Recently I've had some friends ask what I'm up to at work here at Hotel News Now and what it is that draws me to the hotel industry.
My answer every time is how kind, resilient and people-driven hoteliers are.
The definition of hospitality is "the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers." Concord Hospitality even spells out its core values on its website: "delivering quality, living integrity, supporting community and growing profitability."
In my lifetime, I've seen these characteristics shine through over and over through downturns, natural disasters, a pandemic and, now, a war.
Since the war in Ukraine unfolded in late February, I've seen various ways the hotel industry has been donating time, resources, energy and money to assist the displaced. And that truly cannot go unnoticed. We've included some of these efforts in our daily 5 Things To Know roundups but this needs more spotlight.
Here's a look at some.
San Francisco-based short-term rental company Airbnb announced just a few days after the invasion took place that it will house up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees across Poland, Romania, Germany and Hungary at no cost to the displaced.
Some people beyond the hotel industry have even found a way to use Airbnb as a vehicle to get money to Ukrainians via booking immediate Airbnb stays but not actually staying in the rentals. So far, these bookings have generated nearly $2 million. One Ukrainian Airbnb host told NPR, "These days we do not have any income. We do not have any right to ask our country to help us, because all the country's resources are for the war and for the victory."
Chef José Andrés, who has several hotel restaurants and is the founder of nonprofit World Central Kitchen, decided to take a boots-on-the-ground approach by setting up mobile kitchens at the Ukraine-Poland border to feed refugees.
Johnny Chandler, operator of the Trinity Hotel and the Balzano Family Vineyard in Carlsbad, New Mexico, told a local news outlet all money from items purchased from the vineyard and hotel restaurant on Saturday was donated to World Central Kitchen.
Even hotels that were financially battered by the pandemic opened up their doors. The Hotel Aurora in Romania, which is about 30 minutes from the Ukrainian border, welcomed women and children who were fleeing.
Then there's #HospitalityHelps, an initiative spearheaded by PKF Hospitality Global CEO Michael Widmann. Through support of external volunteers, #HospitalityHelps is dedicated to lending assistance to families in Ukraine who are on the run and in need of overnight accommodations.
While many feel-good efforts have emerged, there have also been harrowing moments and desperate pleas. HNN's Terence Baker reported the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Hotel & Resort Association and State Agency for Tourism Department of Ukraine sent a letter to global hotel companies with the largest room counts in Russia that strongly urged them to exit Russia.
"We are bitterly disappointed that almost all prominent hotel companies have only made token statements about their operations in Russia. We consider the declaration to suspend new hotel development in Russia as an empty and cynical gesture since, with the withdrawal of international financing, no pipeline hotels can be completed in any case without [Vladimir] Putin’s oligarch’s money," the letter reads.
No matter how much we are told to leave our emotions at the door and not let it impede business decisions, I believe empathy is needed not only in times like this but in everyday operations.
To me, that's what sets the hospitality industry apart from others.
I ask you, hoteliers, to continue being the kind, resilient and people-driven humans that keep me excited to write about this industry. I ask you to start your days off by being thankful for the hard-working staff that maintain your hotels. I ask that you lead with passion and do all that you can to make a change.
If your company's core values don't include these principles, I encourage you to group-think with your colleagues and form a new mission statement.
To help provide support and relief for those fleeing Ukraine, here are a few organizations to consider: Global Giving, Save the Children and World Central Kitchen.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concern.