What To Do When Revenues Disappear
That’s what happened to Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian in April. The pandemic cut his hotel company’s global business by 94%. “A shocking loss of demand,” he said. “We had never been in anything quite like it.”
Hoplamazian was my guest this week on the podcast Leadership Next. I was eager to talk with him because he’s always struck me as a leader with a strong focus on Hyatt’s corporate purpose, which is rooted in empathy—caring for employees so in turn they care for hotel guests. How do you care for employees when you no longer have any means to do so?
“There is no question that this has been the most difficult and most challenging period of time I’ve ever experienced, as a person,” he said. “The business was unrecognizable. The steps we had to take to manage through it were very painful. There was a very human impact that was devastating.”
Yet Hoplamazian said he has “been so incredibly humbled by the outpouring of appreciation and care that I’ve felt from those who are being impacted…It was incredible testimony to the deep humanity that exists within this company.” He hopes increased empathy may be a broader legacy of the crisis. “Now when people ask ‘How are you doing,’ they really mean it. That sense of care and real focus and attention is extraordinarily powerful, and I hope that stays with us forever.”
Hoplamazian is surprisingly confident that travel will eventually return to pre-pandemic levels. “Long term, I am 100% sure that we are going to see a massive resurgence in travel, because there is this incredible impulse to want to connect and be with people, on a personal level and on a business level. Once we have a vaccine, I think we are going to see a resurgence of demand the likes of which we haven’t seen before.”
Do you agree? I have heard from many CEOs, including Delta's Ed Bastian on this podcast, who think business travel may never return to pre-pandemic levels.
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CEO/MJBIOTECH,INC./VP/SBA/EXIM BANK/VP ADV BOARD WXEL Public TV
4 年Thank you; Great perspective; IMHO-only the stong well funded hotels/motels will remain; I see a real death spiral of the smaller Mom and Pop independent brands and fracnhise site owners . Like everything -there w/ be bargains as the small thinly financed sites close. I see a 24-36 month window need for Owners to have hard cash $$ or access in the bank.
President & CEO at Hyatt Hotels Corporation | Empathy + Action = Care
4 年Thanks for having me, Alan — always a great dialogue.
Export Sales
4 年I also agree as international trade must go on but people will from now on have a new way to judge those in front or next to them