David Harris is CEO of the Ensemble Travel Group.
If a year ago someone had told us that we'd be about to experience a global pandemic that would bring the world -- and the travel industry -- to a grinding standstill for at least a full year, that some of our members would go months without booking a new trip or that we'd undergo as near a shutdown of society as this generation has ever seen, I don't think many of us would have replied that we have a plan for that.
So, as we approach the one year anniversary of the Covid-19 shutdown - with what will likely still be many more months before the restart of travel and a return to some kind of new normal - I wanted to reflect on the experience, what we've learned and how we can try to be as prepared as possible for the inevitable next crisis.
Be ready for anything and to execute a pivot quickly. One thing that became apparent in the early days of the pandemic was that this was a crisis unlike any other. It required companies large and small to quickly adapt and figure out logistics in real time. Companies that were flexible and willing to pivot quickly fared significantly better than those who didn't. This was particularly evident in the travel industry, where companies across all sectors that adapted to the situation by quickly relaxing booking and cancellation policies, introducing enhanced health and safety measures and communicating with their clients.
As a consortia, we knew our members were working literally around the clock to get their clients home and were navigating a flood of changing advisories and closures. We quickly realized that we needed to provide them with facts and information to help them get their jobs. Within a matter of a few days, we created a portal with links and information on all of the changes taking place. What we learned was that we must always be prepared to shift swiftly and to reallocate resources to adapt to the new conditions.
Establish relationships with banks and other professionals in the good times. Like everything else in a crisis or emergency, it's what you do before that will dictate the path of recovery. While most larger companies have longstanding relationships with teams of bankers and accountants, many travel advisors are small businesses that may not benefit from the same kind of access.
That made it even more challenging to understand and access the benefits of government programs, such as the Cares act in the U.S. Once travel restarts and regular business resumes, it would benefit those smaller organizations to connect with a local bank and ensure that they have contacts and a cadre of resources that will be thereto assist with their future success.
Support trade groups and participate in advocacy efforts. Although I dedicated an earlier Forum to this topic, I feel it's so important that it bears noting again that this is one of the most important things for any industry to do. We in the travel industry are very fortunate to have organizations such as ASTA in the U.S. and the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies working tirelessly on our behalf.
But, in the spirit of "it takes a village," it's imperative that every member of our community participates in these efforts. Whether it's engaging with elected representatives or connecting with local media to share the impact of the pandemic on local businesses such as travel agencies, it is critical that we as an industry speak with one voice and use our power and influence to ensure that any legislation or relief efforts being considered specifically include our industry.
To that end, I will continue to encourage our members as well as our colleagues to establish relationships with their representatives so that they fully understand how vital our industry is to the overall economy. It's not enough to pay a yearly membership fee and rely on others to do the heavy lifting. We must all take ownership of our role in supporting the industry.
Be prepared to make really difficult decisions. Executives and business owners of companies large and small are accustomed to making decisions that impact their companies and staffs on a regular basis. During a crisis, that is likely to increase drastically. But nothing is as difficult as putting employees on furlough or having to eliminate jobs of staff who have played key roles within the organization. That said, when faced with how to respond to a drastic and unprecedented reduction of revenue and how to preserve the long-term viability and sustainability of your company, those decisions need to be made. It will feel isolating and can take an emotional toll, despite knowing that it is what's best for the company's future and that not taking action will affect many more.
Communicate frequently and honestly. While everyone wants to be able to share positive, uplifting news, there are times when that is not always possible and trying to "spin" too much can impact your credibility and reputation long after the crisis has ended. Of course, offering only gloom and doom makes it difficult to rally your team, but I believe that providing honest and accurate information sets a tone of trust and will actually lead to a stronger relationship with key stakeholders.
While some of the news we shared was more welcome than other, we felt it was important not to sugarcoat the situation and to provide an honest and open status of what was happening.
On the brighter side, what is very obvious is that while travel is paused, it has not vanished, and especially for leisure travel, virtually all indicators are that it will rebound as soon as travel restrictions are addressed by governments worldwide. So let's ensure we are prepared!
Don't leave your ethics at the door. Your competitors are struggling as much as you are, but a crisis is not an excuse to leave your ethics at the door. To be blunt, a crisis is no excuse to use less than ethical tactics to lure clients from your competition. Our industry is a very small world, and people have long memories. A better strategy is to come together and speak with one voice to benefit the industry as a whole so that everyone can be successful.
While we in the travel industry will continue to feel the impact of this global crisis for quite some time, I think we must also take this time to reflect on what happened, how we managed and how we can learn from the experience to be prepared for the next one that we know will come even if we don't know when.
Moving forward knowing what we know now. For clarity, it is important for us to reiterate that our strategy is to take all the necessary and sometimes difficult steps to ensure our survival the same as we expect is the goal of anyone in business.
From a vision perspective, we will continue to improve our tradition of delivering economies of scale and scope through a wide range of high value, essential travel agency programs and services with meaningful return on investment to our members. We are dedicated to assisting our travel agency distribution channel partners with improving their profitability through our wide range of very strong programs from technology and training to marketing and events with, of course, a very strong and capable stable of highly credible, contributing supplier partners.