EDUSession: Coping with Severe Weather Events

“There aren’t 100-year storms anymore, the way we used to look at them,” shares Emily O'Hara, senior director of guest experience for the Detroit Zoological Society at Monday’s Weathering the Storm of Extreme Weather Events EDUSession.  While focused on zoos, with the increasing number of severe weather events occurring across the globe, the three panelists offered actionable tips that may benefit attractions of all types.

Dynamic Pricing

O’Neil notes that the Detroit Zoo is seeing guests’ purchasing habits change as they increasingly wait until the last minute to purchase admission and event tickets—resulting in greater revenue uncertainty.  As a result, the Detroit Zoo is making use of dynamic pricing to encourage pre-purchasing tickets and packages for special events.

Social Media is Key

All three panelists emphasize the importance of using social media to communicate weather related preparations and safety measures. O’Neil also suggests limiting social media pushes to days when the weather is nice, so that guests associate the attraction with pleasant weather.

Safety First 

With extreme heat becoming more frequent, both O’Neil and Jessica Hintz, manager of guest and member services at the Phoenix Zoo, emphasize the importance of keeping guests and staff safe.  This includes installing misters, water stations, and additional shade for guests while offering staff more breaks and cooling amenities.

Flexibility Equals Fun

Operating in the heat of Arizona means that the Phoenix Zoo depends on being flexible with the experience offered to their guests. Hintz mentions adopting policies such as limiting summer hours from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. when it is coolest, offering free carousel and tram rides during hotter months to increase guest value, and focusing their habitats on species that thrive in desert heat.  Meanwhile, the Detroit Zoo has loosened their policies for courtesy transportation on the grounds for heat-stressed guests. Anthony Woodson, senior manager of safety and compliance at ZooTampa at Lowry Park, shares key learnings from the zoo’s experience with Hurricane Milton in 2024. “Be ready for anything; if you can imagine it, it can happen.” Woodson notes that prior to Milton, the zoo staff extensively photographed the property to assist in post storm recovery. However, they were still underprepared for the aftermath, noting that it took longer than expected for guest levels and revenues to rebound.  “Develop a continuity plan for what happens after the incident,” he urges.

Maintain Relationships with Emergency Management

Woodson also emphasizes the importance of building a strong relationship with emergency management.  ZooTampa lost primary and backup power for several days and was in danger of losing their food stocks.  A call to emergency management resulted in the delivery of a refrigerated semi-trailer. Emergency management also noted that they could have dispatched a crew of mechanics to repair their generators. “Ask for the world,” Woodson says, noting that attraction operators may not be aware of the resources available to them.