The light at the end of the tunnel for hotels, accommodation providers, and everybody

Published: 01 Dec 2020 (BA) / Updated: 06 Jan 2020

PS: For both newcomers and veterans in the Hospitality industry

There are no bookings, not a soul in the reception and the lounge areas devoid of life. The rooms are tidy and the beds are made. The linen looks beautiful, with no wrinkles, and hardly any creases. 

Your Hotel is so empty that you wouldn’t be surprised to see Jack Nicholson writing on a typewriter in the lobby.

At the onset of the third wave of COVID-19, finally some good news. A certainty that at the end of the tunnel there was light after the long night of the pandemic.

In early November the first news of the probability of an early vaccine broke the headlines, sending stocks up and restoring faith in the economy. The vaccine in question, being developed by Pfizer, an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation has proven to be 90% effective against the Corona Virus. Great news! 

Then good news kept pouring in, the next week news of another vaccine again broke the headlines, the Moderna which proved to be even more effective at 94,5% 

Initially, there was skepticism and concerns about the shelf life of the Pfizer vaccine and its need to be stored in industrial freezers. Thankfully, the vaccine developed by Moderna can be stored in refrigerators easing off concerns as to the vaccine’s practicality.

Hopefully, this stream of good news will not end as according to news outlets, we are to expect updates and announcements from other companies currently developing their own vaccine.

Of course, there are still objects and hurdles to overcome but these developments are promising. Due to the unprecedented economical woes related to the pandemic, the drug companies are given emergency authorization to get their vaccines into the hands of governments. The sooner, the better.

This is why we encourage Hoteliers to get ready and most importantly start thinking about how to revitalize their business.

When borders will start to re-open the airports will slowly start to get busy. Airplanes will again become a common sight in the skies and trains will start moving passengers.

Imagine all those potential guests daydreaming about traveling and seeing the world. Confined to their homes, self-quarantine, and mundane life under the shadow of COVID-19.  They thirst for hospitality and when this ends, we implore you to be ready to quench that thirst.

When traveling becomes a real possibility the Hospitality industry is projected for a surge in demand. There aren’t any precedents to look at and compare to, this has never happened in the history of our world so expect developments in travel restrictions to happen quickly and here is how you can prepare for possibly the biggest opportunity in the history of the Hospitality industry.

Make sure your Hotel is in order

• Synchronicity 

When the market starts to open up in the next weeks or months is tricky to predict but let’s start by preparing for spring and summer.

If you haven’t already, then use the down-time to check your Channel manager and be certain that all your rooms are synchronized in all systems. You don’t want to miss out when bookings start to soar due to some misunderstanding or technical mistakes on your behalf. Make sure each square meter of space is out there on-line ready to book!

• Update your website

Yes, your online reception! Make it shine!  Make sure all is tidy and that digital Hotel bell will guarantee that you can hear that next booking or inquiry.

 Go over every detail and update if necessary like room descriptions, services, amenities even the ‘about’ section. Then make sure your Booking Engine and your website are working hand in hand. Are there any discrepancies? The right e-mail address? Have you updated all your systems and programs? The number of rooms? Does everything add up? Room Types? How about extra services? Even coupons! Basically, all the little things you could get away with ignoring when business was good, double-check each bolt and screw.

• Channel Manager

You have had a rough year and probably already had to do the most difficult thing there is by being forced to lay off people. But how about you use your slim budget and make sure you invest in a Channel Manager? It will surprise you how great of a deal CultBooking can offer you. 

A Channel Manager is like a virtual employee that makes sure all the OTA’s are talking together on-line. This basically means that the same room is visible to Bookings.com, Expedia, Airbnb. The first OTA to book gets the room. 

That means for you a bird’s eye view of your inventory at the click of the button, a great way for your business to recuperate losses and get your people back to work!

• Peace of mind

Use this downtime to make sure that everything will be ready. Not just the interior of your business, what’s outside?  Investigate what the competition is doing to prepare for the new dawn. You must remain vigilant to not being outperformed by local Hotels both on-line and off-line. What about Pricing? CultBooking has now teamed up with RoomPrice Genie which will assist you in getting the most from pricing, check it out here.

Perhaps now is a good time to team up with other struggling sides of the industry? 

Hook up with a local sightseeing operator and offer your potential guests a 2 for 1? What about your Spa? Massage?  Imagine all those couples around the globe wanting to book a weekend trip and not minding a bottle of chilled wine at their arrival?

Conclusion

At the end of the day just make sure you have peace of mind. The day will come again when you will find yourself flooded with bookings. It probably won’t return to nominal bookings right away as the world reels back economically from the pandemic, but it will.

There are only two comforts during a Global Pandemic, the clues being in ‘Global’ as it’s tough everywhere so we are all in this together and the other clue is in the word ‘Pandemic’ The whole concept revolves around changing the word into ‘Endemic’ to isolate it and let it die off.

The global community is working together, the vaccines are coming and hopefully, they will start to be administered before the end of the year. Billions of doses have already been acquired by governments around the globe.

At first, they will be administered to groups more vulnerable to COVID-19 like the elderly and front-line medical staff, eventually reaching everyone. Including your potential guests. 

Get ready!