Today’s Traveller: How do you assess the current situation?

Ajay Bakaya: The impact of the second wave of COVID-19 has made the situation worse. Most of the states are under lockdowns for the last few weeks. The situation once again has become ambiguous and the Hospitality industry faces another challenge of uncertainty across states.

The severity of COVID-19 is far more this time compare to last year. We have witnessed many lives lost and therefore people are hesitant to go out and travel, which may make recovery slower.  Travel bubble between the countries and even inter-state travel is impacted.

Seeing the current situation and once complete unlock happens, we believe 2021 will again be the year of domestic and road travel. Concepts of remote working, staycations, workcations will remain in vogue.  Travellers’ choice of hotels will revolve around hygiene, cleanliness, safety. Trust in being safe will play a reassuring role.

Today’s Traveller: Were you prepared for a second Covid wave scenario and the likelihood of a further setback?

Ajay Bakaya: The starting of 2021 looked promising and encouraging as few countries opened borders; there was news of vaccination; travel was again coming to normal. Then came the outbreak of the second wave. Like thunder. Unexpected. It made things difficult and even more challenging. Again we hit the PAUSE phase.

Therefore, taking learnings from the previous year, we immediately switched our business gear and planned things according to the situation. The key was to monitor and analyze changing mindsets and emerging habits and adapt rapidly. One such case was creating a Covid care center for elderly people.

We tied up with an organization that takes care of Elderly people and created a Covid Care center dedicated to Elderly people. We rolled out self-isolation packages. Understanding the severity of the second wave, we curated the ‘GHAR KA KHANA’ food delivery service.  Nutritious, home-like food at an affordable price point. We also tied up with Hospitals for a Post Covid care facility.

Today’s Traveller: What new challenges are likely to take shape?

Ajay Bakaya: Currently business planning and strategizing have become completely pandemic dependent. Given the fatality rates and fear of a third wave, things will be unpredictable this year. Business movement has taken a hit with lockdowns. Social functions including weddings had seen a comeback, but families are deeply affected due to deaths and such events may get delayed. No one is in a position to accurately predict what could happen one year from now. People are hesitant to travel for leisure. This is the current state of the industry as a whole.

Domestic and international markets are differently impacted and it’s very uncertain when borders will open for travellers. We can see local, national and international travel will re-open as and when the restriction eases for respective markets.

Today’s Traveller: The way forward with strategies to rebuild the travel and hospitality industry.

Ajay Bakaya: The strategy right now is to cut costs, examine and adjust every operating cost. Expenditure and revenue planning on a daily and/ or a weekly basis must be established in order to closely manage the operational and financial risks during times of uncertainty.  

Hotels must be geared for frequent peaks and troughs at no notice. And must plan accordingly. Even weddings with limited numbers will happen at very short notice.  We are focusing on the smaller wedding segment. Corporate travel will take slightly longer. For the foreign segment, we expect the last quarter of 2022 will see significant movement.

Read More: #ReviveRebuild

Today’s Traveller : How do you assess the current situation?

M P Bezbaruah: The current situation, so far as tourism and hospitality is concerned, is a continuation of the travails of last one year, a situation of cumulative misery in terms of business and income and jobs lost.

The early part was marked by the tenacity of the hospitality sector trying to hold on during unprecedented adversity, without any support from the government.

The second wave of the pandemic resulting in reimposed restrictions for long periods has pushed most of the industry to what I can describe as, a fight for survival.

Even in the very early stages a study by Mckinsey had anticipated business contraction to the extent of 70%. Subsequently, RBI has accepted that this sector is one of the most impacted ones. In the initial stages, HAI had represented that the revenue loss was around Rs 90,000 cr for the year and the organized part of the industry-which is only about 10% of the total-had debt burden of Rs 45000 Cr.

With the impact of the severe second wave, the apprehension is that more than 40% of hotels have shut or are on the brink of closure and almost 70% of the jobs are in danger directly within the sector and thousands more in hotel-related support sectors.

Today’s Traveller : Were you prepared for a second Covid wave scenario and the likelihood of a further setback?

M P Bezbaruah : The Hospitality sector was aware of the uncertainty of the situation. It had adopted all the SOPs, — safety, hygiene, social distancing- had made innovations and adjustments in operations necessary to go on in the new environment, but the intensity of the second wave and the resultant shock was not expected.

By the beginning of the new year as the Secretary MOT said, there was a ray of hope and I had captioned one of my articles with that heading. Resorts and high-end hotels near metro cities had seen robust bookings. The trends were clear— perception about health and hygiene of the service providers and customers confidence on these issues was going to determine their choices.

Nature, open-air and rural settings were the preferred choices. To sum up, the industry was prepared to meet the new norms of operation as mandated by the SOPs and needed in the circumstances but in operational areas relating to liquidity problems, payment of fixed cost and dues, payroll etc. the long impact of Corona was making them very vulnerable, and the second wave made it worse. Industry on its own had no means for preparing to meet the fallout.

There is fear of a third wave. I am afraid most of the industry will not have the capacity to withstand it on their own unless there is substantive support from the government.

Today’s Traveller : What challenges are likely to take shape?

M P Bezbaruah: I see the challenges in two parts. First is the challenge of survival. It is a challenge of managing continually mounting cost, both fixed and payroll, increasing the debt burden with almost non-existent revenue. The challenge is of matching humanitarian concern to continue retaining staff with business not making it viable to do so.

The second challenge is of adjusting to the business in the new norms after covid. Trust, it has been said will be the new currency in the tourism business. This trust will be in a capacity to build traveller confidence about heath safety, hygiene etc. through innovative measures, digital transformation and improving service quality through trained manpower.

Such changes in operations, like social distancing in restaurants, will reduce capacity. They will also have a cost. At the same time, it is likely that as tourism starts slowly there will be keen competition to get market share and prices may be compromised.

As UNWTO has pointed out, in the future concern for sustainability will not be an option—it will be a necessity.  Consumers will judge establishments more and more on their adherence to sustainable norms in operations. The recent meeting of the G20 has already talked about transiting to green tourism and travel economy. The primary challenge for the hospitality industry in a fast-changing scenario will be its capacity to be at the forefront of ‘change’.

Today’s Traveller : Way forward with strategies to rebuild tourism and hospitality industry.

M P Bezbaruah: UNWTO has assessed that travel and tourism have gone back in time by 30 years. The tourism experts have also opined that international tourism is unlikely to get back to normal before 2023. The future strategy will have to be devised and designed keeping this overall constraint in the picture. Domestic tourism and to some extent business travel when the economy picks up, are expected to sustain the hospitality industry.

There is a great lot to be done—systematically, continuously and in a planned manner. Most of the work will need joint efforts of the government and the industry and therefore the first requirement is to establish a strong, pragmatic mechanism for public, private partnership. This could be achieved by creating a Task Force with both the government and private sector representatives.

The first strategy of course will be to enable the industry to find its feet. The Task Force should quickly draw up and implement a tourism and hospitality sector specific recovery plan. It should reflect the ground realities and ways to meet those realities.

It should provide relief on the issues already identified by the industry as mentioned above— restructuring of loans, a moratorium on existing loans, soft credit for restarting business, waiver of statutory dues for the period of lockdown, just to mention a few.

At this moment everyone is aware that this sector is most affected by the pandemic. But there is no assessment of the impact on business, jobs and loss of livelihood of people indirectly dependent on the hospitality sector. If not already undertaken, it is essential to quickly make such an assessment. Future solutions will emerge from an understanding of the actual data of the ground realities.

It looks clear that domestic tourism will have to provide the initial push for recovery of tourism and hospitality business. Government will have to primarily promote domestic tourism as is being done through “Dekho Apna Desh” campaign.

But it will have to expand to cover wider destinations including rural tourism. Sustainable destination development will be the key requirement in the immediate future. “Responsible Tourism” will be the core component of such development.  

The hospitality industry in its turn should show leadership in innovating ways for strictly implementing the government SOPs on health and hygiene, develop sustainable practices, innovate on increasing productivity and cutting cost to attract domestic tourism.

(The author, M P Bezbaruah, Sec. General, Hotel Association of India, is also Permanent Representative (Hon.), UN-WTO, Former Member, North Eastern Council (in the rank of MOS), Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Former Chairman, PATA, Former Minister (Economic) HCI, London.)

Read More: #ReviveRebuild

Today’s Traveller : How do you assess the current situation?

Nikhil Sharma: At Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, we remain focused and committed to the health, safety and well-being of our guests, partners, and team members as we navigate through these challenging times.

We are focused on providing support to our people, and partners to ensure a successful and strong recovery when the time and circumstances are right.

Today’s Traveller : Were you prepared for a second Covid wave scenario and the likelihood of a further setback?

Nikhil Sharma : At Wyndham we have been closely monitoring the situation at hand and adapting to the on-going challenges brought about by COVID-19.

The health, safety and well-being of our guests, partners and team members remain our top priority. We continue to follow all government and local health authorities’ guidelines and are focusing on supporting our partners through this time and through their recovery as well.

Today’s Traveller : What new challenges are likely to take shape?

Nikhil Sharma : The current situation is ever-evolving and will continue to challenge us in many ways, but Wyndham remains agile and adaptable in our initiatives and solutions to meet the ongoing change in demand.

We remain committed to our enhanced hygiene and safety initiative, Count on Us, which supports rebuilding guest confidence and enhancing hygiene and safety protocols at the hotel level.

We will adapt and implement new initiatives and solutions, while leveraging best practices and tools utilised to support our partners, guests, and team members in other regions, through their ongoing recovery. We work closely with our partners to implement initiatives which will add value and drive revenue to their hotels.

We have taken a number of proactive measures across EMEA from providing operations guidelines, commercial best practices and initiatives, and have hosted numerous webinars with detailed guidelines for enhancing hygiene and operational standards, shared various hotel communications and checklists to support the recovery process. We continue to closely monitor the situation and adapt our policies accordingly.

While the hospitality industry has witnessed significant changes over the past year, it has also created opportunities to grow and meet the demands of this new era of travel.

Today’s Traveller : The way forward with strategies to rebuild the travel and hospitality industry

Nikhil Sharma : Coronavirus has significantly altered the hospitality industry in many ways, one of which is the shift towards enhanced hygiene standards and practices. Health and safety measures are top of mind for many guests and play an integral role in the pre-trip planning stage, during the booking process as well as throughout their stay.

Guests will now immediately notice the prominence of hygiene stations, the wearing of masks and other personal protective equipment by staff as well as social distancing measures put in place. Relaxing in a hotel with the knowledge that strict cleanliness measures have been met will contribute to the overall guest experience.

Due to the uncertainty in the current travel climate, many people are looking for enhanced flexibility and guarantees should travel restrictions change. At Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, our cancellation policies for direct bookings are among the most flexible in the hotel industry, with thousands of our hotels honouring no-fee cancellations up to 6 p.m. on the day of arrival.

Technology and trends are constantly evolving, and this year in particular, the adoption of technological solutions became not just popular but vital for hotel businesses all around the world.

As health and safety remain top of mind for all guests as they get ready to travel again, technology and contactless solutions are going to be key in restoring their confidence and supporting partners as they welcome back guests.

Our Wyndham mobile app was designed with the guest in mind, with the aim of creating a personalised, low contact experience that adapts to users’ real-time needs. The app enables guests to search for and book the nearest Wyndham hotel in as few as three clicks, features the in-stay tool which provides helpful information about the property and local attractions as well as a feature that enables users to track their engagements through stamps and animations.

Today’s Traveller: How important is the ‘back to nature’ trend among travellers?

Nikhil Sharma: The global pause in travel has contributed to a revival of the natural world and many travellers want to continue this momentum. Travellers are increasingly looking for sustainable travel and accommodation options and it is important for businesses to meet this growing demand.

As part of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts strategic vision of fostering a values-driven culture, we understand it is essential to protect our natural capital and resources to deliver long-term sustainable value. Wyndham Green is our global sustainability programme, designed to help hotels reduce their environmental impact and at the same time, reduce operating costs through efficiency, drive revenue, remain competitive and increase brand recognition.

The programme highlights best practices to become energy efficient, water conservative and waste-reducing. These are the times that count, time in which we must count on ourselves and each other to stand together. Despite the uncertainty and the impact of the current climate, we know that ‘Incredible India’ will overcome and we shall stay strong, stay safe and stay positive together.

Read More: #ReviveRebuild

Today’s Traveller: How do you assess the current situation from a Travel and Tourism perspective?

Suman Billa: The Travel and Tourism sectors are interestingly poised at this stage. Travel restrictions around the globe have not changed much since March with 32% of the countries in complete closure, 34% practising partial closures, 32% allowing travel subject to testing and quarantine and only 2% have lifted all restrictions to travel.

But the scenario is also unfolding with a lot of positivity. Several countries around the world have started vaccination programs in real earnest and the results from the major source markets are promising.

The US has vaccinated a majority of its population and the EU is slow but is scheduled to vaccinate its citizens by September. Several other countries which are strong tourism destinations or aviation hubs like Singapore and those in the GCC region have also done extremely well so far.

On the other hand, the discussion around vaccine passports has started yielding tangible results with some sort of coordinated travel agreements coming to fruition this month. We also see a positive trend of countries who have vaccinated the bulk of their population like the UK easing up on travel restrictions and their citizens being welcomed in other countries like Spain without the mandatory diagnostic tests. If this trajectory continues to hold, we are likely to see a robust rebound by the last quarter of this year.

However, there are also causes for concern. We have seen the mutations of the virus in the recent past which have severely impacted countries like UK, Brazil, South Africa and India. It is likely that these variants would spread to other countries, and we will see further mutations of the virus which can pose a challenge to unvaccinated populations.

There is also concern about the level of efficacy of the vaccines against a fast-mutating virus. If we see a resurgence of the virus, it may impact the pace of recovery. The pace of vaccination will also determine the ability of the countries to receive international tourists. We also face the prospect of a ‘have’ and ‘have not’ divide that can impact the ability of citizens of Least Developed Countries to travel if the pace of vaccination and integration into the global health travel framework is slow.

Today’s Traveller: Were you prepared for a second wave scenario and the likelihood of a further setback?

Suman Billa: The second wave was always a possibility but the ferocity with which affected India was unexpected. We need to be prepared for further onslaughts from the virus and its mutations. As the saying goes, “hope for the best but prepare for the worst”. The consequences of not being prepared with a Plan B and Plan C can be fatal for businesses.

Today’s Traveller: What new challenges are likely to take shape?

Suman Billa: The pandemic has challenged the Travel and Tourism sector like never before. The longer it takes to recover, the more difficult it would be for businesses to sustain. Most businesses have by this time gone into a state of hibernation since there has been no real commercial activity for over a year now. As the situation improves, these businesses would face the challenge of finding liquidity, requisite talent and starting afresh from the ground up.

The Travel and Tourism sector is likely to undergo far-reaching changes with a greater focus on sustainability and responsible travel. Technology has already played a catalyzing role in the pandemic so far and its impact would be further accelerated.

Those who are able to stay ahead of the curve and crest the changing circumstances will emerge stronger and those who do not adapt to the changing rules of the game face extinction.

Today’s Traveller: The way forward with strategies to rebuild the travel and tourism industry.

Suman Billa: Recovery from the present situation requires strong and collective global leadership. To optimize travel and tourism, we need to look beyond the bilateral agreements like travel bubbles, etc. and create a strong and robust global framework with clear criteria for travel backed by efficient tools like digital vaccine passports to make travel hassle-free. We would also need to make sure that this arrangement is as equitable as it can be so as to not alienate any countries from benefiting from the recovery of the sector.

National Governments should also create the conditions to enable travel like effective hygiene and safety protocols, access to quality health care in the event of any visitor falling ill etc.

National Governments should also take an entrepreneurial position to support their industry for revival by enabling access to credit, supporting them in reaching out to key markets aggressively etc. so as to emerge as winners in a changed world.

Learn more

Read More: #ReviveRebuild

Today’s Traveller: How do you assess the current situation?

John Spence : We went into the pandemic this time last year and we still are very much in it, it has been a bit of a ‘give and take’ for us. There have been good things and bad things as well. Our vision is to expand our resort offerings whilst we can and we’ve had a very bullish approach to this.

We went into the pandemic and fortunately had no debt. I own 100% of the company so we didn’t have many partnerships. We always saw an opportunity to buy and acquire more resorts in the pandemic and that has really panned out well for us.

Today’s Traveller: What kind of acquisitions has the brand looked at?

John Spence : Over the last 12 months, we have acquired new resorts in England, the Cotswold’s, Salford Hall which opened very recently- It is a magnificent property which used to belong to Henry VIII. It is surrounded by scenery, it has about 38 bedrooms and amazing architecture that goes back to the 14^th century.

In India, we acquired properties in Udaipur, Karma Sunshine Village in Bengaluru and we are close to acquiring a new property in Coorg.

In Indonesia, we have a new property right outside Jakarta, which is proving to be extremely popular- Karma Salak, and we are about to open another hotel in Bandung, which is about 2 hours from Jakarta.

On the back burner, we are ready to acquire a property in Scotland, Spain, and another one in Indonesia.

So our vision is to be acquisitive, we are in a very fortunate position that we are able to acquire resorts.

At the same time, we’ve clearly had to shrink our operations and cut our cloth according to circumstances, so when we can open resorts, we have, when clients have been able to come to our resort, they have. We have seen a high occupancy when we have been able to, happiness, and high expenditure when people can come to us.

Today’s Traveller: What is the vision for brand Karma in 2021?

John Spence : Our vision has also been to operate new products. We have developed a new product called the “Karma Club” as you may know – we are much closer to a private members club than we are to a hotel offering. We thrive on having long-time members. We have a 45,000 member family that has been with us for so many years.  So, we see ourselves not as a provider of short term stays, but creating a long term lifestyle!

We created a new club called the “Karma Club” which is an annual membership club. We have developed a new product called “Karma Concierge” which is our visioned dream to provide a fantastic service, so people can holiday with a lifestyle.

We have also developed our version of an AirBNB called “Karma Casa” which is a service by which our members and clients can deposit in bespoke software, their second homes, houses, boats, etc- our members can take advantage of this.

 Our vision has also been to streamline our product- sometimes adversity gives you an opportunity to make things more efficient and better – both internally and externally.

So we have spent a lot of time in developing our software and technology, enhancing our customer services and communication. We also developed “Karma Community” – a weekly online platform that enables us to talk to our clients/owners.  I personally do speeches, conversations on this platform.

Another vision is to help the world. We have always believed in philanthropy and we have doubled our efforts this year. In England, we worked with a company to provide holidays for front-line workers as a way of saying Thank you. In India, we have launched a programme called “Karma May Day” which is to provide oxygen for India.

Our vision for 2021 continues to be to help people who have been affected by this situation.

Today’s Traveller: What will be the “new normal”, post Covid19?

John Spence : No one knows the answer to this and no one can really predict it. In the tourism and hospitality industry, the new normal will be very different from the old normal. We will see a boom in the short term. We will see a lot of pent-up desire and demand for travel and holiday.

There are a lot of reasons behind this. One is that people have got a lot of excess savings in their bank accounts as they couldn’t spend it over the last year as people couldn’t go on holidays or to a nice restaurant or celebrate.

I think there is money to be spent. We will see people wanting to reward themselves by going out and taking a holiday. I also think people will go out with a vengeance as they have been at home due to covid. People will travel when they can!

The short term new normal is expenditure and indulgence, people going out and having fun. In tourism, we will see 2 new things, one is the retention of domestic tourism. What we’ve seen in the last 12 months is that tourism is primarily domestic.

People holidaying locally, partly because people cannot travel internationally, and because they feel safer travelling locally and it is also easier to travel locally without fearing restrictions and government regulations. People are also discovering new tourist destinations within their own country.

That is, however, tempered with a return to international tourism, for 2 reasons- one is they would want to travel and meet their family and the second reason is that people have formed their travel bucket list whilst they have been locked down in a particular place.

Today’s Traveller: What other trends do you think will surface post Covid?

John Spence: International travel will regain its place eventually solely because of the desire to travel and see different places. The one part of tourism that will really suffer is Business travel. People have realised that they can do some work through zoom or remote working and companies will focus on tightening expenditure and covering their profits.

Therefore, business travel will drop. This will, however, have an effect on tourism. If people can’t or won’t travel for business purposes, they will still want to travel and therefore take a leisure trip. The new normal is very positive, same as it was but more!

Today’s Traveller: Your business strategy for growing the brand?

John Spence : We are very much a private members club for the last 35 years. We don’t see ourselves as a provider of short-term accommodation. We are not in the hospitality short-term lodging business, we are in the long-term club membership entertainment business.

Our job is to create a client, look after them and enjoy working with them for 20 years. With membership, we are totally about creating membership models, creating tiers of memberships.

We also have Facts and Learnership, which is the next stage of the ladder where people who have been with us for some time choose to partner with one of our members and real estate and still enjoy the benefits for over 15 years but at the end of it they get capital gains when the asset is sold.

So we very much see ourselves being a progression. The starting point is the Karma Club annual membership which is typically $1000 a year. It depends on people where they want to go up in the tier systems. Our biggest form of marketing is through referral.

Today’s Traveller: How tech-savvy are you as a brand? 

John Spence : We are quite tech-savvy. We realise that we need to be. As we all know, it is shifting and moving incredibly quickly. We have a very good platform, we have invested quite a lot into our various mechanics, whether it is our app which we are about to launch, which we think is very state of the art.

Our new app with just a push of a button will help our members engage with the club. The app also includes the “Karma Concierge” which I mentioned and we have a relationship with many restaurants hotels and tourist facilities. We are quite excited about our app.

It is very scalable as we plan to grow our business very largely in Indonesia and southeast Asia. Technology is very important to us to help us interact with our members. We are very keen on developing in this area and certainly see it as a part of our future.

Read More: Revive and Rebuild

#ReviveRebuild | Today’s Traveller initiative “Revive and Rebuild the Hospitality and Travel Industry” invites Vineet Verma, MRICS, Executive Director & CEO, Brigade Hospitality to share insights on new challenges in the wake of the second Covid wave and mapping a strategic way forward …

Today’s Traveller: How do you assess the current situation?

Vineet Verma: Hospitality has been the worst hit among all sectors, during this pandemic. As I say, COVID 19 has been most hostile to the most hospitable sector.

Today’s Traveller: Were you prepared for a second Covid wave scenario and the likelihood of a further setback?

Vineet Verma: While the first wave shaved off nearly 70% of our business, the 2^nd wave, which caught us mostly unaware, has done the rest of the damage.

I guess we citizens should largely take the blame. We assumed that COVID19 will vanish with the turn of the calendar and that we can resume our normal lives in 2021 taking 2020 as the year to forget and move on.

We were further led into believing this with the situation appearing to have come under relative control. But that turned out to be a huge mistake and a case of the Trojan horse, with the virus, now in its far more lethal avatar, having entered our homes.

Today’s Traveller: What new challenges are likely to take shape?

Vineet Verma: It is time for us to take a step back, rally together, and better arm ourselves to stave off this fresh onslaught. Hundreds of lives are being lost each day and the only way to put an end to this massacre is to ensure that each of us is vaccinated at the earliest and also that we religiously ensure CAB (covid appropriate behaviour) across our rank & file.

It is important to prioritise life over livelihood so that we live to fight another day. And while we continue to protect ourselves & our dear ones, we must spare time to also strategise how we will help repurposes our businesses once we reopen.  The way we have so far gone about conducting our affairs will no longer be relevant post COVID and we must find newer ways of meeting guest expectations and succeeding in the new world.

Today’s Traveller: The way forward with strategies to rebuild the travel and hospitality industry

Vineet Verma: But then all has not been so bad after all if one is to look at the huge amounts of learnings that we have also gained during this period. I prefer calling them my ‘Life lessons’.

Business lessons:

• Our colleagues and their families have been our biggest source of strength during these unprecedented times. It is their unstinted support and cooperation that has helped us sail through troubled waters. I have learnt to value them and appreciate them even more than ever before
• Be proactive and flexible. Be ready to move fast the moment you see an opening that can help sustain your business during tough times
• Reinvent yourself and encourage ‘out of the box’ thinking among your colleagues. The tide has turned yet continuing to swim in the same direction is certainly not good news
• We have woken up to the fact that Digital transformation is the new mantra and the recipe for success. So welcome it with open arms and ensure you are personally ready to adapt to it
• On the flip side, Digital transformation has also made our digital universe vulnerable. It has become a happy hunting ground for hackers and mischief-mongers. So, our focus on Cyber security has to increase manifold
• We have learnt to ‘Do more with less’. We realised that we can continue being as productive if not more, despite there being a paucity of resources. Be it lesser manpower or reduced cash flow, we have learnt to make do with what we have and move on
• We have learnt to be frugal at the workplace and this has helped us conserve our limited resources over a larger period of time
• ‘Multitasking’ is the new skill in demand today
• We have learnt to prioritise even better. We have been able to filter out the not so important from what is important
• The emotional health and wellbeing of employees cannot be ignored during difficult times such as now. If there is anyone outside the family that one looks up to for any support and reassurance during difficult times, it is our dear colleagues with whom we may have also developed strong emotional bonds

Life lessons:

• We are so impermanent. Life is unpredictable so make the most of it as long as it lasts. Do what needs to be done NOW as God forbid, there may be no tomorrow
• We are stronger than we know
• I realized how fortunate we are to have the resources and support that are being made available to us during this period. Be it our delivery boys, F&B staff, sanitary staff, and others who have served us despite the personal risks they were exposed to. Have learnt to appreciate them even more now for making our lives easier during these troubled times
• Learnt how important it is to take care of your health and be grateful for a healthy body which we often take for granted
• The world can stop in its tracks but having your loved ones around you in good health & spirits, has been our main source of strength and we must not forget this as we get out of the crisis

Finally, live the moment as if there is no tomorrow, give your best in what you do, leave an imprint to be remembered by and as the saying goes – Let us not take life too seriously as no one gets out of it alive! 

Read More: Revive and Rebuild

Today’s Traveller: How do you assess the current situation?

Naveen Kundu: These are unprecedented times, none of us thought we could have encountered anything like this. Just a couple of months ago we were sure we are staying ahead of this virus, the vaccinations process had kick-started and the number of cases was on a constant decline and it seemed things were almost back to normal. Everyone thought that in a few months all will be back to a pre-covid state and the confidence was largely because of the vaccination rollout. It was not to be and the virus had other plans.

Today’s Traveller: Were you prepared for a second Covid wave scenario and the likelihood of a further setback?

Naveen Kundu: No one expected it would get to this and everyone has been caught by total surprise. Things are grim not only for the business of travel and tourism but for the human race at large. The focus has completely shifted to staying safe and saving lives … people are focused on making groups and trying to source aid and facilities for family and friends as every system is overwhelmed, rightly so, as the caseload has increased.

Today’s Traveller: What new challenges are likely to take shape?

Naveen Kundu: The situation was challenging for our sector and continues to be challenging. While domestic leisure business had started crawling back and revival was looking possible, we have now been hit by something where recovery seems to be a distant truth. The inbound business even for the 2021 season seems to be out of the base and may not recover before October next year which is 2022.

The way media internationally has projected us, it seems nothing is going right for India and as the picture painted is bleak, it will take a long time for an incoming business to revive. The outbound business was looking up since most of the European countries and Americans were planning to open by the end of June/ early July as their vaccination process was in line with their projections and assumptions.

However, it will only come back when the airlines start operating and the world starts opening up on us, but here again, the way we have been blocked recently by all countries, this seems to be not happening anytime soon. 

Today’s Traveller: The way forward with strategies to rebuild the travel and tourism industry

Naveen Kundu: The situation leaves us with self-reliant domestic tourism and this will remain as our only hope, but unlike last time where we saw a V-shaped recovery, this time around it looks to be a more U-shaped recovery and this holds good for the domestic airlines and hotels segment. 

This is the time when we have to keep ourselves and our teams and our industry safe and fight the virus and beat the stress, nothing much that we can do other than keep ourselves and our hopes alive. 

However this an opportunity for us to come together as one industry, to learn together, to support each other, and work together. This is the time larger companies lead the way and help small and medium travel companies to stay alive and show the way to create and build a hybrid business model to sustain, thrive and succeed in times to come. 

Read more:#ReviveRebuild

#ReviveRebuild | Today’s Traveller initiative “Revive and Rebuild the Hospitality and Travel Industry” invites Mahesh Natarajan, COO, IHHR Hospitality Ananda Pvt Ltd to share insights on new challenges in the wake of the second Covid wave and mapping a strategic way forward …

Today’s Traveller: How do you assess the current situation?

Mahesh Natarajan: After a period of lockdown and reopening in August 2020, we went through some very difficult months which made all of 2020 incredibly challenging.

We started to see some positive movements in travel towards the latter part of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021 till March was definitely a period of positivity. Even though we had come nowhere near 2019 levels, we were at least able to sustain operations with a very good domestic response.

But the current situation has been a huge setback and a very significant blow to all in the travel and hospitality industry. The spread of Covid cases not only in the big cities but also in smaller towns in the second wave has been very detrimental to every aspect of the business, impacting not only customer travel but also staffing and Infrastructure.

Today’s Traveller: Were you prepared for a second Covid wave scenario and the likelihood of a further setback?

Mahesh Natarajan: The possibility of a second wave was always something that was expected. What was unanticipated was the sheer magnitude of the number of cases, the exponential infection factor, the variability in problematic symptoms and the degree of seriousness of cases that required hospitalization, and unfortunately the loss of so many lives.

At Ananda, keeping in mind that this was not going to be a short-term phase, we have been extremely stringent in following a much stronger Covid protocol right from when we reopened in August 2020.

This meant a combination of multiple initiatives – the first being that every single guest has to be tested Covid negative before entry into Ananda. All guest contact service team members are also tested and staying on the property thus creating a complete safety bubble.

We also consciously accepted only a very limited number of guests operating at less than 30% inventory at any point in time at Ananda. These initiatives were highly appreciated by all our clients.

The last week has been extremely challenging due to lockdowns in major source markets and a general sense of worry about the situation. We continue to advise clients on the complete safety that Ananda offers, and why this could be the perfect time for those who are able to retreat to a 100-acre destination like ours and live in complete harmony with nature, breathe fresh air, and build on their health and immunity.

Today’s Traveller: What new challenges are likely to take shape?

Mahesh Natarajan: The main challenge ahead is in breaking the chain of transmission and in reducing the severity of symptoms. For this, vaccination has to be one of the key strategies and we hope that everyone takes this seriously and gets vaccinated as soon as possible.

It requires at the local level, all the elements to work seamlessly, including timely supply and implementation through health services. The second challenge is in the ability to rapidly test, trace, and isolate.

Today not only in larger cities but also in smaller towns this is a huge challenge with test results taking anywhere from 4 or even more days. Unless we are able to rapidly test and isolate, breaking the transmission chain is going to be a daunting task.

Efforts must be made to innovate to bring about highly effective rapid testing. And now we enter the summer period which has traditionally been one where travel picks up within the domestic market; it is a critical time to get all these elements right.

Today’s Traveller: What is the way forward with strategies to rebuild the travel and hospitality industry?

Mahesh Natarajan: Vaccination needs to be a key part of the sustainability strategy. Travel and hospitality workers need to be guided to get their vaccinations urgently.

While the opening up of 18+ years as eligible for vaccination is an important step forward, supply issues seem Inevitable. It will require a consolidated effort from all parties concerned to enable this industry to get ready for the months to come.

All travel and hospitality players must agree to follow the most stringent protocols to keep both their clients as well as the staff safe. Only if everybody is careful then confidence in the travel industry will grow. Any weak links create mass concern and that impacts the whole industry.

In times like these, ancillary industries such as Insurance, which protect risk for both the travel industry as well as for clients, needs to step up and become more enabling and transparent.

Lockdowns and curfews can be temporary tools in the fight against Covid but responsible travel to destinations and hotels which limit numbers and follow strict protocol can be very safe options even compared to normal daily activities in cities. This needs to be communicated strongly by the travel and hospitality industry.

Read more:#ReviveRebuild

Today’s Traveller: How do you assess the current situation?

Veer Vijay Singh: The 2^nd wave of Covid has knocked us out very unexpectedly and day-by-day the situation is extremely volatile. 

In 2020, the Indian Hotel Industry lost 65% of its business revenues and the industry hopes of revival have now got shattered.  It has affected all the important parameters of ARR, Occupancies, RevPar, and profitability.

Others than the finances, the major concern has been the safety and the health of the stakeholders and more so the Hotel staff who are the frontline warriors during these tough times.

Today’s Traveller: Were you prepared for a second Covid wave scenario and the likelihood of a further setback?

Veer Vijay Singh: To be honest, the Indian Government and the industries were not prepared for the 2^nd wave – they should have been as it was evident by watching the Western countries where the 2^nd   wave had already played havoc.  The new mutant has spread much faster and has also affected the below 45 age group, which is a very large part of the population in India. 

The situation in India had started showing a very positive turn till Jan-Feb 2021 and hence, we let down our guard.  Maybe the large congregation of people at the Kumbh Mela or the Elections happening in various states like West Bengal, Kerala, Tamilnadu, and Assam or religious gatherings during Ramzan, etc have played a significant part.  The results are right in front of our eyes and have brought the health conditions of our country to its knees.

Today’s Traveller: What new challenges are likely to take shape?

Veer Vijay Singh: The biggest challenges are foreseen are as follows:

1. Shortage of trained Doctors and Nurses as all of them have been challenged in the last year due to continuous serving and taking care of the Covid patients in various Hospitals.
2. We have depleted business resources in the Hotel Industry which is further going to suffer as one cannot foresee the opening of foreign travel in the near future and the present fear is surely affecting the domestic clientele also.
3. Some cancellations are being once again seen due to curfews and government restrictions which have been once again imposed to restrict the spread of the virus.
4. Staff in the industry are once again going to be subject to a reduction in salaries or losing their jobs.  One can see the exodus of labour from the metro cities already taking place.

Today’s Traveller: The way forward with strategies to rebuild the travel and hospitality industry

Veer Vijay Singh: This topic on developing strategies have been discussed since 2020 but they surely need to be re-looked at as some of the situations this year are different than of 2020.  We need to re-strategize as follows:

Health & Safety

This is the key factory and needs to be emphasized as the spread of the 2^nd wave is far more deadly and has affected the younger generation.

The most critical action plan should be to get the nation vaccinated.  We have two Indian-made vaccines in place (Covishield & Covaxin) and the productions of these are not going to suffice a population of 138 crores. 

We need to get some more approved vaccinations from Russia, the US, and a few more in India which are of good quality and have passed statutory requirements and standards. These need to be approved and procured ASAP.  The vaccination drive should not only be opened up to private hospitals but also to large industries for taking care of their own staff so that the vaccine program is done smoothly and steadily.

Hygiene and Covid Protocols

We in India lack hygiene standards and this is a great opportunity for us to amend our habits and ensure that all Covid protocols are strictly adhered to even post vaccination by guests, staff, contractors, and all those who come in contact during operations in our Hotels.

Hospital Connect

Hoteliers have always been known for their PR and connect with their guests, bureaucrats, politicians, hospitals, schools, colleges, etc.  This is the time for the GM and HR to connect with Hospitals and in case of emergency they could get their guests and assure treatment and regular supplies of oxygen, plasma, medicines in case of emergencies.

Sensitivity Towards Our Staff

During these tough times, we need to have good connections with our associates as most of them have been under severe pressure by not only been asked to work in difficult circumstances in our Hotels but also deal with Covid positive customers. 

Some have lost jobs and got a cut in their salary and wages.  There have been unfortunate cases of many of them getting affected and some of them even losing their lives.  The management must be extremely sensitive to them during this difficult period.  The HR department must have a paramedic, covid preventive department started as it appears that this virus is not going away so easily and will continuously require attention in the years to come.

Government Assistance

Various Hotels and Airline bodies such as FAITH, FHRAI, HAI, TAAI, TOAI, etc need to keep trying with the Government to make them understand that this Industry is not only for the elitist but serves a great purpose for employment, foreign exchange earnings, hence we must get certain rebates on taxes, electricity tariff, better rates on loans and payment structure and finally industry status. 

The Government also needs to make a new plan for marketing India as a destination once the flights open but in the meanwhile strongly encourage domestic tourism once the situation is better.

Re-Strategize on Sales and Marketing and Finance Management

• Alternate segments of business need to be looked at such as :
• Home delivery
• Industrial catering
• Outdoor Restaurants
• Wellness business
• Utilization of laundries, etc.
• Cash is God and hence, all expenses to be postponed need to be looked at. This is also the opportune time for re-planning your staffing requirements and look at other fixed costs and challenges, the old age practices of profitability, food cost, staff ratio, etc.

One can only pray and hope that the 2^nd wave shall reach its peak by May and we will be in control, however, this will not give us the respite and time to relax and we will have to be fully prepared for the 3^rd wave.

The Covid Pandemic has taught us that health is most important not only to the aged but to each and every one of us.  Let us practice the 5 “P”s of health to build up our immune system:

1. Positivity
2. Physical wellbeing
3. Pranayama and breathing exercises
4. Proper eating
5. Prayers

Let us spend time with our families and we shall surely win this war against this virus if we stay positive and together.

Read More: #ReviveRebuild

Today’s Traveller: How do you assess the current situation?

Rishi Verma:  The year 2020 was a difficult year for all of us and especially so for the travel and tourism sector which bore the brunt of Covid-19. However, the beginning of 2021 looked promising – safety and hygiene continued to remain the topmost focus for travellers, but with the outbreak of the second wave of COVID 19, the environment once again has become ambiguous. We are hoping that with the vaccine now being rolled out to 18 years and above, the situation will hopefully get back to near normal.

As per our outlook, we believe that 2021 may again prove to be the year of road trips and travel bubble destinations Based on our recent booking trends, the destinations which are very high in demand are Goa, Coorg, Ooty, Munnar, Shimla, Manali in domestic circuit, whereas Srilanka and Dubai are preferred options for International or bubble destinations. 

Remote working, luxury staycations, pod travel to the concept of ‘bleisure’ combining business and leisure travel will remain to be key trends in 2021 in addition to other key trends.

Domestic travel with a preference for staycations is on the rise. For travellers, domestic travel will be key as safety and cleanliness will continue to be top priorities due to the rising cases. 

As per our latest travel trends, the preference for nearby places with private spaces has increased. Top trends among RCI members include offbeat places, like destinations that offer trekking, water sports, adventure activities and are in sync with nature. We feel pet-friendly properties in India are also popular.

Road trips are favoured and travellers are choosing road trips over flights as they choose a safer-perceived way to vacation. We can say that this trend will only continue to see an upward trajectory in the coming months.

Work from Anywhere is a recent phenomena and remote working from anywhere will continue to blur the lines between working and travelling in 2021. 

The work from home notion has created a huge demand in the market for dedicated workstations to simplify the work process without any hindrance from internal factors. We anticipate that as the offices remain shut for a long time, work from the resort will be the next emerging trend.

Micro Trips is on the way up.Let’s face it, not everyone in the world has the time, money, or know-how to plan an extended vacation. That’s why 2021 is the year to embrace Micro Trips, short yet experience-dense mini-vacations. 

Micro Trips are more work/vacation time-friendly, more budget-friendly, and more schedule-friendly, yet they provide the same cultural and mental benefits as longer vacations do. Though you may only be gone for 3 – 4 nights, short trips that provide stress relief, creative boosts, and cultural expansion will have people leaving their comfort zones regardless of where they are going.

Today’s Traveller: Were you prepared for a second COVID wave scenario and the likelihood of a further setback?

Rishi Verma: In 2021, our parent company’s name changed from Wyndham Destinations to Travel + Leisure Co to bring forth many and new innovative growth possibilities. We continue to seek ways to further enhance the products, solutions, and service to our member base. 

This alliance reflects the resilience of our business and our spirit of reinvention. Even as we faced unprecedented circumstances in the past year, we chose to build upon the strength of our core vacation ownership and exchange business to expand our presence in the broader leisure travel market.

Ahead of time, we also introduced RCI in its new avatar “The New Shape of Travel” which enables our members and affiliates to have access to the new RCI Travel service – allows subscribing members to book all their door-to-door travel needs in one place and benefit from exclusive pricing on hotels, flights, car rentals, cruises, destination activities. 

For our affiliate members, we adopted a very focused approach wherein we offer them the most competitive digital technology provided by ARN along with a new suite of services that enable custom travel and club solutions. Our affiliate partners and resorts have now migrated to making contactless check-in, pre-booking meals, providing additional sanitization, exclusive and family only entertainment solutions.

We have also introduced RCI Livestream that allows our affiliate partners to engage with their members and prospects, LIVE, from the safety of their home. It is a very interactive and informative tool. Since this is working well for us, we plan to explore virtual tours through RCI TV so members can be assured about their safety before travelling.

Today’s Traveller: What new challenges are likely to take shape?

Rishi Verma: We believe that the New Normal has brought a major shift and change in behaviour in travellers, safety plays a vital role in the choices they make. 

There will be a growing need for flexible travel options. The key is to monitor and analyse changing mindsets and emerging habits and adapt rapidly. Today, it is more important than ever, to be empathetic. Even though we are facing challenges, we are encouraged by the news on vaccines and believe that people will be able to travel soon.

Today’s Traveller: The way forward with strategies to rebuild the travel and hospitality industry

Rishi Verma: Trust is everything! Travellers will remain cautious and choose to holiday with brands they trust will keep their safety as the top-most priority. Brands that have proven themselves by going that extra mile for their members, will be preferred. 

Every member of RCI global family has been impacted by the challenges and yet, in the midst of it all, together we have found ways to stay connected, support one another, reinvent and keep the business operating. 

Some of the product innovations which assist our members enhance exchange protection, products wherein members can book a holiday on exchange and get a refund in event of cancellation due to unforeseen reason.

Our solutions like Radius search allows travellers and members to check RCI’s affiliated resorts within a radius of 600 Km from their location. A perfect solution for domestic and short weekend travel.

Read More: #ReviveRebuild