Digital Marketing
Hospitality, Crisis and Promise

Hospitality, Crisis and Promise

Such ruin. Such devastation. Such uncertainty. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the present, shattered futures and claimed lives. In a couple of months, life as we know it has been turned upside down. There is much to despair about in this shock to our previously well-constructed world. Searching for hope can seem unattainable, especially for those whose careers, livelihoods and businesses have been severely damaged.

I am especially sorry for what is happening to the hotel industry. Restaurants, hotels, resorts, amusement parks, theaters, concerts, sporting events and the like are the places we go to refresh and relax enjoying time with friends and family, interacting with others and receiving warm treatment from the attentive staff. Hospitality is, in many ways, one of the most humane career choices. This is where your worth is largely determined by how well you interact with others and how good you make them feel. Being socially distant is aversive to hospitality. It’s like trying to paint landscapes with only two colors. The great experience is catastrophically shortened.

Hospitality was going to be the great savior of a world that was becoming more and more technical, remote and isolated. In essence, hospitality resisted the forces of automation and outsourcing that transformed so many other lines of work. It benefited from an economy relatively rich in disposable income. This industry has truly made the world a better place to live. And now we wonder, what happens to all of us if our ability to be social beings is painfully curtailed in the long run?

In the US, we are unlikely to see the government step in to support hospitality for more than several months. Projections point to the second half of 2021 before an effective and widely distributed vaccine is deployed. Therefore, social distancing is expected to be one of the main tactics we have to mitigate outbreaks during our slow build-up of herd immunity. Then there is the very real fear people have of blending in like before. Think about the questions we might have while we are in crowds: Who of these people is asymptomatic and carries the virus? Why is that person coughing? Is it okay to hug or shake hands with this friend? How can I keep my glasses from fogging up when I wear this damn mask? Many can and probably will choose to stay home.

There are no easy answers or quick fixes to hospitality. That said, two general ideas come to mind that may point to some kind of solution for the future of those whose hospitality jobs are evaporating.

This is a time for hospitality professionals to reflect on their skills and the value they bring to the public. In particular, take inventory of your commitments to people who energize your energy and bring you deep satisfaction. Then think of other more employable areas where these talents can be expressed. For example, health care-related services benefit from a workforce rich in soft hospital skills infused with those of providers of technical expertise. Sales and customer services are also enhanced by those who can provide personal, attentive, and solution-oriented care and advice. Think about it. There are many fields where a hospitable mindset and presentation can find a home.

Second, now is the time for the entrepreneurs, innovators, resourceful and resourceful among us to design and develop novel ways of offering hospitality contributions that have not been tried before. The pent-up public demand is certainly there. Necessity is still the mother of invention. We were pleasantly surprised that creative hospitality professionals are discovering new and refreshing ways to build community, strengthen social interaction, and give us a break from these stressful times, all while maintaining safe and prudent distancing measures.

Times were dark in the economy ten years ago and they are even darker now. But if we’re lucky, it may be our friends in hospitality who can shine a light when we all need it most.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *