3 areas every hotelier must look at before hosting the first post-corona guest

Now that the curve has started to flatten in most countries, we hear travelers here and there talking about their autumn plans, next country to visit, how they should prepare, etc. Even though travelers are wiping out the dust after the long wait, are the hoteliers ready to host post-pandemic travelers? Given the demands of travelers, post-pandemic travel won't be the same as before. And are the hoteliers ready for the post-pandemic effect, or the next outbreak? 

From this post, we are trying to break down the problem into 3 areas and discuss how hoteliers can prepare themselves for the post-corona effect.

Health and Hygiene

Health and hygiene are some of the top things that every post-corona traveler would demand. Early preparations will help you not only to meet the demand but also to boost confidence and attract visitors. When it comes to health and hygiene, private hygiene and public sanitation are crucial. Making hand sanitizers available, disinfect hard surfaces a few times a day and keeping a few disposable face masks in the rooms can be considered as top and essential priorities.

Promoting isolation, adjusting operations and design processes around that is a plus. However, when you do that, the ability to attend and adopt everyone's needs on a professional level is a must as it's in all hotelier's DNA. Most front office operations will be automated and run completely paperless. The staff is also needed to be trained on what to do and what not and make the mask and gloves a part of their uniform.

The whole buffet experience needs to be revisited. The salad bar is usually at the distance of getting exposed to sneezes and coughs and it's open, therefore it might probably disappear forever. Heated food, steamed plates, and cutleries will no longer be limited to 5-starts and above, it'll be mandatory in all places.

Post-pandemic mindset 

Understanding the post-pandemic mindset is all about understanding the phycology and needs of the traveler. It's critical to understand that your first guest is coming from a long lockdown probably in a city, surrounded by buildings. And for the first time, the guest is about to experience something that he/she had never experienced before. It could be new precesses, an environment where you can't see anyone smiling because of masks, a place where he/she is hesitant to lean on a desk or a wall, etc. 

We still don't know how people, in general, would react to such new experiences, but as service providers, we must do everything possible to make their lives easier by not letting long queues to form and not keep them waiting in one place for a long time, etc. The processes should be flexible enough to scale up/down as needed. All services should be personalized, and professional.

There will be new demands for nature and outdoor activities. And as providers, you should be ready and equipped to facilitate private tours and excursions. There will be less or no demand for anything shared among multiple groups. And people will love for experience-based activities in fewer crowded places. You got to have such experiences and activities up on your sleeves to throw whenever asked.

Reinvent the business

The world as we know has never experienced any pandemic at this scale before. It's not just the Coronavirus, but the economic impact followed by the pandemic caused the most damage to the hospitality industry. No one was prepared for anything at this scale, and that's an eye-opener for all hoteliers. How do you get out of the current situation and prepare your businesses to withstand this sort of crisis? This is where the reinvention of businesses is needed.

Let's look at a few short terms ideas to recover the business and then a few long term ideas to create a more robust strategy. During this crisis period, you need to let your guards down and expand the market. It'll take some time to attract foreign visitors due to limited air travel and many other restrictions that governments might enforce, but your local market will recover well before that. Therefore, start from hosting local guests. Promote staycations targeting the local leisure market.

Adjust your plans to align with your partners, operators, and agents. This is a time everyone has to communicate and help each other to stand on their feet. Don't try to sell at a higher price to cover your loss, attracting more crowd to your business is important at this time, offer discounts and special rates. Focusing on local optima is crucial in many ways. Empower the local community that made their livelihoods around your business and try to buy from the local market as much as possible. This will help other businesses to recover fast and eventually help your country's economy to recover.

Once your business starts catching some traction, think of a long term plan. Start by making a contingency plan for the next crisis. This is where you need to be creative. Find alternative revenue models. In Germany, city hotels are promoting isolated workspaces for people who're looking for a change when working from home. Rethink your operations, make it leaner so that you have the flexibility to make adjustments in terms of human and other resources when you want. Consider having variably managed fixed cost components. Think about the pros and cons of hiring people to the permanent staff and hiring on a long term contract. Evaluate the difference between buying and renting, what's suitable most in the long run? Reevaluate your cancellation and rebooking policies, give more freedom to travelers. People will talk about your flexible policies and you'll be rewarded after the crisis.

There may be other optimizations and redesign work that's unique to your business. See what your competitors do, but keep in mind that this is time for the community, not competition. Share your knowledge, experience and help others to get back on their feet. Every disaster creates new opportunities. Spend this time to think and make the most of it.