The influences of hotel characteristics on the risk impacts and effectiveness of crisis management: A case study of hotels in Phuket, Thailand

Abstract

Crisis management is crucial for the tourism industry due to its high vulnerability to crises, however, hotels still lack awareness and understanding to implement effective crisis management. This study aims to determine the influence of hotel characteristics on the risk impacts and the effectiveness of crisis management and to examine the mediational effect of the risk impacts on such relationships. As the main tourist destination in Thailand, Phuket was chosen as the research scope. The data were collected from 153 four- and five-star hotels with 3 managerial personnel each, and then 402 completed questionnaires were analysed using the PLS-SEM. The results revealed that location and experience in risk handling of the hotels influence both risk impacts and the effectiveness of crisis management, the ownership structure influences only the risk impacts, and the operating period and star rating do not influence them. Also, the risk impacts do not mediate the effectiveness of crisis management. The article concludes by providing both theoretical and practical implications.