When a disaster strikes, the world watches as the news highlights damaged structures, uninhabitable neighborhoods or former homes turned into ash. As days pass, clips on post-recovery efforts saturate the airwaves and internet — and then the media moves on to the next current event to keep their audience’s attention.
It’s not lost on us that the recovery efforts after a natural disaster can take months, if not years, to rebuild a place that so many call home. It takes a village to recover and, when it comes to lodging, there are typically four main phases that happen before response teams and insureds can go back to their normal lives and homes. So, where does THD help in these phases?
Believe it or not … all of them.
Phase 1: Response Team Readiness
THD is accustomed to securing lodging before a disaster strikes, so that response teams can immediately get to work. Blocks of hotel rooms are reserved in advance using our Hotel Access Reservation System to expedite the hotel booking process and to secure high-volume inventory. Additionally, we ensure any special accommodations — such as meeting rooms — are arranged. Insurance adjusters and restoration pros can then move to the scene to assess the damage in affected areas.
Phase 2: Emergency Lodging for Insureds
After a disaster affects a home, many insureds need outside support to find emergency lodging. Time is of the essence here; in many cases, these policyholders need to evacuate from their homes to safe, livable spaces right away. We leverage our buying power to secure hotels quickly while also meeting the ALE allowances included in the insureds’ policy.
THD also assists many affected professional organizations and businesses by securing lodging that covers all of their needs, enabling them to get back to business quickly.
Phase 3: A Shift into Housing
After damage assessment, restoration teams now are at the scene to repair many homes and businesses sustaining severe structural damage. Long-term housing is needed for these crucial workers and the insureds who are now displaced for longer than expected. Short-term home leases, travel trailers, RVs, hotels, vacation rentals, apartments and condos are just a few of the alternative lodging solutions THD provides to meet the needs of any customer.
Phase 4: Financial Reconciliation
THD takes the burden off of adjusters and insurance companies by using our ALE tracking capabilities and digital workflow. Everything is done electronically and paper becomes a thing of the past, creating a more efficient process that saves our customers time and energy. Our Accounting Team’s use of technology ensures transparent financial reconciliation between the insurance companies and lodging venues.
Our team of temporary lodging experts is fully equipped with the skills to secure placements — before and after a disaster strikes — in record timing. We at THD pride ourselves on being a high-touch organization with the drive and ability to help all types of customers during all phases of a disaster recovery. If you want to learn more about how we can help you with your lodging needs, we are here 24 hours a day — ready to chat with you!
