The COVID-19 pandemic hit the hospitality industry hard–especially hotels. But some of the changes hotel owners made during that time are here to stay and for the better. Mass cancellations and a sharp decline in travel worldwide forced hotel owners to rethink their business. With a new focus on employee and customer health and safety, financial resilience, and accessible technology, hotels are perfectly positioned to become the new centers of travel, business, and community.
The hospitality industry faced an unprecedented level of upheaval during the pandemic and learned many lessons in the process. The post-pandemic landscape is full of leaders who have had to learn to be more resilient, empathetic, adaptable, tech-savvy, and human-focused, which is right in line with how much the rest of the world has changed as well.
The new customer is more aware of their health and safety and the health and safety of those around them. They are more willing to support businesses that feel personalized, are transparent with their sanitation practices, are accessible to those with health concerns or disabilities, and are conscious about their impact on the world.
So, how can you help your hotel business thrive and grow in the “new normal” and avoid getting stuck in the past? Here are six lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic to help you position your business for growth and success in the future.
1. Review Your Crisis Plans
Most hotels had crisis management plans designed to address local or regional disasters like earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, and floods before the pandemic. However, like many businesses, many hotels found that their crisis management plans were not up to the task of handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
This article from 2020 shows just how ill-prepared many hotels were for a crisis of that magnitude. To survive, these businesses had to adopt new plans and protocols to ensure the safety of their staff and customers.
Now that we are a few years out, throwing those pandemic-era measures away might seem easy, but that’s the last thing you should do. Instead, revisit those plans and ask yourself these questions:
- Which policies and technologies make my hotel more accessible for customers with disabilities and health concerns at any time? (You should always keep these policies in place)
- Which health and safety measures will help protect my employees and customers during flu and cold seasons or extreme weather conditions? (You should keep these policies in your back pocket)
- Do any of your hotel’s new practices and technologies make remote work easier and more accessible for business travelers? (You should make these options available upon request)
2. Familiarize Yourself with Hospitality Industry Resources
To stay on top of the hospitality industry’s ever-changing reality, utilize resources like Hotelmanagement.net and Hotel Industry Resources. These websites offer a comprehensive hotel resource database, hotel industry news, and articles on local and global design and service trends, technology, and standards. It’s also important to familiarize yourself with local resources through your liability insurance provider, local chamber of commerce, and city, county, and state governments.
There are also resources to help you monitor the market and track the performance of publicly traded hotel groups and chains. Seeing how the “big guys” are responding to the crisis may give smaller and independent hoteliers an idea of how to navigate.
And, of course, it’s always a good idea to stay in contact with lenders, your legal team, and other management advisors to help you plan for the future and manage your business.
3. Check Out Your Virtual Presence
For any business marketing strategy, staying on-tone is very important. You may want to review your digital marketing, like social campaigns, ads, and listings, to ensure you’re hitting the right note no matter what is happening in the news. Stay on brand, welcoming, and upbeat, but make adjustments to avoid sounding tone-deaf or offensive.
Engage your audience (and potential customers) with local news, relevant information about your hotel and target market, and future-focused content. Wanderlust is at an all-time high after the pandemic, so offering virtual tours and sharing local highlights, tips, and tidbits can help entice people online to dream and plan future visits. You’ll also want to check out your presence on various review sites and ensure your website and listings are current.
Regularly featuring and staying relevant in local news and events helps ensure your business becomes a central, accessible, and indispensable part of the local economy. This can also mean that the community around you will want to rally around you in hard times just as much as you want to be there for them – an actual win-win situation.
4. Update Technology for the Future
It’s no secret that after the pandemic, the world didn’t just return to how it was before. The post-pandemic business space has dramatically increased work-from-home arrangements, digital programming, and virtual conferencing. While this may present some logistical challenges, it is an excellent opportunity for hotels to become trusted resources for business travelers.
Even if your hotel is used to hosting regular in-person conferences and events, maintaining the ability to accommodate live streaming and other digital services is now essential for staying relevant in the hospitality industry. Event footprints are becoming smaller than ever, and you should expect to see more “hybrid events” as we go forward.
Smart hotel technology will help your establishment “bridge the gaps” between customers and services more and more as time goes on. Many post-pandemic customers expect (or even prefer) digital check-ins, room service ordering, and entertainment options. Plus, this technology can alleviate the strain on your staff and help keep your operations running smoothly on the back end of things. Now is a great time to look at your hotel’s technology and make the necessary upgrades.
5. Cleanliness, Cleanliness, Cleanliness
Preventing illness is always essential, but it will likely be at the forefront of everyone’s mind for quite a while. You can help keep their minds at ease by shoring up your hotel’s cleanliness services, like hotel housekeeping. Review your housekeeping process with staff and ensure they use appropriate cleaning products and processes as the CDC recommends.
The Importance of Hot Water
Hot water is one of the most important factors for maintaining good sanitation and hygiene. So ask yourself, can my hotel handle the hot water needs of my visitors? Between housekeeping and laundry, room service, and many guests running hot water simultaneously, you need a reliable water heater system.
Renting your water heating equipment is a perfect option for businesses recovering from a travel industry shutdown. Why rent? It eliminates the up-front costs of new equipment and is the ideal way to upgrade your water heating system without a significant, costly investment. At Reliable Water Services, we want to ensure your guests always have hot water when needed.
6. Market for a Brighter Tomorrow
How do you market your hotel from now on? Keep your hotel’s image positive, community-focused, and human. Show how you care for your employees and how you helped your community during our crisis. Take the time to highlight what makes your town or area great, and make sure you position yourself at the center of local life.
The resounding strength of the travel and hospitality industry has always been providing customers with an escape, so market yourself as an oasis in times of stress or hardship. Hoteliers provide clients luxury, a home away from home, and a secure base when they travel. Continue to focus on these strengths to hit the right notes with customers.
We have emerged from this global crisis stronger and more connected than ever before. Because of that, travelers have developed a greater appreciation for what makes hotels so wonderful. Focus on the exciting and unique experiences you offer and help reassure your guests that they can trust you with the travel plans of their dreams.
Reliable Water Services is Here for You
Good sanitation is crucial for the hotel industry, whether operating regularly or during times of local or global crisis. As an essential business, the safety of your staff and guests should be at the top of your priority list. At Reliable Water Services, we pride ourselves on always being available when things go wrong so you can be there for your customers when they need you.
Our team at RWS has always viewed the relationship with each of our customers as a partnership, so don’t hesitate to contact us 24/7 at 1-800-356-1444 any time you need service.
