As the COVID-19 pandemic spread and gripped the world through the spring of 2020, news channels and social media was flooded with articles describing a horrific picture of the hospitality world post COVID-19. It painted a picture of lobbies with sparse seating, guests standing outside in queues waiting to be checked in, front desks still there but protected by acrylic shields and signs stuck up warning guests of the dangers. As we are still in the midst of this lingering crisis, where do we think hospitality is headed, and as we look for solutions – are there any digital tools, contact less solutions, or hospitality Apps for example that can us get back on track?
As hospitality slowly begins to pick up again, guests will expect more and they will expect different. Specifically, they will expect a contact-less hotel experience. Getting your hotel “COVID ready” as described by the World Health Organization doesn’t have to mean creating a war zone though. Guests can – and should – still feel welcomed and connected even before they step foot into your establishment.
While the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent fallout came as a shock to the whole world, and nobody, of course, can tell how this is all going to end – there is light in the tunnel. In fact, working with many professional hoteliers and experts in the industry, there are a few trends that could actually help save our industry’s very essence – hospitality.
Are You Ready For The First Post Covid-19 Travellers?
As the world is slowly lifting restrictions, it’s important to consider who will be your first returning guests. It seems clear that leisure and luxury travel will be the first to rebound. This is due to the personal and private nature of this type of travel. Although the world has lost fortunes in stock value, there are still many people who have the means to travel. Many of our partner’s clients, individuals and families who haven’t been hit as hard as expected during the pandemic, are still progressing and the lockdown has created a “saved up” need for travel. These clients can afford more spacious and safer air travel, which means that as long as the airlines are around, people can get to their destinations with reasonable safety. Some even have their own means of flying to places. Even for travellers with smaller means, the first expenditure will very likely be leisure travel, motivated by local deals and flight specials as the industry tries to recover. Making sure we’re ready for this first wave is crucial.Business Travel Is Lagging
Unfortunately, it seems Business travel will take time to recover. As per late August 2020, 45 US companies with assets over 1 billion USD had gone into bankruptcy or Chapter 11 – a staggering loss of value and jobs. For cooperations to cope, people have been laid off, projects cut, and budgets slashed. To be part of “flattening the curve” corporations have had to find new ways to continue business as usual. A vast number of desk workers from all walks of life are now used to working remotely and using online video-conferencing tools to host meetings. The realization for many, both employees and corporations, has been that this is actually very efficient. Perhaps we will go into the office a few days a week only in the future as going to the office every day, or travelling regularly between company headquarters will make less sense in the future – meaning less business travel. From a safety and health perspective, corporations are likely to limit non-essential travel. A quick one-day meeting somewhere else in Europe, for example, was completely acceptable in the past, whereas now it may seem as an unnecessary risk. It’s safe to say that corporations won’t be approving travel budgets any time soon.Last To Rebound Will Be Large Corporate Events And Group Travel
From a cost, time and safety perspective, gathering several hundred employees for a conference, dinner or event may not garner the same enthusiasm as in the past. Indeed, Facebook, Google and Microsoft have all cancelled major gatherings until the summer of 2021. Large group travel is likely to fall within this category too. For all the same reasons, large groups of travellers may take several years to rebound unless the industry can find ways to simplify their travel arrangements by minimizing the need for physical contact and assistance.A New Normal For Hospitality – Saving Our Essence
So, what is the alternative scenario? How can we as a collective help the industry rebound faster? Travel in a post-apocalyptic world won’t cut it. We need to find ways to offer guests a safe and convenient travel experience without turning hotels into hospitals. As in many times throughout history, leaps in innovation may help drive a new normal. Perhaps technology and software will be heroes. We’re in an era where, even in a restaurant, 90% of people are staring at their phones. Is it time to embrace giving your guests anything and everything they want from the safety of their own personal devices? Guests are likely to expect less in-person interaction and more online solutions. As much as possible, guests will want to interact with their own personal device – likely their own phone or tablet – for every step of the journey. Although anecdotal at this point, general feedback we hear from partners around the world is that per guest, the interactions with a manager or shared devices such check-in kiosks has gone down. Similarly, there’s a lot of hesitation around using hotel key-cards as they may not be clean, and the same goes for TV-remotes. Maybe the new reality won’t be an access restricted lobby, with warning signs and acrylic screens, but rather a hotel App that allows seamless contact-less experiences using new hardware and software solutions? Whatever path hotels ultimately take, what you offer your guests should be easy to use and a “do-it-all”. A personalized hotel App will be central in all of this – the hotel App will be the “check-in attendant”, the “room key”, the “TV remote”, the “temperature or air-con control” and even to a certain extent, the concierge. It will be the “experience menu”, the ”key”, or the “remote” to the entire journey. Your hotel’s App will allow the whole trip to happen with less human contact, and help guests to touch as few surfaces as possible that aren’t their own. In fact, it’s now possible to make the whole journey more or less contact-less. Guests will check-in online and receive an electronic key in their phone that unlocks their door. Inside their room, they can control everything from either their phone, the TV or even by using their voice to ask Alexa or a Google Assistant. This can include turning on the TV, switching channels, controlling the temperature, controlling all the lights, and even opening the drapes. When guests get hungry, they can order food via the App and either add it to their bill or pay via an online payment tool. For fun and leasure, they can opt-in for activities, tours and special offerings. Some hotels have seen an exponential increase in sales from using this technology – clients weren’t unwilling to buy, they just didn’t always know what was on offer. Check out is hassle-free and even as the guests move on, they can review your establishment easily and, if they opted in, receive updates and promotions going forward. The possibilities are endless, and while this all might seem like a scene out a fiction movie – it’s happening right now. The best hotel Apps and hotel solutions should be able to offer you:- Post booking information and pre-arrival options – App
- Check in – App
- Opening electronic door locks – Phone/App
- Controlling TV, Chromecast and Streaming services – App, (or voice control)
- Ordering F&B, Excursions and Activities – App, TV (or voice control)
- Controlling aspects of the room, such as lights, temperature and drapes
- Easy Payment Solutions- either post it to the bill through the App or TV, or by adding payment services such as Apple Pay, etc.
- Enrol/utilize loyalty points – App / TV
- Order laundry etc – App / TV / Voice control
- Check out – App / TV / Voice control
- Rate/review – App / TV / Voice control