The COVID-19 pandemic was a major shock that called into question the survival of many firms around the world, particularly in the tourism sector. The aim of this paper is to examine and explain the function and contribution of crisis management in the hotel industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this work explores the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on hotel business and the strategies applied to manage the situation. For the purposes of examining the hotel’s experiences with the COVID-19 crisis, an empirical research survey was conducted using a questionnaire on a sample of hotels in the Republic of Croatia in order to determine whether the existence of crisis management in hotel firms affects their success in managing the COVID-19 crisis. The empirical research results indicate that the incorporated function of crisis management in hotel firms played an important role in successfully overcoming the COVID-19 crisis, particularly in enabling firms to make quick and efficient decisions. The collected information, findings, and knowledge can provide hotel managers and the interested public with insight into the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis on the hotel industry and enable hotel firms to learn and apply what they have learned to emerge stronger and better prepared for future crises.