Countries across the globe have experienced many pandemics in the past like the Ebola, SARS including major economic crisis but never has the whole world come to a standstill because of a pandemic, at the same time. So, the situation thrown up by Covid-19 is very unique in that sense. Travel was completely halted and so was stepping out of the house for many months. And this really shook people, industries and life as we know it.
65% of organized hotels in India have shut operations already and several others are contemplating a way to take their revenues to pre-covid times but as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. These desperate times made many start thinking out of the box and going back to the drawing board to come up with innovative ways not just to stay afloat but gain the confidence of people and swim to shore.
Many luxury properties are now living up to the dictum by launching measures that were unthinkable in pre-Covid times. Five-star hotels have started exploring ancillary business avenues and models, to sustain their overhead costs and cash flows. Hotels have been adopting different permutations and combination of Food & Beverage revenue streams. Affordable laundry options for the community has also been introduced by many hotels with in-house laundry services.
One of the widely adopted routes taken to sell food by hotels from their F&B outlets by star properties has been home-delivery and takeaway services. With people stuck indoors without access to their favorite dishes or hotels in the city, the star properties across the country smoothly transitioned to being available on popular food delivery platforms. This service ensured customers who have been fearful of venturing out, visiting a hotel or a restaurant, sharing stuff with others, to have their favourite meal from trustworthy places and at a reasonable price.
Hotels with a hand on the pulse of the general sentiment of people, quickly introduced food in Bento boxes and DIY kits so people felt safe to get the ingredients and heat it and put it together in the comfort of their homes.
Some hotels even came up with the concept of a ‘mobile bar trolley” or the “mobile club lounge” which takes the bar to the guest’s rooms where the guest can enjoy their favorite beverage and cocktail customized for them and served along with canapés and bar snacks giving them a super luxe service which made them feel safe at the same time.
The Indian Hospitality brands have now geared up to ensure contactless, seamless and exceptional hospitality services to guests in the new social distancing world. Some brands went far and above their usual offerings to make customers feel safe and secure. Many of them curated packages to safeguard all possible risks by providing a deep sanitized car at guest’s disposal throughout his/ her stay at the property. Some even tried the ‘Chef-at-home’ service wherein the chef goes to a customer’s house and puts together a gourmet meal in the luxury of their own private space.
Another radical offering was ‘Door-to-door Laundry services’. The crisp laundry service not only covered everything from bedsheets to wedding lehengas but also have your clothes picked up and dropped at home.
Hotels diversified in previously inconceivable directions to find new channels of revenue as the pandemic disrupted the way businesses operate. The changing world for instance now offers virtual weddings to make guest’s day special in the current times. The hospitality sector is fueling its resources with digital innovations and entering into this new segment to fulfil the dynamic needs and demands.
Identifying the rapidly changing market needs, the hotel industry promptly introduced workcation and staycation packages for the cooped-up millennials. With hygiene and cleanliness concerns looming in people’s minds, luxury hotels felt they had the right credentials and credibility to put those doubts to rest. These innovations also helped the businesses to keep their teams motivated and keep themselves afloat.
Seeing the current sentiment, I strongly feel that the customers will continue to remain cautious and prefer reputed and reliable brands. Hygiene and sanitization are going to be the deciding factors, quality will overshadow quantity.
So, while the pandemic has very obviously hit everybody hard in many ways forcing people to learn and unlearn things, it has also come as that cloud with a silver lining.