Over the past few years, the United States has gone through several catastrophic events including tornados, wildfires, and hurricanes. During these events there are many obstacles for the insured as well as the adjusters to overcome, one of which is where the displaced family will live. Immediately following a catastrophic event, families are rushing to locate hotel accommodations as well as determine what longer term housing arrangements might be available for their family.
In the recent Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas Tornados, there was a shortage of hotels in neighboring cities and towns due to the amount of people who were displaced. Many hotels were damaged by the tornados and had to evacuate their existing guests. Some hotels that were open in the area did not have electricity and ran power through a generator. Those hotels that had minimal or no damage sold out quickly which left a shortage of rooms available. People had to drive as far as one to two hours away in order to find available hotel rooms. Insurance adjusters turned to temporary housing companies to assist in locating hotels for their customers. These temporary housing companies had the task to locate available hotels in a market where inventory was scarce and emotions were running high. National agreements with hotel chains helped expedite locating hotels that had available inventory.
The main factor that allowed Temporary Housing Directory (THD) to place insured(s) into hotels quickly are the business agreements they built with both national hotel chains and individual privately owned hotels. THD's reputation within the hospitality industry is an asset in times of disaster in securing hotel accommodations and competitive rates. It is important that hotels know that a company is straight-forward to work with and payment is dependable. Partnering with hotel chains on a continuous basis throughout the year allows temporary housing provider(s) the ability to view and secure available inventory immediately after a disaster occurs.
Once damages were assessed by the insurance companies it was time to locate short-term temporary housing options for policyholders. Locating "like, kind and quality" housing after a catastrophic event is often challenging as once again, available inventory is limited due to the high demand of housing in the devastated area. THD was able to overcome this challenge, as we have established a network of private landlords and management companies across the country because of previous placements we have made year after year.
Strong Networks
THD took a proactive approach by establishing strong relationships with landlords and property management companies prior to these catastrophic events. Immediately following the tornados, THD received calls directly from landlords and property management companies in the affected areas when knowing that THD would have a need in the area. Having had such a seamless experience before, they wanted to continue to develop a long lasting partnership built on trust, consistency, and proactive measures in communication. Although there were some challenges in more rural areas, we were successful in placing families in less conventional housing options such as mobile homes, travel trailers, cottages, and Furnished vacation rentals. By providing a quick response to each temporary housing request THD was able to reduce the additional stress that comes with trying to locate a place to live for the policyholders.
"Our customers are going through a very difficult time in their lives and quick response time is more important than ever during a catastrophic event," says Teresa Vidger, THD president. "[Our] catastrophe response team is sensitive with each individual need and our processes and relationships allow us to provide superior customer service without delay while maintaining a professional demeanor."
Delivery to Affected Areas
With increased demands, companies that support housing providers such as furniture and houseware companies are more than ever needed to deliver their products quickly and efficiently. One of the obstacles involved in expediting these goods and services is the ability to provide large quantities of additional inventory to the affected areas. By partnering with national and local furniture companies over the last 10 years has enabled THD to set expectations and stringent service of work perameters based on a history of catastrophic events. With this being said these companies have set measures forth making sure they have the resources to pull inventory and trucks from other branch offices from across the country to minimize delivery delays and maximize customer service. Such partnerships gives a temporary housing company the ability to get inventories delivered versus an individual, whom having no previous relationships, try's to get inventory ordered and delivered during a time of chaos. Partnering daily with vendors allows a temporary housing company the ability to deliver quality housing options to their customers
When selecting a temporary housing company to assist with housing during a catastrophic event it is important to make sure that this company has reputable relationships with their vendors built prior to any event as inventory is limited. Displaced families are going through a traumatic time not only being displaced from their homes but they also have a sense a loss for community as neighborhoods have been devastated. Policyholders and adjusters are busy working through the details of each claim and depend on a temporary housing company to locate housing while providing superior customer service. Catastrophes are random and occur once in a while. Partnering with a 24/7 insurance housing company whose business day in and day out is providing temporary housing during a loss is the key to success when faced with a catastrophic event.
For more information on temporary housing services, contact Toni Andell at Temporary Housing Directory at 800-817-3220, or www.temporaryhousingdirectory.com.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.