How the hotel industry is reinventing itself in the pandemic to meet the new demands of guests

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“If you can’t make money, you have to save money.' How hotels and inns are adapting to life during COVID:

This article is part of a series tracking the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on major businesses, and will be updated.

“Pre-COVID, all these tech features were offensive in nature,” Perez-Alvarado said. “They’re defensive now. You better get on it.”But eventually, that might change, as people will likely start refocusing on convenience, if they haven’t already. As travel restrictions and lockdown measures spread across the globe, Hilton was forced to play defense, by temporarily closing hotels, furloughing employees, cutting salaries and other costs, and borrowing money to provide some financial breathing room.

“Money was coming in one way before, [and] I realized it can’t come in that way anymore,” Gallagher said. “I had to duck and roll.” “Every crisis has an opportunity, if you’re able to see it when it happens,” Gallagher said. “Try to keep your eyes open ... [asking] how am I going to pivot?” — Rebecca Gallagher, Historic Smithton Inn Although revenue was still much less than pre-pandemic levels, Gallagher said it was “psychologically awesome” because, by acting quickly, she was able to create new ways to make money.

Two electric-vehicle chargers are now available, one an 80-amp Tesla TSLA, +3.97% Supercharger and the other a 32-amp Clipper Creek universal charger, free of charge to guests. With the new room upgrades, she can even consider marketing to guests wanting to work for a day, but not stay the night. “Because of the situation, the consumer’s voice is louder and easier to hear, and we’re forced to react to it,” Bay said.

“The public wanted many of these things for many years, but the hotel industry was slow to adopt them,” he said. “The old days of checking in at the front desk and ringing the bell are kind of nostalgic.” The good thing was that other area businesses quickly refocused on the same thing. So rather than adopt an “island mentality,” the community came together to set up a lodging task force, said Bay.

“More than ever, it’s about focusing on the basics,” said Phil Cordell, global head of lifestyle brands and new brand development at Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. “What does the guest want?” Next is to think of new ways to demonstrate hospitality, as the traditional methods may no longer work in the current environment, given that a global hotel brand’s bread and butter — business travel and events — may never return to pre-pandemic levels with the proliferation of videoconferencing and growth in working from home.

“They’re going to have to innovate their programs to attract customers,” Covello said. “They’re removing restrictions, removing cancellations.”

 

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