Hospitality: Accelerate Recovery

COVID-19 outbreak has presented unprecedented circumstances before the fragile tourism and hospitality industry. The highly infectious novel coronavirus continues to thwart the sector and raises serious questions about the present and future survival of the sector.

One industry that is suffering the most immediate repercussions is the hospitality and leisure industry. Hospitality is among the hardest hit due to fears of community spread through travel and group environments.

 The pandemic has confronted the hospitality industry with an unprecedented challenge. 

India’s hotels and restaurants are seeing just 20 to 30 percent business of what they used to get before COVID-19 hit. Hotel business hinges a lot on travel.  Here we are focusing on bouncing back journey to move forward with new travel trends of the hospitality industry.

 

Well, there is still a lot of uncertainty in the hospitality sector. 

While the coronavirus pandemic has severely wrecked almost every sector of the economy, the tourism sector is by far one of the worst affected.

 

One of the great privileges which we used to have in our lives not so long ago was our ability to travel and eat outside freely. The pandemic has dramatically affected the same.

The future trend of hospitality would be towards greater emphasis on sanitation and hygiene standards. Safety and sanitization have already become crucial for the survival of every hotel, and a new normal.

 

 

 

We re-opened our hotels in October after the lockdown, and with the influx of bookings and queries which we received in a short span of time, we are a bit optimistic for the year 2021.

We believe people would soon begin to travel like before (with the safety protocols).

 

Also, with the COVID vaccines expected to arrive in 2021, it is undoubtedly going to help the industry move forward.

 

 

 

Yes, 2021 looks to be a year of domestic tourism in India. 

With the increasing travel and visa restrictions related to COVID-19, it would only be convenient for Indians to travel locally instead of planning international trips.

 

The segment of tourists that used to travel abroad would add to the domestic tourism in India for the year 2021.

 

We expect a significant boost in domestic tourism for next year.

 

 

We are actively engaging in activities that can help promote safe tourism in Uttarakhand.

We recently partnered with a travel channel - Travel XP to promote tourism in the state. Also, we are actively working with various video bloggers, travel influencers to encourage travel.

 

It is not only about promoting one's property; we believe in these times, we as an industry should come together to promote safe and responsible travel.

It is only when a collective message is sent to the people that it is safe to travel then only we can expect things to be back to normal.

 

 

In a post-COVID-19 world, travellers will be much more cognizant while picking destinations and are likely to make those choices keeping in mind the safe distancing practices. The COVID-19 impact, however, is expected to gradually lessen through the various safety protocols undertaken by hotels and these will continue to be a key focal point for the hospitality industry. Domestic travel is already witnessing a rise and the trend will continue during the festive season and most part of next year wherein customers will not mind paying a premium for their peace of mind in a safe environment.

 

2021 is bound to bring about an uptick in domestic leisure travel and for travellers, safety and cleanliness will continue to be top priorities. Road trips will be the preferred mode of travel and any semblance of normalcy in international travel is likely to take a few more months. Another trend that’s catching up is get-together events of families and close-knit friends who will opt to travel safely in groups thereby minimising the risk of socialising outside of this circle. Open air spaces will also be the preferred venues for events in the coming year as they offer relatively safer environs for people to meet and greet with safe distancing.

 

The statement is right on the money as we are already witnessing a considerable rise in domestic tourism which is going to continue throughout 2021. Weekends at our hotel have become busier with occupancies being higher than on weekdays indicative of locals driving out to enjoy their weekends with staycations at hotels and that is what is working for us since the ease of lockdown in West Bengal. Sunday Alfresco Brunches at Vertex have also become extremely popular with the Kolkata food enthusiasts and we are seeing many guests who are staying with us over the weekends enjoy a leisurely brunch at Vertex.

 

Vertex – The Liquid Restaurant has grown popular among residents of Kolkata and adjoining areas since its launch in September this year. The USP being an enviable combination of indoor and alfresco seating, both with fantastic views. We have launched Sunday Brunches which follow a changing theme each month and December will see a wide selection of Dimsums paired with sparkling wine. We are also going to commence Winter Grills during evening hours wherein people can enjoy the wintery evenings along with some sumptuous grills with Vertex signature cocktails. Marriott International’s global cleanliness program ‘Commitment to Clean’ with strict hygiene and cleanliness protocols, launched during the pandemic, remains a top focus for the hotel and is one of the major reasons why guests are choosing to stay with us over other properties.

Param Kannampilly, Chairman & Managing Director, Concept  Hospitality  Pvt  Ltd. The  Fern  Hotels  &  Resorts

The hospitality industry was doing well before the onslaught of this pandemic. The pandemic shook the entire world and the hospitality industry was left bleeding by it. However, the situation is beginning to change. We are already witnessing improved occupancies. With so many Pharma companies claiming to find the vaccine, I think things will move very rapidly from here on. The stock market is booming and within a few months more and more people will start travelling and this augurs well for the industry.

As I mentioned above the conditions are changing for the better. This year has been bad. But we are very optimistic about the coming year. We are hopeful that the industry should bounce back to its pre-covid levels by mid of 2021. The worst is over and next year will bring cheer to the industry.

Surely domestic tourism will be the first one to pick up. There are few reasons behind it. It is more cost-effective to travel within the country as compared to going abroad. All hospitality companies are providing excellent deals. People are aware about the various brands and they can negotiate good bargains. And lastly, people are worried about going abroad as they do not want to get stuck up in any country if travel restrictions are suddenly introduced.

The Fern Hotels & Resorts is growing at a very rapid pace. Even during the last few months, we have opened new properties. The company will be opening 8 new Fern hotels over the next 4 months.

Of these, 3 new hotels are opening in the state of Gujarat, at Kevadia (Statue of Unity), Junagadh and Jamnagar. A sea-fronted tented resort is opening in the union territory of Daman. And another resort opens in the mountainous beauty of Gangtok in Sikkim. Other new openings are in Thane (Mumbai), Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) and Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh).

 

 

Being a die-hard optimist I do declare that 2021 will be a lot more safe, secure, healthier and productive than 2020 has been! There is no denying that the pandemic has turned our world of hospitality upside down, thrown up unforeseen challenges, but isn't that what life is all about? I am looking forward to 2021 seeing the opening up of the airlines once again, the travel advisories to slowly come back to the Pre-Covid era, and therefore the confidence of the people to travel for business and leisure, of course, with greater care and self-imposed safety measures. 

 

 

As I said, '21 will be like a coming of age year. We have learnt to survive the pandemic. And live with it, however difficult it may be!

Now we have to take those lessons more seriously, consolidate with what we have, work together for a healthier and profitable year. It will be tough but very exciting, I am sure.

 

 

Why create these borders of domestic or foreign? Today's domestic traveller is as global in their choices and preferences; and the foreign visitor is as local as they want to be! Borders do not exist. Yes, I am convinced that we, in India, have a lot more reasons to travel, to share, to give and genuinely help every stakeholder in the hospitality industry. If we don't help each other, who will? If we don't go out of our way, who will? That's why I think, as we come to grips with the pandemic, we will slowly get back to normalcy, enjoy the company of our friends and dear ones, and continue the explorations that delight us! Let's say cheers to 2021!

 

 

HRH Group of Hotels with its palace-hotels, island-palaces, sanctuary-resorts have been the preferred choice of visitors from all over. Heritage-holidays with us are unique simply because they are authentic and we give our guests the matchless opportunity to 'Experience the Original in the Abode of Kings'.

Our Palace-hotels and resorts are being renovated; our chefs are doing their best to roll out culinary delights for the guests making each day a festival! We look forward to welcoming your readers to HRH Hotels in Udaipur, Kumbhalgarh, Ranakpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Gajner. With us you discover Rajasthan like never before.

 

As the hospitality industry continues to shift and adapt, we are seeing an uptick in digitisation, contactless solutions and enhanced hygiene and safety protocols. We are also seeing positive momentum in leisure destination travel, as well as a gradual increase in business travel and bookings. At Wyndham Hotels & Resorts we launched our Wyndham Easy Book offering, which was created as part of our commitment to supporting small and mid-sized businesses globally. This offer gives eligible businesses access to competitive rates, stays across 9,000 Wyndham branded hotels around the world, with unlimited number of rooms and discounted rates for long stays.

We are continuing to adapt and develop Wyndham’s wider offerings for business and MICE travel to meet consumer demand and provide our guests with safe and accessible options. We are also focused on providing guests with safe and memorable experiences and will continue to adapt our offerings to meet demands and exceed expectations.

Heading into 2021, our focus at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts will continue to be the health, safety and well-being of our guests, team members and partners. I believe domestic travel will maintain its stronghold on the market as we continue along the road to recovery. Government guidelines and regulations will continue to impact the industry and agility and adaptability will be key.  As history has shown, the hospitality industry is notoriously resilient and we feel confident that it will eventually rebound.

Domestic tourism has been a strong focus in India and globally in 2020 and I believe will continue to dominate the market segment in 2021 as well. At Wyndham Hotels & Resorts we have offered a number of promotions via our award-winning Wyndham Rewards loyalty programme, to inspire and encourage domestic travel amongst our guests. Some of these promotions include our Travel Again offering, where guests can stay two nights or more, save 15% and earn 3,000 Wyndham Rewards points, as well as various other offerings aimed at inspiring guests to travel domestically.

Throughout these challenging times, our focus at Wyndham has been on the health, safety and well-being of our guests, team members and partners and we remain committed to this as we continue to navigate the new normal. We also remain steadfast in our commitment to continued global growth and expanding Wyndham across Europe, Middle East, Eurasia and Africa.