(COVID-19) FROM THE NEED FOR TOURIST CHANGE TO THE PSYCHOSIS OF CHANGE.

(COVID-19) FROM THE NEED FOR TOURIST CHANGE TO THE PSYCHOSIS OF CHANGE.

In recent days I am seeing on social networks, professional forums, digital platforms, etc., countless activities, talks, articles and other formats on how to deal with the reopening of hotels and restaurants after COVID-19 internationally.

 There is an important mental disorder that I attribute to the collapse of information that comes from everywhere without this information being official and when I say official, I mean that we should really wait to know how the relevant authorities are going to act, in this case Health , in relation to the particularities and requirements that, from now on, each country, each establishment and therefore each company must implement or monitor depending on the characteristics or specialty of each one.

 On the other hand, and how could it be otherwise, many companies and professionals in the gastronomy and hospitality sector in general, go ahead on their own initiative to put on the table, even confirm, what will be their measures from now on in rooms, excursions, restaurants, services ect ...

 From my point of view, I think that some companies are trying to be the first in everything and do not blink when it comes to expressing their changes on social networks or their web pages, in interviews or articles typical of the digital galaxy, which, Looking at some of these initiatives, it seems to me that it is nothing more than trying to convey to their clients or followers that they have already changed the procedures to start over. A propaganda that for some will be positive and for others very negative, since authentic nonsense barbarities are being considered and that in the end, they must reverse, with what this entails, lack of credibility, unnecessary expense, feeling of having worked or working with sensations, without any real planning or analysis of what is going to be or can be the start again.

I have said it from the beginning and I am sure that we will have to readjust our services and facilities to an unprecedented new stage, of that there is no doubt, but with common sense.

 Putting ourselves in the client's shoes is not an easy task and I would dare to say that some hotel companies, restaurants or companies linked to tourism in general that currently operate, have rarely done so and I can understand that it is a new facet for them. but that from now on they will have to make it a compulsory routine and try to feel or interpret what the client is going to demand.

 In particular, making use of this provision (putting myself in the shoes of the client) I would like to arrive at a hotel and have the same rights and freedoms that I had in the past, that is, if I am going to arrive at the reception of any hotel , which theoretically is going to be my first impression of what I am going to find inside and I see that all the receptionists are wearing masks, gloves, protective gowns etc… that is, the preamble of a hospital, I can assure you that I will not register , I will look for another one without any doubt. If that is the initial photo that I am going to find, what that photograph is telling me is that they are protecting themselves from something, perhaps it is in the hotel. The first sensation has to be as normal as possible, with gels at the entrance, masks in case the client wants them, gloves in special spaces or on request. Giving the client the option of having the protective measures that they can claim at their disposal is good, but not giving the feeling that they are entering a hospital. Obviously, internally, new action procedures must be sought, cleaning and disinfection, everything must be impeccable, the common bathrooms, the one that can afford it, must have opening sensors so as not to have to open traditionally, but in general lines , I believe that the change will come more at internal levels, employee training and through giving continuity and effectiveness to the normal procedures already established, reinforcing them and knowing how to interpret and update new protocols.

The rooms and restaurants must also be reviewed, the technological era is going to be fundamental in the reforms and renovations of both areas. Of course, there must be a COVID-19 prevention kit in the rooms, perhaps with essential items, such as a mask, gloves, individual disinfectant gel, and why not? Also, a test so that the client himself has the option to do it personally. The electronic key to open your room will tend to disappear shortly, everything that is exclusively manipulated must disappear, perhaps the electronic bracelet will prevail in this new stage, especially for that function. Butler service, room service, TV, Music etc ... through a Tablet or similar, but with a single element connected to everything, easy to use and clean and disinfect when we leave the room. If not, the TV remote control, for example, must be protected with an individual bag for use and change only for the client who occupies that room. The lights, by presence sensor or with plastic adhesives and of the same characteristics in the switches and that can be changed at each exit by the hotel staff. The traditional telephone in each room, if it does not adapt to digital technology, must have ear protectors, a handle and a speaker. To the bathrooms, the hotel must dedicate more time and new cleaning and disinfection procedures in accordance with this new situation and especially emphasize the disinfection of items that are not replaced, such as soaps, hair dryers, decorative elements, etc ... there is no doubt. Nor that the room service until the memory tells us otherwise, is going to be a service that is going to skyrocket in the consumption of any hotel, the client with more stage fright, will tend to eat exclusively through this service and obviously the rooms should provide and adapt to the comfort that this requires for the client.

 If we go to the restaurant the spaces will be wider, the queues of customers at the buffet must disappear and for that the food and beverage (F&B) operation has to start working on processes, tools or a service that speeds up those queues that sometimes they occur at peak service hours.

 If I, as a customer, come to a restaurant and find that the tables are separated by metraquilat or glass partitions between customers, of course, I will not consume that service. Pretending to continue making the same invoicing as before, harming the comfort of the client itself seems to me a lack of respect towards him and transmits negatively, our mission of the service sector.

The tables should be more separated from each other, which leads to the elimination of chairs, the wait staff will be reduced, for sure and that will lead us to further professionalize the service. Employees will have to apply and train more than before, since from now on there will be many people waiting for a job and only the most professional, better trained, more focused on personalized attention, service by vocation and always thinking of the customer In short, the best ... will have that possibility more than others to work.

With the philosophy of trying to put yourself in the client's place and under that parameter, you have to go zone by zone of the hotel, swimming pools, gym, disco, etc ... and little by little try to adapt to the most immediate needs of the new client and circumstances. The most important thing is common sense, that never fails.