Covid NEWS | HAI appeals to PM to extend help for the hospitality sector

HAI, in its appeal, highlighted that more than 40% of hotels have shut or are on the brink of closure and 70% of overall jobs are now in danger directly or indirectly.

Hotel Association of India (HAI) has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for immediate intervention to provide relief to the hospitality industry in five key areas.

The key areas are one-time settlement of loans and extension of loan moratoriums till September 2021, waiver of all statutory liabilities at Centre, state, and municipal levels for the pandemic period, stimulus package subsidising of salaries of hotel employees, and to bring hospitality to the concurrent list of the Constitution.

HAI, in its appeal, highlighted that more than 40% of hotels have shut or are on the brink of closure and 70% of overall jobs are now in danger directly or indirectly.

In its representation to PM, HAI has strongly urged the government to consider the one-time settlement of loans and extension of loan moratoriums till September 2021, pointing out that the increasing loan burden at a time of almost non-existent income may serve only to increase the NPAs of banks and moratorium will provide a breathing space to the already crippling industry.

HAI, therefore, has requested the PM to offer a stimulus package-subsidizing of salaries of hotel employees by 50% from April 2021-March 2022 as is being done by many countries as a part of their economic recovery programmes.

While lauding the government’s effort to promote domestic tourism the industry body also stressed the fact that expansion of domestic tourism will require the creation of suitable accommodation to meet the incremental demand.

The Indian hospitality sector has a critical role to play in the post-pandemic economic revival and has been announced as the fourth pillar of the Indian economy. HAI urged for the PM's bold intervention and directions for implementation of the suggestions to save the Industry jobs and the lives and livelihoods of the citizens employed in hotels and to enable the industry to get on its feet so that it can make its contribution to the national economy added HAI.

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Covid NEWS | OYO to show vaccination status of hotel staff on app

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

In the wake of the second wave of the pandemic in India, OYO has rolled out VaccinAid, a vaccine visibility initiative to drive awareness and social reinforcement among small and medium hotels and homes to get vaccinated against Covid-19. OYO also believes that vaccine visibility will be a key factor to build trust and confidence among consumers when they are ready to travel again. Therefore, promoting vaccination as a cause is very important to the impacted tourism and travel industry. With this initiative, OYO has become the first app in the travel ecosystem to show the vaccine status of the staff of its partner hotels.

According to OYO’s internal consumer survey, 87 percent of respondents said they would prefer hotels with vaccinated staff when they return to stay at hotels. With vaccination, as a part of the booking journey, users on the OYO app will have visibility on hotels and homes with vaccinated staff, either with the first dose or second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. This enables users to book hotels with immunized staff and thereby acts as an accelerator on both sides of the platform.

Abhinav Sinha, Global COO & Chief Product Officer, OYO said, “This initiative is crucial to aid the recovery of impacted industries across the board, specifically for travel due to pandemic-led restrictions and the worry of stepping out. Vaccination is the most important initiative to beat the virus. With mass vaccination drives taking place across the country, self-declared vaccine visibility on the app is a simple yet powerful intervention to reinforce trust among consumers. This is also our small way of promoting the larger cause of vaccination among our customer base as well as with our hotel partners and their staff.”

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NEWS | Party package holidays may suffer in post-pandemic travel as young generations turn to adventure holidays

‘Party package’ holidays were already declining pre-pandemic in terms of both demand and supply. Fears of infection and the process of organizing group travel will further delay recovery. It is likely that demand will never fully return as both individuals and destinations are drifting away from this party concept, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Johanna Bonhill-Smith, Travel & Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Operators and destinations that typically cater to the ‘mass party concept’ need to carefully reconsider their product and promotion in a post-COVID era amid changing consumer behaviors. Party holidays are now less desired by young generations and destinations in post-pandemic travel.”

GlobalData’s Q3 2019 consumer survey found that respondents aged between 16-24 and 25-34 covering Gen Z and millennials were the most likely to take an alternative holiday with a specialized focus on areas such as adventure/sport, wellness/medical, sustainability, gastronomy and culture than their older counterparts. Therefore, it was already clear that these generations desired more authentic and transformational travel experiences pre-pandemic.

Bonhill-Smith continues: “This is far different to an alcohol-filled getaway that has been typically associated with younger generations in the past. Holidays for 18-30 year olds typically catered for those that were not married and on the search for ‘sun, sand and sea’, not particularly featuring the authenticity or culture of a destination in their visit.” 

Many destinations that were once known as ‘party havens’ have adjusted their tourism strategies to appeal to more responsible travelers post-COVID-19. Examples can be found in actions from respective destination marketing organizations (DMOs) in Amsterdam, Prague, Mallorca and Barcelona, that are aiming to adjust their destination images encouraging more sustainable tourism post-COVID-19.

Bonhill-Smith adds: “COVID-19 has accelerated many changes for the travel sector. Party package holidays were already declining in both demand and supply pre-pandemic and therefore this is another area where COVID-19 is likely to have accelerated change. The re-opening of venues that hold mass crowds including nightclubs, events and festivals remains uncertain. Thailand’s Bangkok is recognized as an ultimate party destination, but the government recently closed 196 nightlife venues throughout April amid a new cluster of COVID-19 cases. While this move is not permanent, demand for nightlife is likely to be reduced in the longer term due to ongoing fears around COVID-19.

“Many destinations are simply focusing on how to resume domestic and international travel safely. The concept of holding mass groups of boozy tourists, all adhering to social distancing rules seems extremely uncertain and potentially off-putting for destinations, meaning the recovery of this type of tourism is unlikely for the foreseeable future.”

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