Core Crisis Preparedness Measures Implemented by Meeting Planners

Prior research has indicated that less than half of professional meeting planners prepare a risk management plan for their meetings (Kline & Smith, 2006 Kline, S. and Smith, S. 2006. Crisis planning for the meeting planning and convention industry, Chicago, IL: Professional Convention Management Association. Google Scholar). This could be in part because of inadequate previous research identifying what meeting planners should be doing in order to be crisis prepared. The purpose of this study was to fill that empirical void by determining the crisis preparedness measures that meeting planners should adopt as well as the frequency that they are actually implemented. A total of 40 crisis preparedness measures were determined by a literature review and refined by a Delphi panel of experts. The adoption practice of these measures was assessed utilizing a survey of meeting planners and a factor analysis identified the five core crisis preparedness measures. The findings demonstrated the lack of consistent crisis preparedness by meeting planners and a need for further research into the reasons for the deficits.