Once the world emerges from pandemic mode, it's clear that the hospitality experience will have fundamentally changed. From stringent cleaning protocols to social distancing measures, hotels and restaurants are scrambling to adapt to a new business landscape. Hotels editor Christina Jelski recently spoke with Kate Walsh, dean of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University, to get her take on how hospitality is having to reshape itself in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis.
Kate Walsh
Q: What is the most important thing for any hotel or restaurant to focus on right now?
A: Service is safety right now. The hospitality industry is working so hard to convey trust to the traveler, to say that you can come stay in our hotel or eat at our restaurant, and your health is our priority. The industry is putting a lot of thought into everything, whether it's having one guest in an elevator at a time or using a mobile app to have a touchless experience, so you're not touching the remote or heating system or having to check in or out of your hotel in person. They're talking about removing amenities from rooms, like the minibar or robes or anything that might feel contaminated, and then putting in a mask and hand sanitizer as your amenity instead. A lot of it is just retraining. We recently had a webinar, and [a representative] from Union Square Hospitality Group said that a couple months ago, you wouldn't imagine taking a disinfectant wipe and using it to wipe down a bar in front of customers. They'd think, "Ugh, chemicals." Now, it'll be so incredibly important to have a bartender wiping down that bar in front of customers in order to assure them that it's fully sanitized.
Q: Are hoteliers and restaurateurs worried about social distancing protocols marring the overall hospitality experience?
A: Hospitality is a feeling, the restaurant experience is a feeling, and it's very much a relationship-driven model. It's personalized, and it's personalized with human contact. It's about welcoming someone back and shaking someone's hand and making them feel cared for. And as you talk about social distancing, disconnecting people and isolating them in their hotels so they don't feel exposed, it's important to also think about what you can do to convey that sense of trust and care that still connects people emotionally. For example, one of my advisory board members runs some restaurants in New York City, and he said that he's looking into getting clear face masks, so you can see a server talk and see their face through the mask. It's all about that filling in that connection piece.
Q: Are there other ways you think hotels in particular can get creative when it comes to dealing with guest concerns surrounding Covid-19?
A: I think the industry has to think about this in terms of creating new opportunities and services. [Some hoteliers] are talking about keeping fitness centers locked and then offering individual keycard access, so that you're the only one who has access to it when it's your designated time. And that's a new service that could actually be nice for, say, female travelers who may feel more secure. Or, because we don't anticipate conventions coming back anytime soon, is there an opportunity to use a completely sanitized, secure meeting room for the local community in a way that's appealing? Or how can you use your green space around your hotels, which seems to be important to many of us right now? We have to consider a new way of operating. I think it's going to open up people's creativity and innovation.
Q: Once the Covid-19 crisis is in our rearview mirror, do you think any of the protocols or systems hotels have so carefully developed will stick around?
A: Hopefully, a year from now, we'll be in an entirely different place, and we'll all be easing up on these restrictions. Yet, I think this idea around a completely sanitized room or hotel won't go away, nor should it. I mean, we've always been focused on cleanliness, but it's a nice assurance to know it's taken a step further.