EBSUJMC PUBLICATION

Title: Public Relations Strategies for Reinstilling Guests Confidence in Hotel Safety and Security among Select Hotels in Port Harcourt
Author(s): PIUS Cynthia Keruhuka, G. B. OKON & DIKE Harcourt Whyte
Abstract: This study examined the approaches and patterns of public relations in reinstilling guest confidence in hotel security and safety in Port Harcourt. The main objective of the study was to investigate the strategies utilised by hotels in reinstilling guest confidence in hotel security and safety through public relations. The study focused on three hotels namely: Liberty Hotel, City Express Hotel and Visa Karina Hotel. The study was guided by the cognitive theory and Stakeholder theory. The research design used in the study was descriptive survey method. The population of the study was in two streams, comprising a sum of 88 staff of Liberty Hotel, City Express Hotel and Visa Karina Hotel. While the second stream comprised 117 guests of the hotels. The researcher used the census sampling technique on the hotel staff, while accidental sampling technique was used to identify the hotel guests that provided information for the study. The instrument used for data gathering was the questionnaire. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to check for reliability of the instrument. The data elicited from the respondents were presented on frequency tables and analysed using simple percentage and weighted mean score (WMS). Findings of the study revealed that the public relations strategy used by hotel in reinstilling guest confidence in the safety and security of the hotels include projecting a positive image of the hotel; using public relations agents; observing adherence to safety and security protocols; staff training; placing notices in the hotel premises; and to a low extent, organising/promoting events. Also, the public relations tools used by hotels in building guest confidence in the safety and security of the hotels include the use of hotel website, social media, customer service desk, flyers/posters and souvenirs. The study concludes that Visa Karina and City Express hotels seem to have put in considerable effort in putting measures in place to build on customer confidence in the safety and security of the hotels. However, much work needs to be done by Liberty hotel in this respect. Liberty hotel therefore has a task to build on customer confidence by improving on their safety and security measures. The study recommended that the hotels should include the mass media in their public relations strategy so as to increase audience visibility. Also, the hotels should imbibe dialogic communication in their public relations efforts so as to increase audience interactivity.
Keywords: Security, Safety, Reinstilling, Approaches and Patterns
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EDITORIAL TEAM
EDITOR IN-CHIEF

Agatha Orji-Egwu Ph.D

MANAGING EDITOR

Kenneth Adibe Nwafor, Ph.D

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Barr. H. N. Aligwe, Ph.D

Ifeyinwa Nsude, Ph.D

Chike Onwe, Ph.D

Simon Ezaka, Ph.D

EDITORIAL CONSULTANT

Jonathan E. Aliede, Ph.D