Something I heard at the fall conference of the Hospitality Asset Managers Association recently is stuck in my head.
During a panel about design and procurement and how those things have changed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ryan Schommer, director for The Gettys Group, said features like HVAC systems that measure air quality and ultraviolet lights designed to kill bacteria are no longer the norm in hotel projects.
That alone isn't all that surprising. At the depths of 2020, hoteliers had no idea what was ahead of them and had no certainty over when or if guests would feel safe in hotels again. They naturally scrambled to find changes they could make to give at least the appearance of greater safety and cleanliness, sometimes resorting to impractical or expensive solutions.
We always knew not every change made at that period would stick forever.
But what's interesting to me is there hasn't been the same level of fervor for getting rid of the changes that came down on the side of cost-saving. Hoteliers seemingly have had to be dragged kicking and screaming away from the idea of making daily housekeeping strictly opt-in, insisting it's exactly what guests want even as they complained about the lack of service.
The hotel industry can't just have it one way. Everyone needs to be thoughtful about the lessons learned from the past two and a half years — particularly with the threat of a recession on the horizon — and not just use the real challenges as an excuse to be cheapskates.
Please do not mistake this for a defense of those high-cost changes, either. I'm definitely not in the pocket of Big UV.
But just as everyone expected in mid-2020, the pandemic has forever changed the way people view travel and accommodations, and the hoteliers who will be the most successful in the next decade and beyond are those who are most realistic about what those changes are and how to respond to them. Some of those changes will save you money. Others will cost you, and it may require spending on things not regarded as valuable back in 2019.
It would be a real shame if hoteliers collectively let this moment pass by without learning some valuable lessons. Those longing to go back to the glory days prior to the spread of COVID-19 often forget to mention — which Hilton President and CEO Chris Nassetta smartly did during his company's most recent earnings call — that 2019 wasn't so great in a lot of ways. The industry was stuck in the mud of a low-growth environment even as it set record highs in nominal performance.
The pain of the past few years has been quickly followed by high growth from an admittedly low base, but with the potential for continued high growth even as the industry at large pushes past the hurdle of 2019 performance levels.
While no hotelier is out there rooting for a potential recession — well, maybe some are since there are crazy people everywhere — it would have the benefit of showcasing those out there who have learned the right lessons from recent history.
Let me know what you think on Twitter, LinkedIn or via email.
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