crisis management
Global Hotel Performance Moderates With Summer’s Close
HotStats | October 28, 2021
The cold hard truth is arriving with the chillier weather: global hotel performance has a ways to go before it's back to its former self. In the U.S., there is, however, cause for optimism. First, COVID case count: According to The Washington Post, new coronavirus infections in the country have dropped nearly 60 percent since a September spike due to the Delta variant. The seven-day average is also down some 58% since a mid-September infection peak. Coupled with a decreasing case count is the recent Biden administration decision to lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors beginning November 8, a ...
U.S. Travel Reacts to EU Travel Restriction Recommendation
U.S. Travel Association | August 31, 2021
WASHINGTON (August 31, 2021)—U.S. Travel Association Executive Vice President of Public Affairs and Policy Tori Emerson Barnes issued the following statement on news that the European Union recommends removing the United States from its list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted: “This is a disappointing development following the boost in inbound visitation by vaccinated travelers that many E.U. countries experienced this summer. It’s a setback despite the uptake in vaccinations—the tool that’s highly effective against the variants—which are on the rise on both sides of the Atlantic. “Travel is a cru...
A Small Hotel on the Frontlines With the Delta Variant
Larry and Adam Mogelonsky | August 11, 2021
By Larry and Adam Mogelonsky The delta variant is slowly but inevitably absorbing the news cycle heading into Autumn 2021 as cases swell across the world and governments take pre-emptive measures to stop a fourth wave of COVID-19 from triggering another round of economically harmful lockdowns. Even though all of us yearn for this pandemic to be over, sadly we’re still very much in uncharted water. Given this uncertainty, all hoteliers can really do is react and pivot as quickly as possible. Here is one such case study we’ve been authorized to report upon so that you can see how a small hotel handles the situation on the ground and i...
How to Cope in a Crisis
PolyU’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management | July 28, 2021
Health crises are every hotel manager’s worst nightmare, but they are becoming increasingly common. In a fascinating and prescient case study that bridges the gap between theory and practice, Dr Clare Fung and Dr Alice H. Y. Hon of the School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a co-author show that embracing a four-stage crisis management model can help hotels to protect their residents, reputations, and revenue. Written before the COVID-19 pandemic, their study documents the responses of Hong Kong China Travel Service Hotels Limited to the outbreaks of SARS and swine flu, showing just how c...
Success in the Summer of ‘21
Robert Rauch | July 19, 2021
How To Welcome Post-Pandemic Travelers Back Into Hotels By Robert Rauch The venerable hotel industry has been completely overturned during the past 15 months. We will have to create a very different strategy to outperform the competition this summer. What are the dynamics of hospitality industry competition today and how can we put together a winning plan in time for the Summer of 2021? Today, a digital marketing strategy is an industry imperative and critical business solution in this digital age. Platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow hotels and restaurants to engage guests and offer a highly personalized level of...
The Post-Pandemic Hard Reset
Vikram Singh | July 13, 2021
By Vikram Singh I wrote two articles during the pandemic, one around the beginning and one in the middle. It’s time to complete the trilogy. Our industry has been given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fundamentally change itself. How we market, price and operate hotel assets needs to evolve to meet the changing market landscape. Here are my thoughts on how to make real changes in order to embrace the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead. Embrace the Hard Reset The hotel and travel industry was ground zero for the impact of global lockdowns: the hard reset button on the entire industry was pressed. A hard reset on an electronic ...
UK Families Face Another Lost Summer With No European Breaks in Sight
WTTC | July 1, 2021
Warning comes on day of launch of Europe’s EU Digital Covid Certificate, designed to reopen travel on the continent London, UK: UK families face yet another ‘lost summer’ thanks to the controversial traffic light system, quarantines, costly COVID-19 tests and confusing travel rules and regulations, says the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The global tourism body, which represents the global private Travel & Tourism sector, says this combination has effectively made much of Europe off-limits to holidaymakers for the second successive year, despite the success of the vaccination rollout. As well as being hugely di...
Hospitality’s Second Act: Capitalizing on the Enchantment Economy
Thomas Mielke | June 30, 2021
By Thomas Mielke The successful vaccine rollouts mean global economies are now generally rebounding from the sustained social and travel restrictions of the past year. Consequently, service-hospitality organizations are seeing consumer activity like so-called ‘revenge tourism’ further speed up the recovery. Although demand will undoubtedly be high, so too will customers’ expectations. Having longed for entertainment, enrichment, and escapism, guests will not want to be disappointed. Operators should therefore be hypervigilant ‘wooing, and wowing’ consumers. At a recent expert forum, organized by Seatrade Cruise and AETHOS, pan...
