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Vietnamese We all know how devastating the COVID-19 pandemic has been to the hospitality industry. Although the situation is gradually improving, the sector is still far from being out of the woods. So, what are the challenges hotel businesses may experience during this "business-as-unusual" period and what can they do about them?
Read more: Measuring the Impacts of COVID-19 on the Hospitality Industry
What are the challenges for hotels during reopening?
There is a growing consensus in the scientific community that the virus is not going away anytime soon. As a result, mingling in public places still carries a risk of infection. In hotels, the Front desk, Elevator, or Guest rooms are typically the places that attract the most people. Therefore, hotel businesses need to take steps to mitigate such risks with contactless solutions.
Check-in Procedure
Today, implementing strict cleaning and sanitization regime is simply not enough. Developing touchless technology will help customers feel more secure, save more time, and improve efficiency.
Areas that can potentially be upgraded with contactless solutions:
- Digital concierge
- The elevator
- The guest room door
Some hotels are gradually applying technology, such as cloud property management systems (PMS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as well as utilising digital concierge that acts as a convenient, interactive, and personalised information hub for all guest inquiries.
The 6 feet/ 2 metres distance is very difficult to maintain in elevators. Therefore, the best way is to have staff at the front desk to help guests get to their desired floor or control the number of people inside. Certainly, having a suitable digital concierge in place can automate and streamline laborious processes, thus freeing up valuable time for our human staff to focus on delivering more value-added services.
Additionally, physical room keys can also cause inadequacies because they are among the many objects that get passed through loads of people. What if customers could gain full access to their rooms and any service facilities through smartphones and a digital concierge/ personal virtual assistant who is ready to handle their requests at any time?
Read more: The New Face of Hospitality: Creating a Contactless Guest Experience
Temperature checks and ID verification
Controlling temperature and movement information, although not completely preventing the spread of disease, is still a good method to help repel it. The typical method is to use digital thermometers to check the temperature of every person entering the precinct. However, mass temperature checks using handheld devices can be overwhelming, and these devices could misread the body's heat or become virus carriers if not sanitised correctly after every use.
Some technologies have been developed to solve the above problem. For instance, EVA - a contactless tech designed to verify guests’ IDs during check-ins (Singapore) or IntraEdge, Pyramid Computer, and Intel’s joined invention - Janus – which can scan the temperature, verify IDs, and send statuses to guests' smartphones and checkers' systems.
Opportunities for hotels during the reopening
Even with the gradual reopening, international flights are still being restricted. Hotels therefore cannot expect revenue from international travellers to bounce back the pre-pandemic level anytime soon. Other revenue streams are still essential. Non-room services can account for 50% of total revenue. Businesses may consider changing their strategy to increase the provision of the following non-room services:
- Food delivery services have increased tremendously during the pandemic and showed no signs of slowing down. But to do so, brands need to craft new marketing strategies, design packaging, explore different distribution channels, etc.
- If the hotels have the advantage of being right in the centre, they can offer a safe and convenient parking place and other services such as pet services, kids' centres, etc.
- Working in one place can be boring and unmotivating. As a result, hotels can be transformed into WFH-friendly workspaces for today's "work from anywhere" era.
TRG has been providing and implementing hospitality-specific solutions to more than 1,000 clients in over 80 countries for nearly 30 years. We can help you and your hotel business to unlock unprecedented opportunities, overcome challenges and meet complex regulatory requirements of the hospitality industry.
For more useful information, click here to check out our informative resource hub dedicated to just the Hospitality sector.
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