…is a conversational topic being discussed by many over the last three months, and certainly on the forefront of my mind with crisis management and organising the erratic changing dynamics this Pandemic brought on many tourism sectors.
My outlook on life is that where there is a challenge, there must be an opportunity, and certainly learning from it.
We experience this incredible evolutionary step, which is connected with confusion, emotional turmoil and changes to the status quo. Hospitality was never before forced to take a 360 degree view of current practices. It grew gradually, and one may argue at times lacked behind other industries. It certainly had innovative ideas, but at its core it remained the same.
Post-COVID – when will that even be? Should we not rather refer to as post-Global Lock-Down? With the globe being impacted in waves, some were able to prepare better than others, and could learn from adopted practices.
Overall – I strongly feel we are entering the age of true care. It has been a trend to talk about company philosophy and cultures, where one cared about the environment, its people, the guests, the suppliers, the communities… and of course, there were and are true idealistic businesses out there who inspire and have been at the forefront of these practice for years.
But – hospitality has been in decline for quite some time in the eye of the new generations – seen as long, unsociable hours, low pay – the profit margins been shrinking with overall costs rising.
So – Post-COVID is a real game-changer. It lets us all come closer together – in full transparency and relief to be returning to business. Albeit we are in the same storm, we have to recognise we are not necessarily in the same boat. And I feel – we are much more alert and sensibilized to that now.
We coherently listen to new idea, we have an open mind – we have to accept the status quo – in order to survive (literally) , we have to stick to the rules. Not by choice, but out of responsibility towards our society and for our children. This makes it for a fabulous breeding ground – nurturing and accepting different view points, and to a certain extend accepting to experiment. No one has found the perfect answer yet – and some have come up with what feels like the closest thing to the real deal.
It is exhilarating – and exhausting – learning new things, and at the same time having to juggle all other life changing elements – but in hospitality – like in no other industry, all of those come together.
Our guests will share their stories, and literally trust us with their lives. They always have in some way, when they rested peacefully at night under the watchful eye of our Night teams, enjoying the food our restaurants made, playing in our pools – I could go on….But it was not as critical and conscious as now.
And lets not forget one important key factor – hospitality represents fun, escapism, socialising and culture. It is the one area no matter where one is on Earth, it is the same. And with this great privilege – Hospitality Post-COVID is returning stronger, more resilient and certainly ready to enthuse the next generation of hoteliers and restaurateurs. We are catching up fast on new technology, which not long ago seemed novel. We join the roots with the future – and hospitality is living proof that everything is possible.
An industry I would choose to work for any day – again and again.