technology and communication tools
- Conduct daily staff meetings when a disaster is anticipated
- Invest in outsourced CPR, first-aid, and crisis management training for staff and on-site management
- Ensure guests are informed through text or email alerts, and provide technology-free resources like brochures with in-depth guidance
Create a Template Crisis Plan
Many hotels use a template crisis plan to outline the protocols for any possible scenario, even those that may not apply to an owner’s specific property. These plans must be thoroughly evaluated and tailored to meet the hotel’s unique needs to make them as efficient as possible.
Conduct a risk assessment to identify the top risks the hotel may face. By identifying the specific threats, owners can create detailed plans to help keep both guests and staff safe.
Commercial Property Damage Claims for Hotels
While hotel and other commercial property owners should be well prepared for potential natural disasters, accounting for an underpaid, delayed, or denied insurance claim to help repair any damage sustained is often not top of mind. In these instances, being faced with a wrongly denied insurance claim can only lead to more frustration and ongoing revenue losses for the owner.
Since commercial property insurance is often required to protect a business’s livelihood, carriers that deny, delay, or underestimate the value of commercial property damage claims are doing policyholders a considerable disservice. Suppose a hotel sustained damage covered by its policy, but the insurance company won’t pay the claim. In that case, the business owner should enlist the help of an experienced commercial property damage insurance claims attorney.
Commercial Property Damage Lawyers
Hotel property damage claims that arise after a natural disaster or severe weather event can be detrimental to business owners’ ongoing day-to-day operations and even cause permanent damage and loss.
At Raizner Slania, we understand how upsetting these instances can be, particularly if a valid claim has been wrongly denied. Our trial attorneys have represented various hotel and motel owners across Texas and nationwide in complex insurance cases, and we understand how insurance companies function. If your hotel or commercial property has been denied coverage for a valid insurance claim, we can help you recover what you are rightfully owed under your policy. Contact our office today to see how we can best assist you.
