COVID-19 | Impact on Hotel Industry and Staff

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to severe disturbances of the global economy, many industries including hospitality. The pandemic has forced hotel owners and operators to take corrective and major steps, including furlough and layoff of employees.

The hotels and hospitality sector in India has declined sharply in the first quarter of 2020 and due to the travel restrictions around the world second and third quarters of 2020 are likely to face similar impact. Industry has lost its revenue which will only further intensify as the situation worsens.         

Looking at the world today a kind of powerlessness seems to be prevailing mood. Nationwide lockdown is entering into the Sixth week where we are focusing on to the shifting for the better ways of implementing physical distancing and other preventive measures at the same time restoring socio, economic and technological linkages that have been shattered at various levels.

Growth and development of hotels is also likely to be impacted over the year. Based on current occupancy estimates and looking into the immediate future jobs either will be eliminated in the next few weeks or employees are asked to take their allotted leave, and those with no leave asked to go on leave without pay while few are working from home.

Many hotel employees are from different states and residing on rentals and are immovable due to lockdown. Whereas few staff; maintenance, engineering, and housekeeping may need to remain onsite. To provide and fulfill food and beverage facilities for these employees is imperative in the pandemic.

Post Covid-19 HR’s role will change dramatically in terms of engaging a workforce which is at the home right now or working remotely. There will be employees who will be having anxiety issues returning back to the work or for the staff who is face of the hotel.  Employees are the first to be affected and probably we will be the last to come out of this.

These individuals are from varied backgrounds and most of them are without professional degrees or certifications, a lot of our staff have studied till only 8th or 10th standard but have been working with us for a long time. It is important to ascertain the impact of such an eventuality on these individuals.

Once business resumes HR needs to analyze expenses, avoid procurement of additional resources, and cut down expenses while making sure operational costs are kept under control. Cost structure of any hotel more or less divided into Lease / Rental, Utility and Maintenance, Compensation and miscellaneous. Considering this structure and today's scenario, where revenues are 0 and fixed cost is intact, it questions the business continuity. The revenue losses in the travel and tourism sector may run into multiple quarters.

Most hotels have taken a humanistic point of view ensuring that in these unprecedented times employees receive the necessary support and assistance at every step, but the biggest question is how long they will be able to continue..