Beyond the Unlock

In June, Unlock 1.0 permitted businesses including hotels to reopen in a phased manner. Since then two more Unlocks have further opened up the hospitality sector. Let’s check out how the Unlocks worked for the hotel sector.

- Steena Joy

The world as we knew it before COVID-19 has forever changed. It has taught the travel and tourism industry to reinvent their working SOPs and rethink the strategy to just stay afloat. The resilient hotel industry is now faced with changes in consumer travel patterns and behaviour and have to accordingly work to include these in their operational strategies.

Gaurav Sinha, Director of Operations, JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru says, “A positive outlook towards business has made us look beyond the conventional way of opportunity. We are seeing development in business – social events and staycations as major contributors. M!CE will take longer than expected and uncertainty of travel can continue. For large form of events we have seen some possible light with enquiries for Q4 of 2021.”

Speaking about the challenges, Sinha adds, “Business continuity is a severe challenge. Our first effort is to gradually sustain business and employment of our people. The company is taking all possible measures to hold on to talent and their well-being while balancing the business for stakeholders. We still have a long way to go. However, the lockdown has certainly opened a new way of looking at business – controlling the operating cost while sustaining the longevity of business.”