DUAL BENEFIT

Repurposing their properties as quarantine centers helped ibis hotels maintain business continuity while supporting local communities

- NISHA SHUKLA

In May last year, the ibis’ India team decided to start working with state governments and local healthcare teams to make its accommodation services available to those most in need. As the world came together to fight the pandemic, the brand began sheltering front-line healthcare professionals as well as travellers required to go into quarantine in addition to providing food and medical supplies to policemen on duty and feeding the needy.

Sylvain Laroche, Director of Operations, ibis, and ibis Styles, India explained that this was a natural reaction to unprecedented times impacting the entire country. As a hospitality brand that prioritizes the safety and wellbeing of its guests and employees, it wanted to do everything it could to support those who needed it. What was even more encouraging was that many local team members volunteered for these initiatives while maintaining strict safety and hygiene standards.

How did the suspension of international flights and imposition of lockdowns impact your business?

Since most of our hotels are located centrally, they had a large section of international guests coming in. The restriction on international travel severely impacted this segment. Nevertheless, India has a strong domestic base that was a key demand generator last year. We hope this trend continues after the state-based lockdown restrictions are lifted.

Like most businesses, hospitality was also recovering from the effects of the first wave when the second wave adversely hit us. There has been a significant drop in business and it will take some time to recover.