The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted many industries over the last year and in many different ways. One industry that has been hit hard is the hotel industry. Even with a roadmap for the next few months, it remains unclear what the post-Covid recovery strategy will look like for the UK hotel industry.
Unclear Road Ahead
As it stands, there is no clear single model for recovery for hotels — especially as the situation continues to evolve and seemingly change on a weekly basis. Many experts outlined their ideas for hotel recovery as early as summer last year, but the pandemic has stretched on longer than most had anticipated and is making recovery look much harder.
Protection
A foggy road ahead and the possibility for so many changes to the roadmap depending on what is happening with vaccines, variants and other factors, businesses must make sure that they have protection in place. Insurance for hotels has been a lifeline for those in the industry so far and will be even more important moving forward when there are so many additional dangers, in addition to all the typical ones associated with hotels.
Being Agile
People are desperate to start travelling again and many will be looking for a staycation this year, but there is still uncertainty over what the coming months will bring even now that there is a roadmap in place. There are many factors that will determine what the industry recovery will look like, which is why it is so important for hotel businesses (and businesses in all industries) to be agile and to have plans for definite scenarios in place.
Revenue Management
This will involve addressing a few key areas, which could be challenging as the country comes out of lockdown and restrictions gradually ease over the coming months. Revenue management will obviously continue to be a challenge, which means that you need to look at short-term forecasting and prepare for changing demand patterns as it is unclear what the market will look like in the summer. You may also want to look into ways to add value as opposed to discounts to give a greater experience without negatively impacting your bottom line.
Welcoming Guests Back
Hotels will also need to consider the best way to welcome and manage guests. Even once restrictions have been lifted (hopefully) in June, it is likely that confidence will be low so action needs to be taken. This might include having mobile check-ins or self-service, implementing new hygiene standards in public areas, and using tech tools to make digital communication with staff possible.
The hotel industry has been ground to a halt during Covid-19, but there is now light at the end of the tunnel and hotels will need to formulate a careful and flexible recovery strategy for the coming months.
