Is Flexibility the Key: Jab or no Jab, Travel or no Travel?

So, as we start to see the vaccine being distributed, and countries start mass vaccination programme, it was reported in the UK, by a cruise operator, that if a guest did not have the vaccine then they simple could not sail! So that brings about another question, that will separate, divide, and put various sectors of the Hospitality, Travel & Tourism sectors against each other, when it comes to the mitigation of an outbreak, or ultimately potentially putting the safety and wellbeing of their guests and staff at greater risk! Here me out on this one!

For many years, when traveling / sailing to certain destinations tourists / guests / workers have had to have yellow fever or malaria injections / medication to visit certain destinations, and in some cases carry with you a vaccination card to prove that this has been done! We have recently seen that in order to travel you have had to produce a valid negative PCR Test in order to board a flight or enter a country (we also know that forged documents are being used). 

If we take the Maldives as an example, many resorts then require you to undergo another PCR Test on arrival at the resort, and then another mid-way through to ensure that you remain negative and to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading. On departure another PCR test is required to board the flight home! This is looking more likely for the cruise sector as well, to ensure that everyone who sails is travelling safely!

So, the questions are this, that within the Hospitality, Travel & Tourism sector, how do you mitigate the risk to those business say a hotel in London, Bangkok, or New York, where you have transient guests, with an average length of stay for just a few days only! Do you require them to arrive with a negative PCR test? Are you going to test them on arrival or prior to their stay? How will the risk of transmission be managed, stopped, or even reduced! I do appreciate that currently, no one truly has the answer to this. Many within the industry, want to reopen and start business once more, and I do agree that many businesses are eager to reopen. 

However, how many within our sector have truly sat down and gone through the next steps, what protocols / outbreak plans do they need to have in place. Others within the industry are already doing this and have done so for many years already. I am talking about the cruise sector, some of you will say, that they are always in the media, when it comes to outbreaks. Absolutely, yet what other industry reports on guests / team members that are ill, when they arrive at a destination. A hotel or resort does not report to any government body, only in severe cases! Therefore are handle mentioned, as they tend not to be that transparent! NB: Due to current situations they are meant to, yet do they?

In my day-to-day work, I encounter many individuals from many organizations, yet it is surprising to note that some are not prepared, nor have they learnt the lessons from 2020, we need to become a more flexible, more vigilant, more collaborative industry globally not just regionally. We need to share information, resources, ideas, thoughts, processes to enable a much safer and more flexible industry. Some airlines and hotel / resort operators are moving bookings for free, or no cancellation fee’s to be paid if a booking is cancelled. Many times, we hear of stories when a family, individual, or a business have had to change plans due to COVID-19 or circumstances out of their control and some companies retain the deposits or charge them to move the date! Surely this is no longer something we should be encouraging, we need to appreciate our teams, customers much more than before.

Taking our heads out of the sand, and talking with each other, collaborating and being flexible will hopefully enable us as a global industry to return much stronger and more determined than before to success, and stand tall!