Underscoring the impact of COVID-19 crisis on hospitality sector, William François, Lecturer, EHL (Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne) discussed the future path for ‘Bleisure’ segment.

This past year has unequivocally demonstrated the importance for companies to be imbedded in the local and international fabric. All industries have suffered from the crisis, but hospitality, which shares its clientele between business and leisure segments, has been particularly hard hit.

The impact of the crisis?

Urban hospitality is vast and varied, catering to a wide range of individuals — when they’re authorized to do so — which hasn’t been the case in the last 12 months, and yet questions loom on the horizon of a potential recovery. The crisis has undeniably changed our behavior. Will guests who are used to quick trips ever return?

Nothing can be taken for granted, and this should spur us to rethink our approach to city hotels, and their ecosystems.

Where are a few bright spots?

               Digitalization

Of course, there is no avoiding the question of digitalization, which has been a part of our daily lives in recent years, and has us asking the question: What is the proper balance between Human and Digital? The goal is clearly not to replace the human factor with robotics, despite the long-term profitability prospects, but clearly to use the digital tools we have at our disposal to strengthen the human factor, and offer an experience to our guests that generates emotions.

We’ve never had so much data about our clients at our fingertips and yet we hesitate to use it. Why not activate this dormant information to better customize interaction with our clients, and bolster—in the process—our know-how and hospitality at all levels?

               Design

Why should design become more important now than before the crisis?

This assertion is backed by tourist forecasts that seem to point in the direction of less intense travel volumes, but for longer stays, which means that the seduction factor and hotels’ ease-of-use will be important criteria for prospective guests.

However, traditional hotels should not be bulldozed to make way for new modern buildings. The charm of old hotels and inns should be safeguarded. Indeed, we have the opportunity to tap into multiple generations that have different wants and needs depending on the occasions.

Instead, an update could be in store, with an eye on capitalizing on the strengths of your design, which is so important to first impressions, and facilitate the client experience of your establishment’s interior. A wide variety of amenities are available that make a hotel room more functional, personalized and Instagram-ready. Indeed our guests are better informed than ever and  their needs continue to change at warp speed. 

Services 

Up until now, we’ve been used to having hotels from different categories with services of varying degrees of sophistication, that are tailored to our own vision. This business model seems increasingly untenable, in a world where every company must be profitable. In response to this issue, certain hotels have considered closing, or transforming their establishment into rental apartments but there is another way: Go 'hybrid.'

Just like cars, the hybrid approach could be applied to hotels by:

• Selling rooms, which is our core business, for part of our activity
• Using some rooms for pop-up stores, based on themes such as offering visibility to local shops, and enhancing one’s own visibility with services that change on a regular basis.
• Creating ‘co-officing’, a.k.a. the next ‘co-working’, by offering clients real work spaces where they can host meetings with their own clients while retaining flexibility (daily, weekly, monthly rentals)
• Developing ‘co-living’ solutions, as we should be aware that one facet of hotel demand that is expected to grow is the 'long stay' segment…so why not set aside a few rooms for longer stays and use relevant rental platforms specialized in this burgeoning market?

These ideas could give our operations a degree of flexibility, while existing alongside pre-existing hotel services such as housekeeping and room service among others.

The importance of the ecosystem

This crisis has tested our commitment to hospitality, but I firmly believe in the capacity of hoteliers to harness their creativity to stare down even the most complex periods. It may be hard to believe, but this crisis could help us transform our profession and lead it into the future. For once, we actually have the time to sit down and rethink what we’re doing, our qualities and the areas in which we can improve.

Nevertheless, hoteliers need to bear in mind that hospitality is part of a tourism ecosystem and all players must get on board with these changes, especially considering the economic importance of tourism in many areas of the world.

Destinations can accompany hoteliers to adapt their offer to the ‘Bleisure’ segment, and integrate local players into the overhaul of their offer.