Acting with Responsibility and Purpose
As the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 hit India, it created unprecedented pressure on country’s healthcare infrastructure. Thousands of people have been affected by this new wave. At IHG Hotels & Resorts, we continued navigating through these new complex challenges with the same thoughtful approach we have applied throughout the pandemic. Our priority is to ensure that we provide the best possible support to our guests, hotels, owners, our colleagues as well as local communities.
As the crisis escalated, we provided aid to our NGO partners, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and Care International, who worked on the ground to provide medical services, infrastructure and vaccinations. In addition, our IHG Rewards members were able to donate their earned loyalty points to these partners, which were then converted into cash donations.
We stood in solidarity with our colleagues, their families, and our communities. Many IHG hotels in India worked together with the government and local authorities towards multiple relief and recovery initiatives.
During these distressing times, we witnessed the resilience and determination of many people who came together, leaving behind examples of heroism and the generosity. Many of our colleagues at IHG too went beyond the call of duty to care for our guests, for each other, and their community. There are many stories of courage to tell, such as a female team member from the security department at one of our hotels in Delhi who compassionately volunteered to switch to housekeeping, to help those who were ailing. Some of our chefs went through multiple trainings to understand the food requirements of the patients to create well thought-out meal plans with immunity booster ingredients that helped them recover better. Our teams worked relentlessly to support many long staying international guests so that they can have access to local medical facilities. All colleagues also came together to support each other and their families through personal challenges during this very difficult time.
We are incredibly proud of our colleagues - they have truly illustrated IHG’s culture of delivering ‘True Hospitality for Good’, every day.
To offer assistance to our colleagues during these extremely challenging personal and professional circumstances, we facilitated multiple support groups , webinars focused on wellbeing, counselling services, and renewed training on Covid-19 safety and hygiene protocols. We also had a number of measures put in place to provide support to those who were directly impacted by the crisis.
As a business, we believe that recovery may come at differing pace, but it is acting with responsibility and purpose that will win the trust of our guests, colleagues and communities.
