India like most of the world, was caught unaware when the pandemic erupted. However, we were amongst the first countries to take measures to control its spread by introducing full screening and voluntary quarantine for passengers returning from international destinations. Even today with the lockdown,Indiais among the countries with the strictest measures.Needless to say, these measures have taken a heavy toll and the economy has had to pay the price for it. Amongst all the industries, travel and hospitality is by far the most impacted. In the last several decades the world has seen many crises but at no time has the performance of the industry dipped to these levels. Most hotels are shut today while others are operating at very low occupancies serving guests who have been stuck due to the lockdown. Even with the proposed graded opening from June 2021 it will be a while before people feel confident to stay in a hotel and travel without fear, such has been the battering of consumer confidence. Further, with most companies having suffered during this period it is very likely that they will cut down non-essential travelling. Food and Beverage demand will also continue to suffer as people will be wary of large crowds and mindful of social distancing.For many other companies including Hospitality Industry, we believe the mediumterm focus should be on revival i.e. re-opening of any closed properties. This would involve creating new SOP’s for receiving guests, defining new rules for cleaning and housekeeping so that the team and guests can feel safe in the environment and it will allow them to refurbish some of the existing properties to serve the guests better. Last but not the least there has to be a sales and marketing plan which targets customers with customized packages and cancellation friendly offers. In the long run hotel companies need to be building healthy availability of capital through both debt and equity. Going back to business as usual is no longer a choice for the industry. There will certainly be a new normal that everyone will have to adjust to. This will involve firstly a very high degree of awareness to understand the altered context. Changes will have to be made across the board and at every touch point in the guest journey from customer acquisition to maintaining customer relationships. Teams will have to be restructured and multi skilling will no longer be ‘nice to have’ but ‘imperative’. Some areas within the existing hotel will have to be repurposed. The space program of all hotels under planning will have to be relooked at. Only the fittest and most compliant companies with deep reserves will survive. But the ones that do emerge on the other side albeit ‘battle scarred’ will start a new innings which will be much stronger than the current one.

In order to address the issue, MMICT& BM (Hotel Management) is organizing a webinar on the Survival to revival: Embracing the new normal

Before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Indian Hospitality had gained momentum and looked promising. However, the disruption caused by this Pandemic has impacted the hotel market across different levels.The webinar will discuss what is happening and what lies ahead.