'Hilton CleanStay with Lysol Protection' to Launch June 2020

Hilton announced a new program to deliver a standard of cleanliness and disinfection in Hilton properties around the world. In a first for the hospitality business, Hilton will collaborate with RB, maker of Lysol and Dettol, and consult with Mayo Clinic to develop elevated processes and Team Member training to help Hilton guests enjoy an even cleaner and safer stay from check-in to check-out

Hilton CleanStay with Lysol protection, as the program will be called in North America, will be a rigorous system that incorporates RB’s trusted know-how and scientific approach to cleaning practices and product offerings. Experts from Mayo Clinic’s Infection Prevention and Control team will advise and assist in enhancing Hilton’s cleaning and disinfection protocols.

 The goal of Hilton CleanStay is to provide guests with assurance and peace of mind when they stay at any of Hilton’s more than 6,100 properties representing 18 brands

Hilton CleanStay was developed to meet evolving consumer expectations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research indicates that consumers have heightened concerns regarding hygiene on their journey, and trust in cleanliness standards will be critical to restarting travel

RB will bring key talent and Lysol experts in hygiene and disinfection to the multi-year partnership, leveraging over 130 years of science-based research and thought leadership to support awareness, training and education, and product delivery and systems. RB and Hilton are also exploring opportunities to expand the program into a global partnership.

While full details for the program are still in development and expected to be announced soon, hotel brand standards under consideration include:

• Hilton CleanStay Room Seal: Add an extra measure of assurance by placing a room seal on doors to indicate to guests that their room has not been accessed since being thoroughly cleaned.

• 10 High-Touch, Deep Clean Areas: Extra disinfection of the most frequently touched guests room areas – light switches, door handles, TV remotes, thermostats and more.

• De-clutter Paper Amenities: Remove pen, paper and guest directory; supplement with digital or available upon request.

• Focus on Fitness Centers: Improved guidelines for disinfecting the hotel Fitness Center, possibly closing for cleaning multiple times daily and limiting the number of guests allowed in at one time.

• Clean and Clean Again: Increase the frequency of cleaning public areas.

• Guest-Accessible Disinfecting Wipes: Provide stations at primary entrances and key high traffic areas, for instance, a station to allow guests to wipe the elevator button before pressing.

• Contactless Check-In: Hilton will double-down on its award-winning Digital Key technology for guests who desire to have a contactless arrival experience. Guests can check-in, choose their room, access their room with a digital room key and check-out using their mobile devices through the Hilton Honors mobile app at participating hotels. Hilton will continue to expand its Digital Key capabilities to common doors and access points throughout the hotels.

• Innovative Disinfection Technologies: Hilton is exploring the addition of new technologies, like electrostatic sprayers – which use an electrostatically charged disinfecting mist – and ultraviolet light to sanitize surfaces and objects.

Lodging Interactive Launches Touchless Digital Menu System for Restaurants and Hotels

 Lodging Interactive the hospitality industry's premier provider of full-service social media marketing and guest reputation management services , announced the launch of MyMenusOnline, its new touchless digital restaurant menu system. With MyMenusOnline restaurant guests simply scan a tableside QR code or NFC tag to view the restaurant's menu on their own mobile device. The system is meant to replace traditional printed menus and eliminates concerns in potentially passing germs between in-house dinning guests handling the same menus.

MyMenusOnline is managed and updated by the dinning establishment via any mobile device, tablet or desktop PC. All changes are pushed out to consumers in real-time, ensuring "daily specials" are always up to date.

MyMenusOnline is 100% web-based and mobile optimized and there is no need for any app download. Consumers scan a unique QR code or NFC tag and automagically the restaurant menus appear on their devices. Consumers can also save restaurant menus to their mobile device home screens for future access.

"According to a recent COVID-19 report published by the National Restaurant Association, restaurant operators that are getting ready to reopen will need to consider how they operate under much stricter sanitary guidelines," said Vallauri. "Some industry experts are calling for one-time-use disposable menus, which is sure to increase the operating costs for restaurant owners. With MyMenusOnline, we take that cost out of the equation."

Learning Never Ends: A Revenue Manager’s Journey to the Next Level

Revenue management sits at the heart of all the action within a hospitality operation. Decisions are made real time and there is always something new on the horizon. What you learnt while training for hospitality or even over the years can become redundant very quickly if you don’t keep up with evolving trends, techniques and tools.

Pawan Sahani of Hospitality Minds India was quick to pick up on this. Having started his career at Hotel Grand Residency and after nearly 4 years at Hospitality Minds India, when the opportunity to upskill with Australian Revenue Management Association (ARMA) came up, he could not refuse. He knew the course’s practical make-up that armed students with knowledge and tips that he can apply at his work every day.

Pawan came across the first level of the ARMA course, part of which is offered at a discounted rate to STAAH partner clients. Level 1 of this course is free for all STAAH partners. ARMA is the leading organisation in Asia Pacific and Australia and works with market leaders and educational institutes to create training initiatives to support the development of those in the field of revenue management.

Pawan went on to complete Level 1 and 2. He now feels more confident than before to contribute positively to the growth of properties through best practice, sound processes and latest technologies for revenue management.

Among some of the topics covered in the course are Foundations and Calculations, Measures and Maximisation, Yieldmax Stimulation Game, Group and the Revenue Management Relationship and more.

Four Seasons Hotel Doha Unveils Complete Redesign by Pierre-Yves Rochon

Four Seasons Hotel Doha has unveiled the details of its complete interior design overhaul, courtesy of award winning and world-renowned interior designer, Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR).

Within this urban sanctuary, a refreshed colour scheme, including a rich spectrum of blues and beige in the guest rooms, evoke the earth, sprawling skies and Gulf views of Doha, while verdant colours and patterns in the new Tea Lounge pay homage to the splendours of nature.  The redesign continues to establish an elevated sense of place and time through a blend of classical and contemporary elements, and touches of Middle Eastern influences from the region, visible through the opulent and colourful chandeliers as well as the ornate furniture detailing. Qatari artwork from the owner’s original collection has been kept on the Hotel walls while nearly all the curtains have been revamped using a damask pattern

Lobby and Dining Outlets: The Beauty of Nature

The renovation of the Hotel strikes a harmony between the world of man and the beauty of nature that is reflective of the city itself. PYR was inspired by the unique landscape of Doha and this is evident through the colour scheme of the Hotel’s public areas and dining outlets. The feeling of the outdoors blends into the interiors with the creation of open-plan space and expansive glass windows.

The Lobby has been enhanced with a grandiose door reminiscent of grande dame entrances, and the Lobby has been redesigned as an open-plan space, allowing light to flood through the foyer as well as boasting views of the Arabian Gulf. A hand-blown glass chandelier, alongside an array of handmade and bespoke Italian furnishings, adorns the Lobby’s ceiling while also creating a magnificent focal point in the space.

Guest Rooms and Suites: Reflecting Sky, Sea and Sand

As a dynamic cultural destination with a thriving cosmopolitan district, Doha has direct access to a beach and beautiful blue sea. The redesigned rooms follow a soothing spectrum of blues and beiges reflecting the colours of the sky, sea, sand and earth. PYR aimed to evoke a feeling of timelessness while also creating an atmosphere in the rooms that is welcoming, uplifting, peaceful and comfortable for guests, with a powerful sense of place.

All the rooms and suites are furnished with discreetly integrated and energy efficient technologies to enhance the guest experience and bring a new dimension of modernity to the Hotel. All accommodations now feature automated curtains and lighting systems as well as temperature management preservation technology within the newly installed windows.

AHLA Launches 'Safe Stay' for Enhanced Industry-wide Hotel Cleaning Standards

The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) launched “Safe Stay,” an initiative focused on enhanced hotel cleaning practices, social interactions, and workplace protocols to meet the new health and safety challenges and expectations presented by COVID-19. Safe Stay will seek to change hotel industry norms, behaviors and standards to ensure both hotel guests and employees are confident in the cleanliness and safety of hotels once travel resumes.

AHLA has convened the Safe Stay Advisory Council of industry leaders representing all segments of the hotel industry, who will work in conjunction with public health experts, scientists, and medical leaders to develop a series of best practices for the industry, including the following:

• Enhanced cleaning standards throughout the hotel, including guest rooms, meeting spaces, common areas, and back-of-house spaces

• Superior cleaning products with a greater concentration of bacteria-killing ingredients, in accordance with CDC guidelines 

• Social distancing practices and reducing person-to-person contact

• Increased transparency throughout the guest journey

World Tourism Organization Underscores Tourism’s Importance for COVID-19 Recovery in Audience with the King of Spain

The Spanish Head of State was briefed on the global response being led by the UNWTO at the audience, which acknowledged the importance of the tourism sector for economic and social recovery in the face of the pandemic.

During the audience, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili stressed the urgency of mustering a coordinated political response at the international level, as well as a real commitment to support tourism, a sector that accounts for 10% of jobs worldwide.

The COVID-19 crisis has coincided with the beginning of the Decade of Action, the countdown to the achievement of the 17 Goals deriving from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

According to the UNWTO’s figures, tourism accounts for 12% of the GDP of Spain, which in 2019 received nearly 84 million international tourists, whose expenditure amounted to 80 billion US dollars. In 2018, the country was the world’s number two destination in terms of both tourism arrivals and receipts. 

Today, tourism is among the hardest hit sectors due to COVID-19 and its consequences. The UNWTO estimates that international tourist arrivals worldwide this year could fall by as much as 30%, with a corresponding loss of international tourism receipts of up to 450 billion US dollars.

Scenarios for What the Travel Industry Might Be Dealing with After Covid-19 - Travel Weekl

Smart Travel Lab, which is focused on sustainability in travel, has got together with Kantar, to put together four scenarios to depict what a post- Covid-19 travel industry might look like.

• Close Call: "The Surge for Survival" describes how companies taking drastic measures to survive will also need to be prepared for the pent-up demand as consumers are released from lockdowns. There will be a "short window of opportunity to recover from losses" but stresses companies need to have the resources to compete.

• Panic Attack: "Stay local, stay safe" predicts that consumer behavior, naturally more risk averse during the crisis will have changed habits for the longer term. This means travel companies will need to earn trust again.

• Recurring Nightmare: "Two seasons, two travelers" describes a scenario where the virus comes back for portions of the year. This leads to consumers able to travel for a part of the year and in lockdown for the remainder. In this scenario, more well-off segments of the population able to spend the year away from it all while others are unable to afford to travel. Brands would need to choose who they target in this model.

• Brave New Reality: "Travel Safety by fiat" envisages a world where Covid‐19 is a permanent feature but governments step in to manage it with regulation. The scenario would see borders close as and when infection emerges and would mean companies could operate in "a relatively stable and prosperous business environment" but be prepared for restrictions being put in place.

Hotels in the Central/South America Region Steep Declines for March 2020

In its first month with a visible impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central/South America hotel industry reported steep declines in the three key performance metrics during March 2020, according to data from STR.

U.S. dollar constant currency, March 2020 vs. March 2019

• Occupancy: -48.0% to 31.0%
• Average daily rate (ADR): -6.1% to US$85.61
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -51.2% to US$26.56

The absolute occupancy and RevPAR levels were the lowest for any month on record in the region.

Local currency, March 2020 vs. March 2019

Colombia

• Occupancy: -49.6% to 30.5%
• ADR: -0.7% to COP272,820.00
• RevPAR: -50.0% to COP83,252.00

The absolute occupancy was the lowest for any month in STR’s Colombia database. Bogotá experienced a 48.4% decrease in occupancy.

Brazil

• Occupancy: -43.0% to 32.4%
• ADR: -9.9% to BRL294.19
• RevPAR: -48.6% to BRL95.43

The absolute occupancy level was the lowest for any month in STR’s Brazil database. When looking at key markets, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo recorded occupancy declines of 46.2% and 46.9%, respectively.

Major Brands Offer Relief in COVID-19

Major global hotels brands have implemented a number of fee reducttions and relaxed several standards and initiatives amidst the coronavirus outbreak

Marriott

• Fee Relief

  50.0% credit for the fixed portion of the PSF for April and May ,with payment deferred until 9/1/20

  60.0 -70.0% reductions in shared services costs ,including RMAS and Field Marketing

• Cycle Renovations

  Deferring all cycle renovations that are due in 2020 by one year

• FF&E

  Walving required funding of FF&E reserves for six months with ability to borrow FF&E for working capitals needs,with lender consent as needed

• Brand Standards /Initiatives

  Guest Satisfaction Surveys will be suspended for Wave 1,2020(1/1-6/30)

  Deferred all brand and global initiatives with only mission -critial areas

• Audits and PIPs

  Brand Standard Audit activities are paused until 6/30/20 .This include BSAs asa well as audits for beverage and experientials

• Meeting & Training

Paused all mandatory ,in-person,off-site training classes and will instead leverage Digital learing Zon

Hilton

• Fee Relief

  RMCC hotels -50.0%fee for 90 days for any hotels with occupancy <50.0% over that time period

  Suspended RMCC hotels will receive a 75.5% fee reduction while out of operation

  Temporary suspension of guest assistance intervention fees

• Cycle Renovations

  Awaiting Annoucement

• FF&E

  Does not have an FF&E reserve in franchise agreement

• Brand Standards /Initiative

  SALT scores have been suspended

  Reassessing compliance dates for technology refreshes ,as well as suspending all OnQ refreshes for atleast 60 days

  Deferring the launch of several product initiatives as well as extending compliance dates until further notice

• Audits and PIPs

  For any items due in 2020 -there is a potential to extend by 12 months

  It will adjust the frequency to accommodate the current business climate,QA penalities waived for 2020

• Meeting & Training

  All in-person training will be put on hold until after June .Those who require training to do so via Hilton University online where appropriate

  IHG

• Fee Relief

  Fee Relief and Fee deferral options from 3/1/20-5/31/20 (excluding KIpton Hotel & Restraurants )

  SERVICE CONTRIBUTRION :50% discount throuGH 5/321 and deferrable for 90 days

  Technology fee :25 .0 % discount 5/31

• Cycle Renovations

  Mid -cycle renovatios are deferred until 1/21

• FF&E

  Waiving FF&E and Capital reserve requirement through 12/31/20

• Brand Standards /Initiative

  Love scrores remain in operation

  IHG will defer the publication of any new standard until 11/20

  Relaxing brand standard in Multiple areas ,including F&B Operations,Training, Technology and Loyalty ,with compliance dates extented to later this year and others into 2021

• Audits and PIPs

  Any PIP milestone dates due between now and 12/31/20 ,will get a nine month extention to that due date

• IHG is currently designing vir]tual touchpoints to support cleanliness and brand safely standard until 6/30/20

  Meeting & Training

• IHG will suspend all in-person training and move to all -virtual training sessions.Cancellation fees will be waived for current registered courses ,the training credit standard for hotels will be reduced by 25%

  Hyatt

• Fee Relief

  Centralized Revenue Management Fee (applicable to all select service proporties participating in Hyatt’s CRM services)

  50% relief in April and May or $775 per month .

• Cycle Renovations

  Deffering all cycle renovations that are due now through 6/30/21

• FF&E

  Deferring FF&E deposits for the remainder of 2020.Hotels may use the amount on deposit in replacement funds to cover general operating expenses ,which may be subject to lender approval

• Brand Standards /Initiative

  All brand initatives with budgetary implication will be postponed for the remainder of 2020

  For hotels with temporary suspended operations post surveys will restart upon resuming business operations

  For operating hotels -Hyatts surveys will restart on 5/31/20

• Audits and PIPs

  Will suspend formal brand standard audit activities for 2020,and will suspend PIPs,as approved by Hyatt,through 12/31/20

• Meeting & Training

  Suspended all in-person and off-site Hyatt meeting and training classes ,and will instead leverage Hyatt connect and digital training tools to conduct all manadotory and recommended training .

Should Hotels Consider Resuming Google Ads and Other Search Campaigns? - PhocusWire

After the brutal shock to the travel industry due to the coronavirus crisis, the vast majority of hotels stopped or questioned all their investments in online marketing, mainly Google Ads and metasearch.

This decision made a lot of sense given the severity and exceptional circumstances of the moment.

Investment fell 80% in the second half of March, compared to the first half, and 90% when compared to the same period in 2019 - figures that correspond with those in a Cleveland Research report.

They illustrate the huge concern that hotels face and new variables to consider that did not exist before:

• Cash flow. In the current situation, one of the objectives of any company, including hotels, is maintaining the highest possible amount of cash. The vast majority of investments in online marketing are paid in advance and that is a problem now.

• Uncertainty. Most hotels have no idea yet when they can reopen. They have tentative dates that are pushed back as the days go by. It is impossible to forecast if the gradual reopening of hotels will start in June or September. Given this great uncertainty, how can we risk investing in a model such as CPC (cost per click) without a guarantee of conversion and that, above all, those reservations will not be cancelled?

• Profitability. Many hotels anticipated that their campaigns would not be profitable in this situation and, when facing this, the best thing is to pause it all.

Airbnb fires contractual workers, postpones undergrad hiring

It will also reportedly delay hiring undergrad hiring until 2021. It informed workers that they will be receiving notices from their third-party agencies. Some of the workers said even their managers appeared to have no prior information of the layoffs and has terminated contingent workers’ contracts early

TC’s Natasha Mascarenhas has since learned StubHub, Glassdoor, Funding Circle and Checkr have also cancelled their respective internships.

TechCrunch has since heard from an incoming intern that he was notified and that he’s now scrambling to find a new internship

These personnel changes come just one day after Airbnb secured a $1 billion loan. Earlier this month, Airbnb raised an additional $1 billion in debt and equity.

Zoom now worth more than American Airlines ,Expedia ,Hilton combined

Teleconferencing app Zoom is now valued more than the market capitalization of three billion -dollar travel and hospitality companies in the US .As of April 17,Zoom had a market value of American Airlines ,Expedia and Hilton stood at $ 34 billion .

It gained over$200 million daily users in March during worldwide lockdowns.

Choice Hotels International Provides COVID-19 Business Update - March 8th

Choice Hotels International, Inc. provided an update on the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on its business.

"Today, as it has been for more than 80 years, their primary focus remains on the health and well-being of our guests, franchisees and associates

It has been through challenging times before and, each time, the company has always emerged stronger given its long-term focus, proven brands, high-caliber associates and broad franchisee base."   

Balance Sheet, Liquidity and Mitigation Plans 

The company continues to benefit from its primarily franchise-only business model, which has historically provided a relatively stable earnings stream and low capital expenditure requirements. 

In addition, management and the Board of Directors have taken steps to adjust the company's cost structure and increase its financial flexibility, which include, but are not limited to, the following actions:

• Reduced the compensation of the Board of Directors, chief executive officer and other executive officers for the remainder of 2020.

• Implemented a hiring freeze except with respect to certain critical positions, suspended associates' 401(k) match and implemented a temporary furlough for certain positions in Europe, where government-mandated and other closures have been more prevalent.

• Eliminated, reduced or deferred non-essential expenditures, discretionary capital expenditures and investments.

• Suspended the company's share repurchase plan.

• Determined to suspend future, undeclared dividends for the remainder of 2020.

  March Performance

  Domestic occupancy levels were below 50% for the month of March and softened in the last ten days of the month to trend in a range between 26% and 33% daily occupancy. These occupancy trends have continued in early April with over 90% of the company's domestic branded hotels continuing to operate at this time.

  While the company believes that the long-term fundamentals of the business remain strong, it will continue to adjust business contingency plans as the COVID-19 crisis evolves. The company continues to monitor the situation closely and intends to provide further commentary during the first quarter 2020 earnings call.

Online auction of record-breaking whisky collection hit by cyber-attack

A record-breaking online auction of rare whiskies has been postponed indefinitely after being targeted in a cyber-attack.

The sale of Richard Gooding’s “The Perfect Collection” was marketed as “the largest and most unprecedented private whisky collection ever to be offered for public sale”.

The first phase of the auction, consisting of more than 1,900 bottles, fetched more than £3.2m earlier this year.

The second phase of the auction, made up of 1,958 lots, went up on the Whisky Auctioneer website on 10 April.

One of the world’s most sought-after whiskies, the Macallan 1926 Fine and Rare 60 Year Old, was expected to fetch more than £1m at the auction.

“The website is currently offline whilst we continue to actively investigate this. The auction of The Perfect Collection: Part Two has been postponed indefinitely with further updates on this and future auctions to follow.”

During the first phase of the sale, Whisky Auctioneer became the first site to sell a million-dollar bottle, with several other lots achieving world record hammer prices.

Hotels in the Middle East And Africa Report Steep Performance Declines for March 2020

Showing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, hotels in the Middle East and Africa reported steep declines across the three key performance metrics in March 2020, according to data from STR.

U.S. dollar constant currency, March 2020 vs. March 2019

Middle East

• Occupancy: -51.5% to 35.6%
• Average daily rate (ADR): -19.3% to US$114.88
• Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -60.8% to US$40.86

Africa

• Occupancy: -51.6% to 31.1%
• ADR: -6.4% to US$102.09
• RevPAR: -54.7% to US$31.72

Both the Middle East and Africa saw their lowest absolute occupancy and RevPAR levels for any month on record.

Local currency, March 2020 vs. March 2019

United Arab Emirates

• Occupancy: -49.2% to 41.4%
• ADR: -27.6% to AED411.92
• RevPAR: -63.2% to AED170.57

The absolute occupancy level was the lowest for any month in STR’s United Arab Emirates database. Key markets in the country, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, recorded steep declines in occupancy, -35.6% and -54.7%, respectively.

South Africa

• Occupancy: -45.1% to 37.0%
• ADR: -4.4% to ZAR1,264.83
• RevPAR: -47.5% to ZAR468.02

The absolute occupancy level was the lowest for any month in STR’s South Africa database. At the market-level, Cape Town experienced a drop in occupancy of 46.5%.

So Long, Minibar: How the Coronavirus Will Change Hotel Stays - NBC

A hotel that doesn't include a breakfast buffet and minibars would have been inconceivable to many Americans three months ago. But coronavirus has changed all that.

Hotel experts predict that the pandemic will drastically alter hotel stays in coming months, prompting many properties to embrace a host of new practices, up to and including temperature checks upon guests' arrivals.

The Four Seasons' guinea pig journey began last month, when H. Ty Warner, the property's owner, said he would open his hotel's doors to medical professionals working on the COVID-19 battlefront. The announcement set into motion a series of moves that have overhauled the hotel's standard operating procedure.

"We now have almost no touch points in the entire hotel, which is completely against a hotel's nature of being hands-on and kind," Tauscher said. "We used to be known for the human touch — but now we're all about no touch at all."

Check-ins and check-outs are performed virtually, with no human-to-human contact. Elevator rides are limited to one guest per car. Room service has been discontinued, and the hotel's restaurant, bar and complimentary coffee station are closed indefinitely.

The hotel's new dining option: pre-made boxed meals, available in an industrial refrigerator in the lobby.

KFC India to provide 1 Million Meals to Feed Communities in Need

KFC India announced, that it has pledged to donate at least 1 Million meals to help communities in need during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These meals will be provided to migrant workers and daily wage earners struggling to earn a livelihood and afford meals during the extended lockdown.

Supported by the Yum! Foundation, KFC India will be funding these meals.

KFC has partnered with ResponseNet to work with impacted communities in need across Delhi, Assam, Bangalore, Mumbai, Jharkhand and other states. ResponseNet will be disseminating kits of essential food and necessity items as rice, flour, pulses, cooking oil, spices, etc. in the identified regions.

 KFC India has also made the following commitments to support its people and communities during the ongoing pandemic.

Thanking frontline warriors - Healthcare workers: KFC is committed to serving more than 10,000 thank you KFC meals to healthcare workers at hospitals across Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

Employee well-being : Yum! Brands Foundation has set up the Global Employee Medical Relief Fund, to provide financial support for KFC team members at company and franchise-owned restaurants all across the world, who may be diagnosed with or who are caring for someone diagnosed with COVID-19.

Continuing to serve consumers through Safe & Contactless Delivery: Consumers can avail the Contactless Delivery option on prepaid orders, thereby ensuring no up-close contact with our delivery riders at the time of receiving the food, including exchange of cash.

KFC continues to implement stringent measures as regular temperature checks, intensified sanitization of surfaces at the restaurants, social distancing, even in the kitchens, etc. across all restaurants

Panic pricing won’t work for big hotels

We urge the stakeholders of the hospitality industry not to reduce their prices less than 5% of their original rates,” said Nirav Gandhi, Director of Express Group of Hotels and Executive Committee of FHRAI.

He was moderating a webinar organised by the industry body, The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India, on ‘Survival to revival, restart and resume operations’.

Delna Jasoomoney, Associate VP-Travel industry Sales & Luxury Partnerships for Taj Hotels and Resorts, who was also present in the panel, said that the industry should not go for panic pricing crashing the rates. “Dropping the prices down won’t make a difference. Apart from offering our customers less price we should try to offer best value. We also need to be flexible with policies and cancellations,” she said.

Jasoomoney mentioned that IHCL has ensured that they keep the engagement with their customers very strong even during the crisis. According to her, there will be a pent up demand once things normalise. She also mentioned that most of the outbound travellers will now hesitate to fly abroad, thus opening up a big avenue for hoteliers to channelise those travellers into inbound travel.

Dropping the price down is not a viable option that big giants are looking for, but for individual or small chain hotels, it might be the only option left to cope with the dire situation. 

Covid-19 Crisis: Value engineering for hotels is the key

The engineering department of a hotel holds great importance for a property to function efficiently. By providing utility services like electricity, steam, hot water, air-conditioning and refrigeration and maintaining engineering and services of various other equipment, the chief engineers are undoubtedly the backbone of a hotel

Chief engineers across all hotels in the country are figuring out ways to keep their hotel operating and running smoothly, post lockdown.

Sanitisation for us will be the most important aspect. We may look forward to adding more toilets around the properties. Even when we start operating, we would go with 50% of the workforce at a time

The virus becomes suspended in droplets smaller than five micrometres, known as aerosols, it can stay suspended for about a half-hour, before drifting down and settling on surfaces where it can linger for hours.The finding on aerosol, in particular, is inconsistent with the World Health Organization’s position that the virus is not transported by air. This has opened up a whole new sphere for engineers to work on.

We as engineers have to ensure that air inside a room or a public space like a lobby or restaurants, keeps changing. More air handling units will have to be installed in hotels. Instead of taking the air back, there should be a provision of pumping fresh air” said Rothin Banerjee, Director - Engineering, Taj Palace, New Delhi.

For Rahul Singh Sisodia, Director - Engineering JW Marriott, Aerocity, New Delhi, value engineering in the current situation is the key as a huge amount of liquidity and cash flow is needed to ensure the efficiency of a hotel.

OYO owners dub Covid-19 impact assistance by the company as hogwash

OYO, the largest aggregator of budget hotels in the country, is claiming that the hotel company has initiated a slew of initiatives to financially support OYO owners “to blunt the Covid-19” impact, the hotel owners are not ready to accept the claim at its face value.

The hotel owners suspect the content of the offer which the company has released through the media, is another ploy to “dupe” them to stay put in their assets

 OYO had said that the company, in order to “lessen the burden of payments due and accrued”, will waive off multiple charges like value added service charges, wizard membership accruals, etc. from March onwards from the owners. “Under these initiatives, a total of INR 24 crore discounts has already been offered to over 3000 OYO partners and continues to impact several others,”

Covid-19 support incentives to owners include weekly payments and reconciliation, reduced joining fee and complimentary top up for those who want to join OYO Secure programme, retention linked incentives ranging from 50% starting from April, etc.

The asset owners also question the attempt by OYO to garner brownie points in the name of CSR by offering hotels for covid-19 quarantine purposes to government and disaster management authorities while the company is not paying any rental or minimum guarantee.

 Oyo staff in India to go on leave with limited benefits from May 4 for four months, and also asked all employees in the country to accept a cut in their fixed salaries by 25% due to the impact of the Covid-19 on the hospitality industry