Week 2 – Guest Relations Office; letter
This week, your internship assignment is with the company’s Guest Relations office.
You have been asked to draft a letter to guests to address concerns about the impacts of possible cyber-attacks. This particular letter should reassure guests that the company is taking positive steps to protect guest privacy.
Consider the technical and people perspectives which guide the incident-specific content required for such a letter.
Next, consider the required “tone” for such a letter. The letter must be factual but, more importantly, it is necessary to show an appropriate amount of empathy and understanding for the recipient’s feelings. Empathy and emotional intelligence are important leadership skills for managers.
As you write this letter, you will need to find a balance between addressing the emotional aspects of a cyberattack and the need to develop trust by providing information about a situation which can invoke fear and concern.
To learn more about emotional intelligence, read this definition of Emotional Intelligence and this discussion article about What Emotional Intelligence Is and Is Not. Then, read about three types of empathy https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/types-of-empathy_us_56f171cde4b03a640a6bcc17.
Finally, read one or more of these articles about cyber attacks that can affect hotel operations and create fear and concern among guests and employees.
1. Hackers use ransomware to target hotel guests’ door locks
2. Is Hotel Wifi Safe? No, and here’s why
3. 20 hotels suffer hack costing tens of thousands their credit card information
Using what you’ve learned about data security AND emotional intelligence, draft a letter that Padgett-Beale could use to inform and calm its guests should a similar cyberattack (door locks, guest WiFi access, or credit card Point-of-Sale breach) affect one of the company’s hotel properties. Your draft letter will also be used to train employees in how they can and should respond to guest concerns.
