Evidently, a large proportion of hotels in Brazil and around the world were impacted by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, both due to social isolation, due to quarantine, and the drop in revenue and bookings and the consequent market slowdown.

However, the pandemic has highlighted in practice some points of relevance for hotel management.

In this post, we will deal with 6 of them. We hope that at the end of reading you will have insights to reformulate strategies so that your hotel can come back even stronger!

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6 important lessons from the pandemic for the hospitality industry

At the same time that the coronavirus pandemic acted as a precursor to several trends in hospitality, she also left important lessons for hotel managers and recognizing them is extremely important for those who want to stay active during and after this period.

Therefore, see below what these lessons are and how they could impact the actions you will take in your hotel from now on:

Lesson #1: Have stricter hygiene policies 

With the pandemic, the hygiene agenda and food services changed levels. If before this was a delicate issue, today it is more fragile than ever and the hotel that is already designing new action plans, looking for the best alternatives for the next period, will be able to remain in the market in a competitive manner.

Services such as check-in, check-out and the menu itself will not be the same in the coming years. The handling and preparation of food and common dining environments will receive a greater level of importance, which is why hoteliers must be extremely attentive.

To find out which main hygiene policies should be implemented in your hotel after resumption, visit our article About the subject.

Lesson #2: Have a plan

Planning is essential for more efficient hotel management.

With it, it is possible to set goals, define which paths will be taken to reach a certain objective and establish contingency plans.

And look, it's not about size, even if hotel chains have some advantage, the macro vision of the manager of a small hotel will determine how he will position himself in a time of crisis.

Lesson no. 3: Have more flexibility in processes

If you followed our article about the “new normal” of the hotel industry after cornavirus, you already know that this is one of the main projections of this period.

This means that, at this time, hotels must avoid restrictive and non-refundable rules for rescheduling and canceling reservations. Otherwise, reservations will take longer to arrive, in addition to affecting your relationship with the guest.

Lesson #4: Manage risk

Managing risks in times of crisis is a precautionary measure to not let the scenario deteriorate further.

The first point of risk management consists of identifying which issues may threaten the hotel.

This is a way of anticipating possible problems and thinking about the business with more security, but always considering the hotel's own scenario.

Lesson no. 5: Adaptation is a matter of survival 

It is countless, the hotels that are dealing and will deal better with the effects of the pandemic are those that had the resourcefulness to adapt quickly.

That's why we emphasize the importance of taking advantage of this moment to review your strategies and look for opportunities to continue improving your service in order to keep your activities running.

With creativity and willpower, you can turn things around in critical moments and reinvent yourself.

Lesson no. 6: Use technology as your ally

Although many hoteliers are still able to use “notebooks”, Excel spreadsheets and online diaries, we know that there are technological tools that help make hotel processes much more efficient and profitable.

The pandemic has accelerated the trend towards using digital enablers in business processes, making it clear that it can improve our business by generating more control over operations anywhere where the professionals are.

For hotels, the good news is that there are already solutions on the market that facilitate management in times of pandemic and with great features.

Examples are online check-in and automated payment available on the market.

This scenario also ended up inspiring Omnibees, which pays attention to the lessons of the pandemic launched more features who serve and assist managers and hotels. See how our measures can help you come out of this moment even stronger!

Source: Omnibees Blog