1. In your opinion, describe how the hospitality industry will change and evolve as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. (15)
The hospitality industry will change and evolve as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in several different ways. The pandemic outbreak has adversely hurt this industry as there are currently travel restrictions everywhere. Moreover, even if the limits are uplifted, people won’t immediately start moving because they are practising social distancing. In addition to that, because of the lockdowns, a lot of people have lost their jobs as well, and thus, they might not travel or delay their travel plans because of low purchasing power. The hospitality industry will evolve and change by having proper health and safety measures in place to ensure that guests don’t get infected. There need to be appropriate sanitization and cleaning policies to ensure the safety of guests. Moreover, the revenue of hotels has collapsed to zero because of the travel restrictions, so to reduce the cost, they will need to employ less staff or hire staff on flexible/part-time/temporary contracts. To attract customers, they will need to offer rooms at meagre rates, so they will at least start travelling. Moreover, they need to understand how consumer behaviour will change as a result of the outbreak and need to do effective marketing to survive.
Needed for its sustenance the following have been affected:
• Food & Beverage- which is the most significant component of the hospitality industry.
• Travel & Tourism- (principal component) relates to moving people from place
to place. Buses; taxi/cabs; planes; ships; trains and so on.
• Lodging is typically accommodation for some time or a place to sleep one or more nights. Activity to fancy hotels; youth hostels; elder hostels, campgrounds, and motels have been prohibited from accessing.
• Recreation- Activity that people do for rest/relaxation as well as enjoyment and entertainment.
In terms of change, these measures have been put in place at some establishments.
Contactless check-in and temperature screenings upon arrival
➢ Hotels that didn’t already have contactless check-in are now offering it via a smartphone app to cut down on person-to-person interaction.
No more noisy neighbours: Some hotels will only fill 50% of their rooms
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➢ Some cities, countries, and hotel brands have announced they will operate at no more than 50% occupancy for the foreseeable future.
No more daily housekeeping
➢ Although the rooms may still look different than before the pandemic, it is necessary. Kits that include masks, hand sanitizers, and sanitation wipes are placed in each guest room upon arrival.
The new room service: a bag outside your door, or a server in full PPE
➢ In-room dining will still be an option by staff wearing full PPE or deliver meals, etc., in the form of a market bag left at the door. Meals/drinks etc, will be covered upon delivery.
No longer traditional hotel buffet
➢ Traditional food service should be limited and pre-packaged foods and grab and go items should be the preferred method of food delivery. If a hotel does choose to offer a buffet, attendants should wear PPP, and food displays should include sneeze and cough screens.
Expect to be wearing a mask during spa treatments.
➢ Luxury spa treatments will continue, but they might take place inside hotel rooms rather than the hotel’s spa, and the massage therapist may be wearing full PPE. Guests are also recommended to wear masks during treatment.
Ramped-up cleaning protocols and social distancing rules
➢ Hotels have vowed to boost their cleaning procedures and train employees in proper safety protocols. Hotels will also offer employees COVID-19 safety and protocol training and require workers to wash their hands and wear appropriate PPE frequently. Common spaces like
lobbies, gym equipment, pool seating, dining surfaces, and other high-
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touch surfaces like elevator buttons and door handles are to be disinfected multiple times a day. Many hotels have also said they’re installing hand sanitizing stations throughout their properties.
If an operation is unable to make the necessary health changes, certain aspects or parts may go bankrupt. Fewer customers mean job loss and reduction; higher employment rate; decrease in travellers; decrease in revenue.
2. The above extract states that “due to COVID-19, the hospitality industry will have to function in a way not seen before” (Hospitality.net, 2020). Identify and discuss three disruptive innovations brought about by the COVID-19
pandemic within the hospitality industry
2.1)
a) The first disruptive innovations brought by the COVID-19 pandemic within the
hospitality industry will be The Internet of Things. The hospitality industry needs to make as many processes automated as possible to reduce human interaction and increasing safety for guests. The hospitality industry would need to use robots instead of people to serve guests.
b) The other disruptive innovations brought by the COVID-19 pandemic within the hospitality industry will be the change in travel destinations. For example, a lot of tourists visit Europe during their holidays. However, as Europe was profoundly affected by the outbreak, tourists might plan to travel elsewhere. Thus, those locations that were not hit that hard by the pandemic like Thailand, Vietnam, will become more popular.
c) The third disruptive innovations brought by the COVID-19 pandemic within the hospitality industry will be flexible employment contracts. The revenue of a lot of businesses has collapsed to zero as a result of travel restrictions. Thus, to survive, the industry needs to reduce costs, and permanent workers can be replaced with temporary and part-time workers.
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3. Reflect on your previous industry placement opportunities and the various departments that you were placed in.
Compare past practices against new required practices due to the COVID-19 pandemic within the different departments that you were placed in during WIL. (20)
There will be significant differences in the practices of different departments. For example, there will be differences in the methods of the operations and production department. The services and production department is the department responsible for the production of goods. Before the pandemic outbreak, the operations department’s focus was on reducing cost and wastage. However, after the outbreak of the pandemic, the focus will be more on the implementation of safety measures.
Moreover, another difference in practice would be the shift from labour-intensive to capital intensive operations. Labour intensive are operations relying more on labour as compared to machinery. A capital intensive is those operations that depend more on machinery as compared to equity. Because of the pandemic outbreak, there will be a shift from labour-intensive to capital intense. This is because social distancing is being practised to prevent the spread of infection. Thus, the operations and production department would make a lot of workers redundant and use robots.
Moreover, there will be a change in the practices of the marketing department. Promotional activities and promotional campaigns need to be changed, as well. For example, before the pandemic outbreak, the promotional campaign revolved around quality, premium service, and customer satisfaction. However, after the pandemic outbreak, the promotional campaigns will revolve more around safety practices. The promotional campaign’s focus would be more on the safety measures adopted by the business to prevent the spread of the disease.
Thus because of the pandemic outbreak, there will be considerable differences in the practises adopted by all the departments of the business.
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4. As a result of COVID-19, a “new normal” will be established. You will be entering an industry whereby a new way of life, a new mindset, and a new way of operation is needed. Therefore, a different set of behaviours will also be required from hospitality employees.
Identify and prioritize the changes in knowledge, skill, and attitude that will be required in the future for hospitality employees. (15)
First of all, these employees need to be completely aware of how the infection spreads. They should have knowledge about it as well as about the safety measures that can be used to prevent its spread like wearing face masks and gloves. Next, there needs to be a change in the attitude as well as they should practice social distancing, and if they are serving guests, they must ensure that there is a reasonable distance between themselves and the guests. In addition to that, they should be practising sanitizing and cleaning activities and should be sanitizing their hands and the premises of the hotel quite a few times during the days. Their social skills need to be strong as well, and if they see some guests now practising safety measures, then they should remind the guests to do politely. Most importantly, they should know how to use technology like the Internet of Things will change the way things are done in this industry, and robots will now do a lot of tasks that were done by humans. So, they should know how to
make use of technology.
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5. Describe your current skill set and discuss how does it compare to what is required from you when re-opening the hospitality industry
(15)
My current skill set is quite conventional and needs to be changed a lot when the hospitality industry re-opens. For example, I am great at doing manual tasks like delivering food to the customers in their room and cleaning their room. However, this needs to be changed as I need to learn about technology. This is because, in the future, robots will be used to serve customers to practice social distancing. Thus, I would need to learn how to learn and how to use technology so I can operate those robots.
Moreover, right now, I do only necessary cleaning. However, in the future, I need to learn how to use better cleaning methods and sanitize the surroundings to kill germs. Moreover, I would need to learn how to use advanced machinery to disinfect the premises of the hotel.
In addition to that, I would also need to improve my social skills. This is important because if I see some guests not practising safety measures like not wearing a mask or gloves, I would need to tell them politely but firmly. Thus, I would need to enhance and improve the communication skills that would help me communicate effectively with the guests.
Thus, the current skill set is not enough; therefore, I need to acquire new skills to make myself fit for the hospitality industry once it re-opens after the pandemic outbreak.
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6. Explain how does the “new normal” impact on your aspirations. (15) A play on the word “new normal” has been entirely new to many, with further adjustments, new challenges, and sacrifices. With lockdown in place, social gathering, travelling, and working has all been prohibited. This, however, is to ensure
many lives are protected, healthy, and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is
temporary adjustments unless stated otherwise by the government, or a cure is available, everything will then resume and fall back into place. I believe the pandemic has not affected my career aspirations because the completion of my studies is only two years. By then ill have a job, and there will most probably be a cure for the coronavirus.
Even if the lockdown opens up in most cities, I don’t think any of us are going to be getting onto a plane anytime soon, or for that purpose venturing into a mall or theatre. So, what will the “new normal” be like, for all of us, soon? Here are my thoughts:
1) Lower Consumption
The last six weeks have taught us that we can live life in 3 pairs of jeans and 6 T- shirts. So, the question that comes to mind is why do I need a wardrobe full of clothes if I can manage life with much lesser. Overall consumerism will decrease.
2) Home Schooling
Education across all levels will be imparted online, and home-schooling will be the new norm. Children will go to schools only once a while, for group activities or for building social skills. Knowledge gets transferred via zoom videos and many other online learning platforms.
3) Work from home
Service industries that don’t require physical touch with goods or people will start moving to a WFH model. Saves office rent and associated costs. And for the employee reduces commute time and related hassles.
4) WFH Benefits Rural India
Two decades back, the US started outsourcing work to India to get a cost-benefit. Now, Mumbai-Delhi Bengaluru will start outsourcing work to the rest of India to get
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the same cost-benefit. If I can run a business on a WFH model, why do I need to hire someone in Mumbai, if I can find the same talent at half the cost, say Bhavnagar or
in Trivandrum?
5) Commercial Real Estate Collapse
Residential real estate market was already under pressure. Now, on account of WFH, we will see commercial businesses reduce their office size requirements. This will put further pressure on the retail real estate market.
6) Digital Transformation Accelerates
Every business will now see the need to build a robust digital-driven delivery- capability. This will accelerate digital transformation every CEO will now see merit in making these investments.
7) Health Check beside Security Check
A security check is mandatory while boarding a flight or while going to a hotel or a mall. We will now see one additional layer of tests: health checks. Malls and hotels will start using temperature scanners. And travel may require a certificate of vaccination.
8) Stronger Will Become Stronger
The current economic disruption will make those with a strong balance sheet, more durable. They will be able to manage cash flows in this situation, and then procure resources at a lower cost. Correspondingly, an inline with the Darwinian theory of evolution, the weak will need to exit or reorganize their business.
9) Sports on TV
Getting into a stadium to watch a live sport (or any such event), is still a long way off. But we will see players getting onto the field to play a competitive game, and the same is broadcast on TV and digital. In any case, the big bucks were coming from the TV. Same will happen for other events. Only the participants will gather. The audience will watch it remotely.
10) The era of Personalized Marketing
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We will see a new era of personalized marketing. What used to happen door-to-door once upon a time, will now occur on the scale: right product, right time, proper context. No-wastage-media will be the new mantra.
11) Leisure Travel Will Take a Beating
Long-distance travel will be limited to only must-travel situations or business needs. General-purpose leisure travel will be restricted to the local geography.
12) Govt becomes e-government
Governments will start initiating delivery of all its services using online channels. Everyone already has an Aadhar card or PAN card that uniquely identifies a person. Whether it be a visa interview or a court case, everything happens online.
130 Automated Production Acceleration
There will be a faster shift to automation in the manufacturing sector. If people are home, the machines can keep running our supply chain.
World Tilts Towards China
Irrespective of the negative sentiment that is being drummed up against China, once the dust settles on COVID-19, the centre of economic power will shift towards China and India. The US and Europe are going to be taking a far more significant battering in this economic downcycle.
Moreover, things will be different and changed with adjustments in workplaces, economy, and all over.
