Hotels concentrate reservations, payments, guest data and connected operational systems. A ransomware event can quickly become a business-interruption event.
Readiness is less about perfect prevention than a coordinated first response: clear roles, tested backups, accessible vendor contacts and a plan for serving guests while systems recover.
Start with the systems that keep guests moving.
Map the property-management system, reservations, payments, door locks, phones, Wi-Fi and payroll. Identify which service must return first, who controls it and which outside vendor can respond after hours.
- What must be restored first?
- Who can take systems offline?
- Are backups isolated and tested?
- Which vendors respond after hours?
- How will the front desk operate manually?
Make response roles unambiguous.
Name the incident lead, technology contact, operations decision-maker, communications owner and insurance contact. Store the list somewhere the team can reach without the hotel network.
Practice the first hour.
Run a short tabletop exercise: a reservation system is unavailable at 4 p.m. on a sold-out Friday. Walk through the first calls, guest communications, manual workarounds and escalation decisions. Record the gaps while they are visible.