In “The Day After”, Hospitality is the Future

Over 7.1 million people infected in all regions of the world and far too many losses. World Trade expected to fall by between 13% and 32%.

A massive 75 million jobs at risk as per the UN World Tourism Organization, a 20 to 30% expected drop in international tourist arrivals, 2.1 Trillion $ of GDP loss, with 80% of small and medium-sized companies endangered.

Thanks to a dedicated on-line task force, we all switched to distant and online learning, producing thousands of videos on nearly all topics covering everything from mixology to finance or revenue management. Our faculty members have once again proven their incredible commitment to our students who are now connected to us from everywhere in the world.

Every day around the world, corporate, personal and collective initiatives are multiplying to support medical and hospital staff, who are more mobilized now than ever. The Chefs of our schools have joined forces to support and bring a bit of comfort to these health warriors.

The word "Hospitality" has never been so meaningful: empathy, generosity, sense of service…

As a first sign of recovery, close to 90% of the hotels in China are now reopened, and China air traffic is running at above 40% of its capacity. Moreover, governments around the globe are preparing and starting to implement post-confinement strategies.

We have the unique opportunity to create a "Day After" that is more balanced and more sustainable, and Hospitality will be one of its driving forces.

Hospitality, amounting to 10% of global GDP and accounting for one out of nine jobs worldwide, will be one of the main contributors to the rebound of the world economy and to job market recovery.

In "The Day After", Hospitality is the future.

The Art of War, Post-Covid19, and the New Sales and Revenue Managers

"Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small."

The New Sales and Revenue Manager should always be strategizing. As horrible as this crisis is, it presents a pause that can be used to become smarter about your work.

"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity"

The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to forget the pre-Covid19 world. When there is an economic reset, all the old rules are discarded, at least for a while. Accounts that you could never reach, will now be open to speaking with you. People who would have never accepted your invite on Linkedin are more likely to accept now. Dig into your PMS or CRM and extract your old contact file. If you have data on old bid requests, begin to segment them by group size first since you will not be able to bring large groups for now. Then segment these contacts by as many dimensions as your system has and attack that list with no recollection of when they last rejected your offer.

"If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost.."

Analytics on discounts performance will be critical. Knowing when a dicount's performance is statistically significant will help you quickly judge whether it is working in this new world.

The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to be creative. The vast majority of hotels will reopen their operations offering only a slightly more relaxed version of the same old cancellation policy, contract terms, and rewards policies.  You need to rethink your norms from the point-of-view of a traveler that is scared to make a decision that may cost them more than just money. To create more flexible terms, you need to understand your cancellation data, your group wash numbers, and any other data on business that did not materialize. This information is waiting for you in your PMS.

"Know yourself and you will win all battles"

The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to understand their position. All hotels will reopen from a position of weakness because they will be begging for business.The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to be proactive. When times are good, we can be reactive and not lose much. However, under crisis mode, only those that are ready for anything, will thrive.The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to be ready to lower rates. 

"He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight"

The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to stay calm. Again, the first reaction of the market will be to lower rates. Hotel owners are just under too much financial pressure right now to stand their ground.

The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to think like the competition. Look back at your old STR reports to see what your competition did when demand was slow. How far did they lower their rates? It's very likely that they will run the same playbook. Know what to expect so you can plan how you will react. The last thing you need is to adopt the old attitude that you are smarter than your competition or that they have different motivations than you do. Everyone is now in the same boat trying to get to the same destination. Your competition is just as eager as you are, but you can be way more prepared.

"Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions."

Access Point Financial Launches “Navigating Hospitality Finance 2020” Information Resource for Hoteliers Facing Changing Market Conditions

 Access Point Financial, LLC (APF), a leading direct lender and specialty finance company focused exclusively on the hospitality industry, announced the debut of a new online resource entitled, "Navigating Hospitality Finance 2020," 

The informative four-part series is intended to help hotel owners and investors with an interest in hospitality to plan their best financial strategies during changing market conditions brought on by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and its direct impacts on the hotel industry.

The informative four-part series is intended to help hotel owners and investors with an interest in hospitality to plan their best financial strategies during changing market conditions brought on by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and its direct impacts on the hotel industry.

Hoteliers and investors have a lot to consider in developing effective short- and long-term financial strategies

To help our clients better assess their respective situations and navigate the recovery, our goal is to be a responsible partner and provide impactful resources and tools to ensure their ongoing success.

The first edition of the four-part "Navigating Hospitality Finance 2020" series explores the changes to terms and conditions that lenders have implemented during the crisis.

IHG Army Hotels Support Communities and Military Families During COVID-19 Response

IHG Army Hotels, a portfolio of hotels which serves thousands of guests every day on forty military installations in the United States and Puerto Rico, continues to fulfill its mission to serve communities and military families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to caring for active and retired members of the military and their families, properties are providing safe and comfortable accommodations for service members who are supporting COVID-19 relief efforts or those who have been temporarily displaced during this emergency, including military personnel whose barracks or on-post housing have been repurposed. 

Army and base leadership to best support the installation mission and their communities in the most impactful way. For example: 

• Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart (Georgia) – Hotels on these bases are just a few of the properties that are using their talents to make face masks for their colleagues, local first responders and hospital personnel on post.

• Joint Base San Antonio (Texas) and Fort Wainwright (Alaska) – To help provide a sense of normalcy for families, hotels on base maintained and adapted a years-long holiday tradition with a “socially distant” visit from the Easter Bunny, who dropped off individually wrapped goodie baskets for children in house.

• Across the Country – Through fundraising activities across multiple bases in recent months – including bake sales, denim days and other grassroots activities – teams at IHG Army Hotels properties across the country were able to make a collective donation to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, an organization which builds mortgage-free smart homes for injured veterans and first responders. 

  IHG Army Hotels have reached agreements with Garrison leadership in order to alleviate the financial burden of servicemembers affected by the “Remain in Place” order while awaiting transportation to their new permanent duty station

Tokyo's Olympic Hotel Gains Forecasted to Lessen in 2021

The Summer Olympics’ performance gains for Tokyo hotels are projected to be lower after the one-year delay in the event, according to the latest forecast from STR and Tourism Economics.

“We are projecting less overall demand when compared with our initial forecast for 2020, and while double-digit RevPAR growth is expected, it will come from a much lower base,” 

“Lower absolute demand levels would be linked with traveler perception based on the timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as financial challenges of a potential global recession. The still high level of demand combined with ADR growth should drive RevPAR upward, similar to the growth percentage we saw during last year’s Rugby World Cup in the market.”

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group extraordinary effort

An extraordinary gesture for extraordinary heroes. Our team at Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech has been busily sewing masks to distribute to local hospital workers. Thank you to our community heroes; thank you to our MO heroes.

Tejinder Singh moves to Kolkata as the Area Manager, East & Cluster General Manager of ITC Hotels East

Hotelier  Tejinder  Singh,  who moves to Kolkata as the Area Manager, East & Cluster General Manager will now head ITC Hotels East. In this capacity, he would  oversee  both  the Kolkata properties, namely ITC Sonar and ITC Royal Bengal.   Additionally  as  the  new  upcoming  WelcomHotel  properties  at Bhubaneshwar,  Kathmandu  and Port Blair become operative, the same will be under his leadership

Mr. Tejinder Singh,  popularly  known  as 'Teji' began his journey more than two decades back  at ITC Maurya in 1994 as a management trainee. Since then he has held senior  management  positions  at  several  ITC Hotels in Delhi, Jaipur and Hyderabad.

He has also garnered management expertise through international exposure in the  aviation industry as the General Manager Customer Services & in-flight Dining for Europe, UK & North America based in Brussels and subsequently as the General Manager Service Delivery & Guest Experience for the brand.

An  integral  part  of  the  pre-opening team as the General Manager of ITC Kohenur,  Teji,  was  one of the leaders for positioning and launch of this 274  luxury  destination  located  in the heart of Hyderabad’s new business district  (HITEC  City)

He  has been a core member of the pre-opening team of ITC Hotels and has played an integral role in the launch of several hotels, namely ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, WelcomHotel Jodhpur, WelcomHotel Bella  Vista, Chandigarh, ITC Grand Bharat, Gurugram as well as WelcomHotel Dwarka, New Delhi

 He  has  also  served  as  the Resident Manager of ITC’s flagship Hotel ITC Maurya, New Delhi in 2014 and the General Manager of ITC Rajputana in 2015.

Hilton closes 1,000 hotels, experiences 56% decline in revenue per room resulting from coronavirus

Hilton Hotels' preliminary systemwide first-quarter estimate of revenue per available room showed a 56% to 58% decline for March, according to the company's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

For the company's hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, revenue per room is down 62% to 64% for March, which is slightly worse than Hilton properties in North and South America, which are down 54% to 56%.

These numbers are all better than the hotel's revenue per room in the Asia/Pacific region, which declined 74% to 76% in March.

As of April 14, 1,000 Hilton Hotels have suspended operations, which accounts for 16% of the chain's total global properties.

Marriott hotels also expect to report a decline of at least 23% in revenue per room for the first quarter. 

About 25% of Marriott's 7,300 hotels around the world are temporarily closed as a result of coronavirus travel fallout, according to a business update from the company

Hotel occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room were down significantly year-over-year for the week of April 5-11, according to a report from STR, a firm that analyzes hospitality industry data. 

More than 15,000 hotels signed up for a new American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) initiative called "Hospitality for Hope," which matches hotels with government agencies in need, offering temporary housing for emergency and health care workers amid the pandemic.

Hotels may be in a position to offer rooms near a hospital they have a relationship with. When relatives of sick patients come to an area, hotels reach out to hospital leadership to offer a discounted rate.

Georgia to Reopen Restaurant Dining Rooms on April 27

In a move to kickstart his state’s economy, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced that nonessential businesses can reopen and restaurants can serve dine-in customers once again .

 Theaters, private social clubs and restaurant dine-in services will return albeit with “specific social distancing and sanitation mandates.” Bars, nightclubs, amusement parks, and performance venues will remain closed. More information about guidelines will be released .

 Places of worship will be allowed to hold in-person services and essential elective surgeries will be allowed. 

“By taking this measured action, we will get Georgians back to work safely without undermining the progress that we have all made in the battle against COVID-19,” 

Kemp said the state is “on track to meeting phase one,” which calls for venues like restaurants and movie theaters to operate under “strict physical distancing protocols.”

“By expanding our hospital bed capacity—including the temporary facility at the Georgia World Congress Center—we have the ability to treat patients without crisis care in hospital settings. Our proactive actions have reduced stress and strain on area hospitals as well as the communities and families that they serve.”

Georgia’s shelter in place order remains in effect through the end of April. Although he is reopening businesses prior to April 30, Kemp asked citizens to limit travel and wear face masks when in public. The governor said the elderly and those with underlying conditions should be prepared to shelter in place until at least May 13

Marriott plans to spray disinfectant in guest rooms, sanitize keys to stop COVID-19

From spraying guest rooms with disinfectant to sanitizing room keys, hotel giant Marriott International became one of the first major hotel groups to outline how it plans to reassure guests of cleanliness in the age of the coronavirus

Guests may notice some of the changes from the moment they step into a Marriott property: Furniture in public areas will be rearranged to promote social distancing.

Marriott's promise of a new level of cleanliness may be an early sign of changes that will sweep the hotel industry as chains and individual properties compete to lure guests by offering the most coronavirus-resistant environment. The strategy could be critical to trying to create a rebound for hotels as stay-at-home orders are lifted and travel resumes.

In perhaps the biggest change, Marriott said it will use electrostatic sprayers with hospital-grade disinfectants to sanitize throughout the hotel. Besides guest rooms, the sprayers will be used in lobbies, gyms and other public areas. It said the cleaning agents used would be those recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization to kill all known pathogens.

The company is testing ultraviolet light technology for sanitizing room keys, and adding hand sanitizer stations and signs in the lobby to remind anyone who enters to keep their distance from others. Marriott is also taking a look at what to do at properties that offer buffet service.

Accor to launch cleaning standards certification 'label' post-coronavirus lockdown

Accor has partnered with testing, inspection and certification provider Bureau Veritas to develop a ‘label’ certifying that appropriate safety standards and cleaning protocols have been achieved.

The label will cover both accommodation and catering, and will set the sanitary standards applicable to all of the group’s hotels, “as well as to other chains and independent hotels”.

Accor said that the project had been carried out in partnership with doctors and epidemiologists, and had been developed in collaboration with Accor owners and trade associations.

Concrete proposals will be submitted initially to the French government and subsequently to relevant European governments, ministries and committees, and the result of the project will be “an operational guide made available to all stakeholders in the hospitality industry, enabling them to rigorously apply the health and safety recommendation of authorities (WHO, Health Ministry etc), both in guest services spaces and in back office and catering spaces”.

“Welcoming, protecting and taking care of others is the very DNA of Accor and at the heart of what we do. Today, more than ever, our employees, customers and partners need to be reassured of our ability to offering them the best welcome possible.

“As the European leader in hospitality, it is our duty to anticipate needs and respond to health and safety requirements by adhering to the highest standards. We are pleased to be pioneering this drive with Bureau Veritas and to extend it to all stakeholders.”

Hotel Jobs post COVID19

Naveen Vaishnav sent this to us and we thought it should be shared verbatim

“One cannot see now but the rising unemployment in the Tourism sector will be seen only post COVID19, the WORST is still to come.

My name is Naveen Vaishnav, I am a Hotelier and a few days from now I will be completing 19 odd years in this industry, I am fortunate to have worked with some great companies and leaders.

Amid COVID19 the hotel revenue has gone zero which resulted in layoffs of employees be it from Big brands to Standalone hotels. The standalone is furthermore affected as many of the first time Hotel owners took hefty loans from the bank or unsecured loans straight from the market on high interest. The lockdown situation has thus resulted in many workers left underpaid or losing jobs with no salary.

Without naming any organisation, the ongoing difficult time has forced many hotel owners to downsize staff or salary/perks. I work for a standalone hotel and will survive for the next 2 months without a salary with my savings, beyond that it will be difficult for me as well. I am not writing this that I need assistance, but to highlight the pain of many working in hotels as a casual worker, contractual or on a fixed-term contract, with an average salary between 10-12k per month.

The layoffs of Junior staff across pan India has created a panic among many and further, they do not have any support system or covered under any scheme which will take care of the basic need of food & shelter, they even do not fall in the category of poor where an NGO or Govt support coming & knocking the door to deliver a month supply of groceries.

In India, we have a total of 81 lakh taxpayers earning between 5.5 lakh to 9.5 lakh per annum and as many as 1⁄4 of the above people belong to the service industry. Even after being a regular taxpayer, no one is covered under any form of social security and are left to fight their odds on their own.

My only reason to write this is to bring the attention of all the decision & policy maker including the Ministry of Tourism to work on a policy which helps the front line staff in a situation like this. Creating a committee who will listen & understand the difficulties faced by these people and work on a solution.

HVS Report - Impact of COVID-19 on Los Angeles & Southern California Hotel Markets - By Luigi Major

Since December 2019, outbreaks of coronavirus (COVID-19) have led to global economic disruptions as cities and countries attempt to slow the spread of the disease by implementing lockdowns and social distancing measures. At the time of publishing this article, the number of cases in the United States and California exceeded 680,000 and 28,000, respectively.

Beginning in early March, prominent events in Southern California, similar to many regions around the world, were canceled or postponed. Major attractions such as Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knotts Berry Farm, Six Flags Magic Mountain, the Santa Monica Pier, Big Bear Resort, and Mammoth Mountain also quickly closed in response to the pandemic. On March 19, 2020, California became the first state in the country to issue a statewide “Stay at Home” order and, since that time, economic activity has ground to a halt; the order remains in place until at least May 15

As can be imagined, the hospitality industry in the region, as with the rest of the country, is now reeling from the unprecedented drop in demand caused by these measures, which have resulted in substantially lower occupancies and average rates. For the combined L.A., Anaheim/Santa Ana, and San Diego lodging markets, RevPAR grew 3.2% in 2018, and then increased by only 0.3% in 2019; this weak performance was due primarily to the supply increase in 2019. Demand growth resumed in early 2020; up until the end of February 2020, hospitality markets in Southern California were on track to once again break records, reporting slightly higher RevPAR levels than those achieved during the same period of 2019.

However, in the span of four weeks in March, the industry took a nosedive as travel came to a halt. As of mid-April, absolute occupancies in most markets were reported in the 15% to 25% range, with ADR levels dropping on average 40% to 45%. Ultimately, this resulted in a RevPAR decrease of 80% to 90% for most markets in the region (to an absolute level of approximately $20). The following chart illustrates weekly RevPAR performance thus far in 2020 compared to 2019 (on a running 28-day basis) for the aforementioned Southern California markets combined.

HVS Hotel Transaction Activity: The Factors Influencing a Return to Normalcy in a Post-COVID-19 Time - By Drew Noecker

The year-over-year individual property transaction volume in Q1 2020 was down 61.4% from the same period in 2019, as COVID-19 became a major concern in the second half of the quarter; thus, this portends a large drop in Q2 2020 with a full impact of COVID-19 disruption. With our industry’s already-realized transaction volume drop and the continuation of this trend, we wanted to look at a few conditions that we believe will need to be present for a return to a robust hotel transaction market. Selected Important Factors for a Consistent, Stable Market After COVID-19 Cases Wane

• Availability of Traditional, Stabilized Financing
  There are multiple transitional, or bridge, lenders with which HVS is currently working. However, to return to a healthy market, the CMBS market, SBA lenders, and traditional balance-sheet lenders need to return to lending. 

• Understanding of the Volatile Environment by the Lending Community
  HVS is working with many companies who have “paused” hotel lending until a clearer RevPAR trajectory emerges. When lenders feel comfortable with a specific uptrend, the traditional debt market will reopen.

• Return of Broader Commercial Real Estate Investors to the Hotel Market
  One of the significant drivers of the growth in hotel transactions over the last 8+ years was the entry of traditional real estate private equity firms into the hotel ownership space. Those firms are currently concerned about the occupancy volatility of hotels during this health issue, but once the broader real estate private equity firms are again comfortable, the transaction market will improve.

• Solidification of the Concessions Available from Franchisors 
  Major franchise companies such as Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Choice, and IHG have discussed possible concessions for their franchisees. Once these concessions regarding fees and renovations are understood, owners can safely bid on available assets and return the market to a healthier state.

April 14, 2020 – Updated Transaction Data

Coronavirus lockdown: Hilton partners with Zomato, Swiggy for food deliveries

Hilton, a leading global hospitality company, has partnered with top food aggregators Zomato and Swiggy for home delivery of its signature dishes to customers, following a safe and contactless delivery practice. Currently, six Hilton properties are operational for food delivery via Zomato and Swiggy including Conrad Bangalore, Conrad Pune, Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon, Hilton Chennai, DoubleTree Ahmedabad, and Hilton Mumbai.

Hotel's select delivery menu across cities features the top 20 signature dishes from the most popular F&B outlets of Hilton Hotels in those cities, at special delivery prices. Hilton claims to have always followed stringent hygiene protocols, and due to the outbreak of COVID-19, is taking all necessary precautions to ensure utmost safety in the delivery of food to its customers

Hilton will also be offering a curated delivery service for private parties and gatherings. Deliveries under this service will be done by Hilton's staff using company-owned vehicles

How Each Hotel Department Can Start Preparing for A “New Normal” Re-opening

By the way, this list is based on the scientific process of baseless, wild speculation, while waiting out the quarantine.

F&B and Restaurant

• Re-draw your floor plan so that there is a minimum of 6 feet between tables.

• Research which food costs will increase when you order less volume.

• Move kitchen stations (if at all possible) to create more space.

• Create a re-opening menu with items that limit the number of cooks in the kitchen

Front Office/Reservations

·         In expectation of occupancy restrictions, add “Covid19 Out-of-Order” designation in your PMS system. These rooms will be tracked differently than regular OOO rooms.

·         Decide which rooms you will take out-of-order to ensure social distancing and limit elevator use.

·         You may have to read the temperature of all guests when they check-in so decide on whether that will happen at the front door or front desk. You may want to start writing an SOP for this.

·         Start talking to your GM about the possibility of requiring a Covid19 affidavit to be signed at the front desk where guests confirm that they have not been close to anyone with virus symptoms.

·         Start crafting a Covid disclosure for Phone Reservations to read to each guest and to post on the website (with an electronic “Agree” button).

·         If your credit card scanner does not accept contactless cards, get one that does.

Finance/Revenue Management

·         Add a new line for “Covid19 Out-of-Order” rooms to your Pace, Forecast, and Yield reports. This will allow you to better compare Year-over-Year results this year and next year. If you bundle all the OOOs together you will affect the variances.

·         If there are occupancy limitations, you may be sold-out or close-to-sold-out every night, so you have to find alternative metrics to track the strength of the market. Try putting together data from your POS or CRM to track KPIs like average guest spend for all outlets year-over-year

Marketing/Sales

• Compile “Best Guests” list from your CRM to send personalized messages. A simple email blast will be lost in everyone else’s email blast.

• Redraw your meeting space floor plans for social distancing requirements. Load the new floor plans to your website.

• Divide your Sales contact list by group size. Large groups may not be able to commit to events for a while because of logistics, but small groups are very manageable.

Hotels and restaurants will open in 10 districts of Kerala

Hotels and restaurants will open in 10 districts of Kerala on Monday after nearly a month of lockdown as the coastal state prepared to get its economy back on track after successfully controlling the spread of Covid-19.

Out of Kerala’s 14 districts, four -- north Kerala’s Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram -- are in the red zone with the bulk of infections. Eight, including state capital Thiruvananthapuram, are in the orange zone with few cases and two are in the green zone with no cases. The relaxations will be applicable to the orange and green zones only, said state authorities.

From Monday, restaurants and hotels in these two zones will remain open until 7pm and some private vehicles allowed on the streets but no overcrowding will be permitted.

Booking.com plans for lay offs after landing $4bn loan

Online travel agent Booking.com has told employees in an internal memo that layoffs from the company are "probable", just days after the Financial Times reported it had received a $4 billion loan in bonds from investors to fend off severe effects caused by the coronavirus crisis.

In a video conference held with hundreds of employees, Booking.com chief executive Glenn Fogel is believed to have said cost-cutting would likely be necessary across different parts of the company, according to the Financial Times' report.

One of Booking.com's key competitors, Expedia Group, has already been forced to make 3000 employees redundant  since the turn of the year as reality bites.

Booking.com is committing to slash marketing expenditure, executive salaries and hirings for the foreseeable future, as a major cost-cutting exercise and bookings continue to drop to 85 per cent year-on-year in April compared to the same period in 2019.

Importance of E-Learning in this current situation by Rahul Chowdhury, Assistant Professor, Hospitality & Tourism Administration at Sister Nivedita University

We are now entering a new era — the revolution of online education.

It is often referred to as e-learning. Online learning is seen as an innovative concept which is attracting the attention of academic institutions as well as companies in different sectors.

There is also increased use of virtual classrooms (online presentations delivered live) as an online learning platform and classroom for a diverse set of education providers. Being physically present in a classroom isn’t the only learning option anymore.

Everyone can access online education no matter whatever is the location. Although it is one type of distance learning I believe as the current situation is extremely threatening & challenging for all of us, so it’s better to have something than nothing. Education & learning is an unstoppable concept, no matter whatever is the situation. Currently, I am working as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Hospitality & Tourism Administration at Sister Nivedita University (Techno India Group-West Bengal, Kolkata).

The online sessions are happening on a regular basis with participation from students & faculty members are 100 per cent. My area of specialization is Food & Beverage Operations & Management. I believe that virtual learning is an excellent platform to share knowledge even when you are working from home. Although, in this present situation when the entire world is undergoing such a severe crisis, but I believe, that it can’t stop education & learning.

So under the guidance & full support from my director Mr Sandip Mukherjee & Head Dr. Santanu Dasgupta (both from the hospitality department), I am sharing my experiences, knowledge & skills with my students via online mode. Recently I have attended a few webinar sessions where the majority of academic leaders from all over the world believes that online learning quality is already equal to or superior to face-to-face instruction.

I believe that the process of learning & teaching has improved with the use of technology. In this moment flexibility, & adaptable to change with the situation must be the prime key. As an educator, we all must spread knowledge, as education is the passport to the future. I call it a “Commitment to student education”.

OYO Accused Of Listing Treebo Hotels Without Clearances

Gurugram-based hospitality unicorn OYO has found itself in a fresh battle against its competitor, Treebo. The company’s executive allegedly submitted “invalid” no-objection certificates from about 70 hotels to the OTA Booking.com .This was reportedly done to change the ownership listing of the properties to OYO from rival Treebo.

To begin with, when hospitality chains like OYO and Treebo list a hotel, they receive permissions from these hotels to promote the hotels on their websites as well as other OTAs like MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Booking.com etc.

The OTA said that after making necessary checks it had identified that the NOCs provided by OYO for these properties were “invalid”.

Booking.com reportedly said that it required accommodation partners to abide by all applicable laws and compliances. “There is a standard process that we follow at Booking.com for listing properties and the same process is being followed right now as well,” the company said.

OYO did not respond to Inc42’s queries on the matter till the time of publication.

The development comes at a time when the travel and hospitality industry has been severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and quarantines. OYO had recently told its employees that since the outbreak, OYO’s occupancy rate and revenues have dropped by more than 50 to 60% and the company’s balance sheet has come under severe stress.