Preparing For What Comes Next

The hotel industry is currently going through a worst-case scenario and it is impossible to predict how long it will last. Right now the consensus is that it will get worse before it gets better. Our hotel clients are in full survival mode: closing hotels, putting staff on leave, and trying to reschedule group business further into the future. But some hotel companies are also using this time to plan for the inevitable recovery.

1.    Analyzing the structure of departments and teams so that they are aligned around a common performance driven strategy.

2.    Taking advantage of having far fewer reservations on the books to replace their PMS (as the transfer of future bookings is often a pain point) and looking at replacing inefficient systems.

3.    Planning for the sales, marketing and revenue management strategies to take advantage of the inevitable resurgence in demand.

Mistakes were made post 9-11 resulting in a 20-year hangover of rate disparity, monopolization of search traffic and a discounting race to the bottom.  Hotels want to ensure that the same mistakes of the past are not repeated.

The industry will recover and will be stronger than ever, although I hope that at a minimum the recent images of cleaner air over China and dolphins swimming through the canals of Venice and in the waters off of Marine Drive in Mumbai will push all industries to pursue a path toward carbon neutrality much more aggressively. Until the recovery happens, there is simply no marketing strategy or special offer that will get people traveling right now. Once guests are back in their homes and staff is taken care of us much as possible, it is a good time to use the resources around the table to map out a proactive strategy and align teams around it to come out of this crisis stronger than ever.

What recommendations or ideas do you have for other hoteliers to be prepared for the eventual recovery?