HOSPITALITY IMPACTS AND CRITICAL
MUST-DO’S FOR OPENING UP AND POST COVID-19!
Peter
Greenberg: Internationally
renowned travel consultant and Emmy award winning investigative journalist is
an author, produces “The Travel Detective Show” and “Eye on Travel” as well as
being a regular contributor to CBS and PBS. (Check him out thru the internet.)
Peter
provided a great update regarding travel and tourism with his very recent webinar
presentation to Skål. Skål International was started in 1934 and is an international
hospitality organization to which I belong.
I
have focused on the highlights of his talk and categorized each sector. First, the
‘Bad News’ followed by his ‘Good News’ section. He did say a lot more than I
can cover in this update.
Mr. Greenberg
made this interesting observation:
Everything shut down almost instantly – Everything
will reopen carefully and slowly.
People/consumers
will come back but with an abundance of fear and caution.
Hotels and Motels
Bad
News: The
guest wants a guarantee that he or she will be safe. This will mean the
likelihood of reduced capacity from the point that rooms will have to be left
vacant for a day before the cleaning person goes in.
They
will also want reassurances that the staff is healthy to ensure the safety of
guests. And like airlines, the loyalty programs will be more heavily promoted
to get the guests to return. (Good for the public. Mixed blessing for the
hotelier.)
Good
News:
Room Rates will not be set in the same way they were before COVID-19. People will
not buy on price. Rather, they will buy on trust. In other words, guests
will be prepared to pay more for the reassurance that the property is
SANITIZED and SAFE.
The
large flagship hotels have all set up and are promoting new cleaning protocols.
Hilton has announced a “Clean Stay” program in partnership with Lysol and the
Mayo Clinic. Marriott has initiated the Global Cleanliness Council. Wyndham
says “Count on Us”. Choice has “Commitment to Clean”. The other flags will or
already have done the same. All hotels are being super careful and super clean!!
This is Critical!
Every hotel owner should have
this information on their website and on-line booking agencies.
Perhaps
the best news for those of us in rural towns and the prairies? Road travel will
pick up, especially within a 300-mile radius of a destination. This is a
relatively easy 6-7 hour one day drive.
Family
trips or just “Let’s get away for a couple of days” vacations will be popular.
And, because these cleaning protocols will be much more trusted with hotels and
motels, there will be an uptick in reservations that might have gone to AirBnB.
Owners of properties booked through AirBnB and similar rental agencies may not
necessarily follow cleaning protocols and will not be generally trusted as much
at this time.
Finally,
travellers in the US and Canada will vacation within country due to concerns about
getting out of the country and then not being allowed back in if showing
symptoms of COVID-19.
If
returning travelers still face 14 day quarantine requirements, that will also
influence international travel restrictions.
Restaurants and Pubs
Bad
News: The
restructuring of seating will be dramatically changed due to spacing. Greenberg suggests mid-range dining establishments
will be severely affected as tables will be significantly spread out.
2x2 / 2x2 / 2x2 seating will be out. Large
rectangles for 4 and circular tables for 6 to ensure enough social distancing.
Because of this reduced capacity it follows that revenue will be reduced substantially.
The cost of meals could rise by as much as 30-40%.
Of special
note, Greenburg forecast that restrooms, which are often close to the kitchen,
will no longer be allowed to be there. He suggests bathrooms will be near the
entry enabling guests to wash their hands upon entering the restaurants.
Buffets will be out!
Good
News: Many
people, particularly millennials, love to dine out and gather for wine and
cheese, beer tasting, tapas and similar events. They enjoy various drinks while
in social settings watching sports on TV, live music entertainment or just to
visit.
Peter
suggests guests will come back in droves and fast food outlets and the high-end
dining establishments will survive and move forward.
However,
marketing has to change from the kinds of promotions that the industry was
known for. Creative content will focus on “discover how sanitized we are” messaging
to the public.
Overall
the focus will be on, “What are you doing to keep my friends, loved ones and me
safe?”
Airlines
Bad
News: Travel
is down 95%. Thousands of planes are parked and many won’t be brought back into service.
A
number of LCC’s (low cost carriers) may well go out of business. The greatest
concern of travellers is knowing whether they may have problems getting home.
Good
News: To bring
consumers back, the airlines will actively open up their frequent flyer loyalty
programs. In recent years they have upped the number of miles for points redemption
because their planes were operating near full capacity (98%).
Because
of customer anxiety, lowering the qualifying points to fly will lure passengers
into the air again. Greenburg noted there are 23 Trillion unredeemed air miles
in their various forms.
Flights
will be cheap. A recent flight from Fort Lauderdale – LA return flight? $38 bucks
with only 8 people onboard!
Wrapping it Up
- Travel Insurance will undergo a major
clarification. Apparently quite a few “cancellation” insurance policies
did not cover pandemics. It was in the fine print on page 5! Who reads
that?
- The public will demand much more clarity
and transparency.
- Deposit money in escrow. Booking agencies and/or airline and/or cruise lines will not be allowed to require deposits that they can spend until they deliver the service. Our travel money will be much more secure.
Under the
heading, Tim’s Hotel-Motel News
Bits on my website, I provide these Blog News Pieces on a periodic basis to provide relevant, useful and interesting
information to the Hotel-Motel Hospitality industry.
Contact Info
Tim Anderson – Hotel and Motel Specialist
& Hotel Co-Owner
Licensed Real Estate Associate – Royal
LePage Commercial
403-862-4179 Email: timjn_anderson@yahoo.ca
Website: www.andersoncommercialrealty.com
Posted by Tim Anderson
Calgary Hotel Sales, Banff Hotel Sales, Canmore hospitality sales,
hospitality, hotel listings, hotel sales, motel listings, motel sales, Tim Anderson
Commercial Real Rstate / andersoncommercialrealty.com
