During any given year, many of us endure cold, snowy winters that limit our mobility and fray our last nerves. Just when it seemed that nothing could be more frustrating than the isolation of a housebound snow season, along came a global pandemic to give a whole new definition and scope to the term “lockdown.” Now that the malaise is starting to lift, however, it is past time to transform consumers’ pent-up demand for fun and variety into cold, hard cash for your Hospitality-oriented business.
The lingering effects of the coronavirus.
In March of 2020, as the reality of the coronavirus’s sweep and severity began to hit home, one of the first things to suffer was the travel and hospitality industry. Concerns spiked about how the contagion was being spread, and the human instinct to hunker down took over, bolstered by state and local restrictions. In a matter of days, people simply stopped driving, flying, and staying in hotels. Many restaurants had no choice but to shut down their kitchens, rooms, and credit card readers with the hope that the crisis would soon come to an end.
We all know how that worked out. More than a year later and with vaccines widely available to adults and even some children, we are finally beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. The eateries, hotels, and event venues that were able to hold on during those bleak months are beginning to see lists of names in their reservations books. But just how can you go about making the most of this surge of restlessness for your dining establishment, hotel, or other Hospitality business?
Keep staff and guest safety front and center.
The explosive surge of the virus illustrated like nothing else the importance of safety and cleanliness in public facilities. Even after COVID-19 is no longer a pressing public health concern, customers and employees are not likely to put conscientiousness about hygiene and social distancing behind them. As a Hospitality entrepreneur, that means being very intentional, transparent, and promotional about the steps you are taking to protect everyone you come in contact with.
It starts with your reopening plan:
- Be flexible with costs. Conditions and consumer demand may fluctuate wildly from one day to the next. The nimbler and more creative you can be with your spending, the better.
- Spread out expenses among your peers. Speaking of creativity, sharing the costs of housekeeping services or food orders with other hospitality-related venues can reduce some of the unavoidable preliminary financial burdens of reopening.
- Leverage any positive relationships with suppliers that you have cultivated in the past to obtain flexible payment and ordering arrangements.
- Closely manage your finances and keep an eye on risks with weekly revenue planning.
- Wait until the right time to receive customers again. Fighting the urge to begin serving the public even when you are not ready is vital. Leaping too soon can leave you falling into an abyss, with potential customers choosing other more prepared and stable options.
Being cautious and intentional about every step of your re-emersion is one of the wisest long-term business choices you can make.
What will the new normal look like?
Once you do begin to welcome guests back, many things will have changed. While it is difficult to guess the full scope, these predictions seem quite likely to come to pass:
- New hygiene and social distancing procedures will require thorough training of all staff, an expense you will need to figure into your budget.
- Ensuring the health of your staff and their compliance with hygiene and public health measures will be a must.
- Since health and safety must be your highest priority, you will need to carefully consider and adjust your offerings to consumers. This may include protecting people via reduced capacity, social distancing, and curtailed dining or housekeeping services.
- Resist the temptation to drastically cut your prices to attract clientele. All indications point to the likelihood that consumers are champing at the bit to eat and travel again. Getting into a price war with your competitors to attract guests will only thin your profit margins and make paying for safety-enhancing measures more difficult.
Following these guidelines might not help you to avoid all of the pitfalls of reopening, but it is sure to smooth the road to a certain extent.
Embrace digital solutions.
A stark difference between this pandemic and the Spanish flu disaster a century ago involves the existence of digital technology, particularly the internet. What would people have done throughout 2020 without on-demand movies, online baking tutorials, and video conferencing? This emphasis on electronics shows no signs of going away.
It therefore behooves you as a Hospitality entrepreneur to integrate digital payment solutions into your business model. Exactly what will that mean in real terms?
- Contactless transactions. Post-COVID, payment processing for Hospitality businesses will fully embrace the touchless trend. If your systems are not already equipped with near-frequency communication (NFC) capable readers, upgrade them now. Customers have quickly grown accustomed to making purchases, including food and room stays, by waving their smartphones or watches near these devices to complete touchless transactions.
- Reduce human touchpoints with technology. In an era when up close and personal can be dangerous for some patrons or employees, introduce hygienic payments technology. Compelling and descriptive native apps, virtual tour guides, electronic scannable menus, automated check-in and check-out, and paperless payment options are just some of the ways you can leverage technology to better protect your employees and guests.
- Use information from analytics and loyalty programs to maintain personalized relationships with your guests. Computers are great, but you cannot allow your brand to seem impersonal.
In short, electronic methods and social media can galvanize your marketing campaigns and enhance your guests’ experiences with your establishment. Just make sure to remain as personable and customer-focused as possible.
Make intelligent management decisions.
These days, finding and hiring trained staff who will be the front-facing ambassadors of your business can be a challenge. Once you have them on board, the issue becomes how to schedule their shifts given unpredictable demand conditions. Your next task is to effectively train your team in light of standard protocols as well as new health and safety priorities.
The following tips can help you to make this happen.
- Create and develop a core team of experts. (This should include staff members from all areas of your Hospitality business.)
- Leverage the skills of this team to hire and train new staff and to resolve conflicts or concerns going forward.
- Show empathy and concern for employees re-entering the workforce after a long and difficult year.
- Maintain an open-door policy, and be sure that you provide full transparency regarding your HR policies.
- Avoid overstaffing by teaching and rewarding multitasking among managers and staff.
Remember: Satisfied workers tend to remain in their jobs longer. They also promote a positive work environment. Perhaps best of all, they spread these good vibes on to your customers.
As COVID-19 continues to recede and people become more comfortable mingling and traveling again, the outlook is finally getting brighter for Hospitality-oriented enterprises like yours. However, since so much has changed, it is important that you use this transition time to strategically plan your next moves. Your staff’s and customers’ health and safety, as well as the long-term success of your business, may very well depend on it.
