‘Invest In Training, Reap Benefits In The Future’

With the outbreak of Covid-19 impacting the everyday lives of billions of people around the world, this is an incredibly difficult time for us all. From a hospitality perspective, our industry faces the biggest challenge in its history. InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) continues to respond quickly and thoughtfully, ensuring that we do the right thing for our guests, hotels and owners, for our colleagues and IHG, and for the many local communities of which we’re proud to be a part. Nobody knows when this crisis will be behind us, but we are focused on doing everything we can to emerge from this period in the strongest possible position and able to adjust to the new normal whenever the time comes.

It’s important for a business such as IHG to be innovative in our thinking and quick to adapt – if we can do this, then we’ll be well positioned to meet the demands of guests in the future. If we’re focused on every aspect of making the customer journey a great and safe experience, people will get back on planes and into cars and they’ll come and stay with us. As local restrictions across markets are lifted or eased, domestic tourism is expected to come back first. Once the situation stabilises further, borders are opened and consumer confidence improves, the industry is also expecting to see signs of recovery in international tourism. We’ll be ready for all of these stages of recovery, whenever and however they take shape.

Disruptions Due To COVID-19

Making a positive impact on the thousands of communities our hotels and offices are a part of around the world means so much to everyone at IHG, and we know that our care and support has never been needed more than it is right now. We are working with governments and local authorities to provide accommodation for those who need it most, such as frontline medical workers and vulnerable members of society. We also have a series of long-term charity partnerships, and we’re proud to be supporting these humanitarian aid partners in their vital work.

The way people travel will change as we emerge out of this crisis and it will be critical for the industry to adapt to new practices which give customers confidence that their health and wellbeing are top priority. From an operations standpoint, we will promote enhanced health and safety standards in all of our hotels, in line with guidance from global bodies and local public health authorities. We will not only focus on cleanliness, but also facilitating social distancing, new F&B protocols and the use of technology to minimise contact. It’s also vital that guests have full confidence in their ability to have a safe and enjoyable stay with us, so we will be ensuring that communication to them, before and during their visit, is an absolute priority.

Reopening And Recovery Plans

We know that market by market, we will come through this challenge together, and while the timing for every individual hotel will differ we will be there when the moment is right to help shape reopening and recovery plans. Support will come across the board to ensure that owners and their hotel teams have the strong foundation they need to re-open their doors and grow as the market around them adjusts to a new normal. We will ensure they have wide-ranging operational and commercial guidance and toolkits, along with support through tactical marketing and brand campaigns aimed at driving demand.

More so than ever, the health and wellbeing of our guests is of paramount importance, and we’re making sure that our hotel teams have everything they need to keep everyone, including themselves, safe. Our hotels have all been provided with best practice guidelines, which have been supplemented with additional Covid-19 cleanliness-specific guidance, training and information from global bodies and local authorities, consistent with our own very high standards. We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation closely and adapt our hygiene and safety practices as the situation evolves.

Recovery Will Come

As the situation stabilises in markets across the globe, local restrictions are anticipated to be eased first, with domestic tourism expected to be the first to recover. We are already seeing very early signs of this in China, and this appears to be positive news for India as the tourism sector in the country is primarily driven by the domestic market, which has remained a key growth area for our business there.

Any form of travel, whether business or leisure, has become a fundamental part of our lives. From visiting friends and family to strengthening business relationships across borders, we are confident that people will start to travel again for many reasons when it’s safe to do so.

We are optimistic about the future of the MICE and weddings industries in India. Weddings are, of course, momentous occasions for families and friends in the Indian culture and, when it is safe to do so, we expect people to start celebrating, and in the same large numbers, as they always have. However, it’s important to reiterate that, as with all areas of tourism and hospitality, there will be a need to do things differently in the future and ensure new levels of health and safety are met when considering MICE, weddings and any other bookings.

My advice is to use this time wisely and spend this time focusing on recovery as well as on addressing any gaps or weaker areas of knowledge within your teams. Investing in training now will help you reap the benefits in the future, when you may have less time to prioritise such things. If you invest in this now, you will be well set for the recovery phase and your teams will be fully equipped to support your business. This is a unique and very challenging situation and it is also very important that people maintain their health and a positive mindset as much as possible. We should all try and remember the value of taking regular breaks and being mindful of physical and mental wellbeing.

Everyone at IHG passionately believes that this world is meant to be explored and what we need to keep top of mind is that recovery will come. It may come in phases and at differing pace, but each market will move into recovery and when the time comes, we’ll be ready to welcome everyone through our doors once more.