Learning Never Ends: A Revenue Manager’s Journey to the Next Level

Revenue management sits at the heart of all the action within a hospitality operation. Decisions are made real time and there is always something new on the horizon. What you learnt while training for hospitality or even over the years can become redundant very quickly if you don’t keep up with evolving trends, techniques and tools.

Pawan Sahani of Hospitality Minds India was quick to pick up on this. Having started his career at Hotel Grand Residency and after nearly 4 years at Hospitality Minds India, when the opportunity to upskill with Australian Revenue Management Association (ARMA) came up, he could not refuse. He knew the course’s practical make-up that armed students with knowledge and tips that he can apply at his work every day.

Pawan came across the first level of the ARMA course, part of which is offered at a discounted rate to STAAH partner clients. Level 1 of this course is free for all STAAH partners. ARMA is the leading organisation in Asia Pacific and Australia and works with market leaders and educational institutes to create training initiatives to support the development of those in the field of revenue management.

Pawan went on to complete Level 1 and 2. He now feels more confident than before to contribute positively to the growth of properties through best practice, sound processes and latest technologies for revenue management.

Among some of the topics covered in the course are Foundations and Calculations, Measures and Maximisation, Yieldmax Stimulation Game, Group and the Revenue Management Relationship and more.

Major Brands Offer Relief in COVID-19

Major global hotels brands have implemented a number of fee reducttions and relaxed several standards and initiatives amidst the coronavirus outbreak

Marriott

• Fee Relief

  50.0% credit for the fixed portion of the PSF for April and May ,with payment deferred until 9/1/20

  60.0 -70.0% reductions in shared services costs ,including RMAS and Field Marketing

• Cycle Renovations

  Deferring all cycle renovations that are due in 2020 by one year

• FF&E

  Walving required funding of FF&E reserves for six months with ability to borrow FF&E for working capitals needs,with lender consent as needed

• Brand Standards /Initiatives

  Guest Satisfaction Surveys will be suspended for Wave 1,2020(1/1-6/30)

  Deferred all brand and global initiatives with only mission -critial areas

• Audits and PIPs

  Brand Standard Audit activities are paused until 6/30/20 .This include BSAs asa well as audits for beverage and experientials

• Meeting & Training

Paused all mandatory ,in-person,off-site training classes and will instead leverage Digital learing Zon

Hilton

• Fee Relief

  RMCC hotels -50.0%fee for 90 days for any hotels with occupancy <50.0% over that time period

  Suspended RMCC hotels will receive a 75.5% fee reduction while out of operation

  Temporary suspension of guest assistance intervention fees

• Cycle Renovations

  Awaiting Annoucement

• FF&E

  Does not have an FF&E reserve in franchise agreement

• Brand Standards /Initiative

  SALT scores have been suspended

  Reassessing compliance dates for technology refreshes ,as well as suspending all OnQ refreshes for atleast 60 days

  Deferring the launch of several product initiatives as well as extending compliance dates until further notice

• Audits and PIPs

  For any items due in 2020 -there is a potential to extend by 12 months

  It will adjust the frequency to accommodate the current business climate,QA penalities waived for 2020

• Meeting & Training

  All in-person training will be put on hold until after June .Those who require training to do so via Hilton University online where appropriate

  IHG

• Fee Relief

  Fee Relief and Fee deferral options from 3/1/20-5/31/20 (excluding KIpton Hotel & Restraurants )

  SERVICE CONTRIBUTRION :50% discount throuGH 5/321 and deferrable for 90 days

  Technology fee :25 .0 % discount 5/31

• Cycle Renovations

  Mid -cycle renovatios are deferred until 1/21

• FF&E

  Waiving FF&E and Capital reserve requirement through 12/31/20

• Brand Standards /Initiative

  Love scrores remain in operation

  IHG will defer the publication of any new standard until 11/20

  Relaxing brand standard in Multiple areas ,including F&B Operations,Training, Technology and Loyalty ,with compliance dates extented to later this year and others into 2021

• Audits and PIPs

  Any PIP milestone dates due between now and 12/31/20 ,will get a nine month extention to that due date

• IHG is currently designing vir]tual touchpoints to support cleanliness and brand safely standard until 6/30/20

  Meeting & Training

• IHG will suspend all in-person training and move to all -virtual training sessions.Cancellation fees will be waived for current registered courses ,the training credit standard for hotels will be reduced by 25%

  Hyatt

• Fee Relief

  Centralized Revenue Management Fee (applicable to all select service proporties participating in Hyatt’s CRM services)

  50% relief in April and May or $775 per month .

• Cycle Renovations

  Deffering all cycle renovations that are due now through 6/30/21

• FF&E

  Deferring FF&E deposits for the remainder of 2020.Hotels may use the amount on deposit in replacement funds to cover general operating expenses ,which may be subject to lender approval

• Brand Standards /Initiative

  All brand initatives with budgetary implication will be postponed for the remainder of 2020

  For hotels with temporary suspended operations post surveys will restart upon resuming business operations

  For operating hotels -Hyatts surveys will restart on 5/31/20

• Audits and PIPs

  Will suspend formal brand standard audit activities for 2020,and will suspend PIPs,as approved by Hyatt,through 12/31/20

• Meeting & Training

  Suspended all in-person and off-site Hyatt meeting and training classes ,and will instead leverage Hyatt connect and digital training tools to conduct all manadotory and recommended training .

KFC India to provide 1 Million Meals to Feed Communities in Need

KFC India announced, that it has pledged to donate at least 1 Million meals to help communities in need during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These meals will be provided to migrant workers and daily wage earners struggling to earn a livelihood and afford meals during the extended lockdown.

Supported by the Yum! Foundation, KFC India will be funding these meals.

KFC has partnered with ResponseNet to work with impacted communities in need across Delhi, Assam, Bangalore, Mumbai, Jharkhand and other states. ResponseNet will be disseminating kits of essential food and necessity items as rice, flour, pulses, cooking oil, spices, etc. in the identified regions.

 KFC India has also made the following commitments to support its people and communities during the ongoing pandemic.

Thanking frontline warriors - Healthcare workers: KFC is committed to serving more than 10,000 thank you KFC meals to healthcare workers at hospitals across Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

Employee well-being : Yum! Brands Foundation has set up the Global Employee Medical Relief Fund, to provide financial support for KFC team members at company and franchise-owned restaurants all across the world, who may be diagnosed with or who are caring for someone diagnosed with COVID-19.

Continuing to serve consumers through Safe & Contactless Delivery: Consumers can avail the Contactless Delivery option on prepaid orders, thereby ensuring no up-close contact with our delivery riders at the time of receiving the food, including exchange of cash.

KFC continues to implement stringent measures as regular temperature checks, intensified sanitization of surfaces at the restaurants, social distancing, even in the kitchens, etc. across all restaurants

Covid-19 Crisis: Value engineering for hotels is the key

The engineering department of a hotel holds great importance for a property to function efficiently. By providing utility services like electricity, steam, hot water, air-conditioning and refrigeration and maintaining engineering and services of various other equipment, the chief engineers are undoubtedly the backbone of a hotel

Chief engineers across all hotels in the country are figuring out ways to keep their hotel operating and running smoothly, post lockdown.

Sanitisation for us will be the most important aspect. We may look forward to adding more toilets around the properties. Even when we start operating, we would go with 50% of the workforce at a time

The virus becomes suspended in droplets smaller than five micrometres, known as aerosols, it can stay suspended for about a half-hour, before drifting down and settling on surfaces where it can linger for hours.The finding on aerosol, in particular, is inconsistent with the World Health Organization’s position that the virus is not transported by air. This has opened up a whole new sphere for engineers to work on.

We as engineers have to ensure that air inside a room or a public space like a lobby or restaurants, keeps changing. More air handling units will have to be installed in hotels. Instead of taking the air back, there should be a provision of pumping fresh air” said Rothin Banerjee, Director - Engineering, Taj Palace, New Delhi.

For Rahul Singh Sisodia, Director - Engineering JW Marriott, Aerocity, New Delhi, value engineering in the current situation is the key as a huge amount of liquidity and cash flow is needed to ensure the efficiency of a hotel.

Mandarin Orchard Singapore to Rebrand As Hilton Singapore Orchard

OUE Limited and OUE Commercial REIT Management Pte. Ltd. have collaborated to rebrand the landmark Mandarin Orchard Singapore to Hilton Singapore Orchard, following a comprehensive and strategic review.

OUE, which is the master lessee of Mandarin Orchard Singapore, has entered into a Branding and Management Agreement with Conrad International Management Services (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. to rebrand Mandarin Orchard Singapore into Hilton's flagship in Singapore.

Asset enhancement works to add new meeting facilities as well as refreshed food and beverage offerings to cater to the growing demand for regional and global meetings, incentives, conference and exhibition ("MICE") events have also been planned. The planned refurbishment will be conducted in phases and will commence in 2Q 2020 to capitalise on the current challenges facing the hospitality industry due to COVID-19. The refurbishment is scheduled to be completed by end-2021.

Upon its relaunch in 2022, the hotel will feature 1,080 well-appointed rooms and five restaurants and bars including an all-day dining restaurant. The hotel will also boast meeting and function spaces spanning a total of 3,765 square metres, including three ballrooms

Here's how hotels are redefining the tea experience for their guests while adding to their revenues

The entire process of growing, hand-picking of leaves, careful sorting and harvesting is fascinating and a premium-grade cup of tea commands a fitting price

Tea is not just therapeutic, but great to taste, besides being zero calories.” The rise and rise of gourmet tea Hotels serving teas beyond the regular Earl Grey and Darjeeling have helped popularise gourmet teas. Cafes and restaurants in hotels now serve single estate teas and unique blends

The making of a gourmet tea

Brewing a good cup of chai is an art and everything lies in how well it is balanced. Bala Sarda, Founder & CEO, Vahdam Teas believes gourmet tea is much like fine wines

At the Emperor Lounge, The Taj Mahal Hotel - Mansingh Road, 26 tea varieties are served, from Panch Dhatu Tea to Rooibos Apple

“A good cup of tea should be brewed at the right temperature, served in beautiful teacups from a stunning teapot, and feel fresh to the palette.”

As wellness finds its way to the centrestage of people’s lives, particularly after the COVID-19 scare, tea, with its various health benefits, will find increased acceptance.

The hotel tea experience 

At Port Muziris, Kochi, A Tribute Hotel by Marriott, guests are treated to an unusual tea tasting session at Kettle, the tea lounge. The cellar holds several varieties of teas inspired by Muziris’ spices and floral heritage. Jasmine, a common flower around these parts, lends itself to a delicate tea. Hibiscus-imbued tea leaves, a green variant flecked with saffron, the not-to-be-missed blue tea made by infusing tea leaves with the butterfly blue pea flower, and lavender-infused teas are part of the extensive cellar.

The cellar at Port Muziris, Kochi, A Tribute Hotel by Marriott, holds several varieties of teas inspired by Muziris’ spices and floral heritage.

With Mister Chai, we went all out to ensure that the typical chai time is a far more luxurious experience.” Among its offerings is Kali Mirch Chai, served with the Colaba Fish Fry Sandwich. ITC Maurya's rooftop Pan-Asian restaurant - Tian, asked Anamika Singh of Anandini Tea to work with its chef de cuisine to put together a tea-paired menu. The hotel now has a regular teatime service delivered at the room by designated butlers, exclusively for those who check-in at the women-only Eva Floor. For its executive floor guests, it has a dedicated tea lounge named Samaya, where the house blends are particularly popular.

The Lounge & Terrace on the lobby level of Four Seasons, Bangalore introduced the rarefied experience of loungy, relaxed afternoon teas to Bengaluru. In-house tea sommelier Mousumi Sharma has put together blends such as Apple Cinnamon Dust, Wild Berry Tales, Chocolate Mint and Orange Blossom, along with the classic

The art of pairing

Nair believes that each tea has its defined list of food accompaniments. High-Tea in Britain is said to be an extravagant and lavish affair,  accompanied by garden sandwiches,  scones, tarts, pies and cake. The rise and rise of High-Tea show how widely appreciated and accepted this mid-evening meal is.

The art of pairing the right food with the right cup of tea requires the sommelier to have some practice and a well-defined, sensitive palette

They  are best paired with very light food  such as white fish like sea bass or mild cheeses and desserts. Pakoras or a hot plate of vegetarian fritters go incredibly well with a piping cup of spiced chai, according to Samuel Massey, Director of Food &Beverage,Vivanta New Delhi, Dwarka.

IHG to open first Regent hotel since brand acquisition

IHG (Inter Continental Hotels Group) announces the signing of a management agreement with Shanghai 21st Century Hotel Co., Ltd. for its iconic property located in Lujiazui, Shanghai, China.

From 16 May 2020, the hotel will be officially branded as Regent Shanghai Pudong and ready to welcome guests with a truly unique and luxury experience, which the legendary brand is famous for. All existing reservations will be automatically forwarded and honoured by Regent Shanghai Pudong.

Expanding its luxury footprint, IHG announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Regent Hotels & Resorts in March 2018 and brought the much-loved brand into the top end of its portfolio. Since then IHG has worked quickly to combine its expertise in luxury with Regent’s deep heritage and revered legacy, relaunching the brand by evolving it to appeal to the modern luxury traveller.

Renovation is already underway to rebrand the iconic InterContinental Hong Kong into a Regent hotel in 2021, bringing the hotel back to its roots as it first opened its doors as a Regent in 1980.

In addition, the brand is also expecting new openings in Phu Quoc, Vietnam later this year, Bali, Indonesia in 2021, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as well as Chengdu, China in 2023.

Starbucks prepares to reopen stores and have employees return to work as company predicts 'normal operations' in the US by June

Starbucks announced that it is preparing to reopen stores across the United States and hopes to resume normal operations in June. 

 Kevin Johnson, CEO said Starbucks will use different formats and timing to reopen stores after some shuttered and others limited operations amid the coronavirus lockdown. 

Starbucks, unlike grocery stores and hospitals, was not permitted to stay open after stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines were mandated. 

'This is prompting many to define the next steps that will appropriately prioritize health concerns while, at the same time, take thoughtful and measured steps to serve our communities.' 

Coronavirus impact: Swiggy to lay off 1,000 employees as demand slumps 60%

Online food delivery platform Swiggy might lay off around 1,000 employees as demand crashes amid the coronavirus spread. The company is planning to lay off a part of its private brand kitchen team as well as discontinue operations at a few of its centres. The delivery platform is also looking to re-negotiate terms with its landlords.

Swiggy is planning to lay off the employees next month.  "As the lockdown gets further extended, we are evaluating various means to stay nimble and focused on growth and profitability across our kitchens.

 The Bowl Company and Homely are two of its kitchen brands.

As per the daily, the food delivery platform is looking to reduce its monthly cash burn from USD40 million in May last year to less than USD5 million in the next few quarters. The firm is looking to conserve cash for the next 20-24 months.

Along with layoffs, Swiggy is also looking to reduce discounts on meals.

IHG Army Hotels Support Communities and Military Families During COVID-19 Response

IHG Army Hotels, a portfolio of hotels which serves thousands of guests every day on forty military installations in the United States and Puerto Rico, continues to fulfill its mission to serve communities and military families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to caring for active and retired members of the military and their families, properties are providing safe and comfortable accommodations for service members who are supporting COVID-19 relief efforts or those who have been temporarily displaced during this emergency, including military personnel whose barracks or on-post housing have been repurposed. 

Army and base leadership to best support the installation mission and their communities in the most impactful way. For example: 

• Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart (Georgia) – Hotels on these bases are just a few of the properties that are using their talents to make face masks for their colleagues, local first responders and hospital personnel on post.

• Joint Base San Antonio (Texas) and Fort Wainwright (Alaska) – To help provide a sense of normalcy for families, hotels on base maintained and adapted a years-long holiday tradition with a “socially distant” visit from the Easter Bunny, who dropped off individually wrapped goodie baskets for children in house.

• Across the Country – Through fundraising activities across multiple bases in recent months – including bake sales, denim days and other grassroots activities – teams at IHG Army Hotels properties across the country were able to make a collective donation to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, an organization which builds mortgage-free smart homes for injured veterans and first responders. 

  IHG Army Hotels have reached agreements with Garrison leadership in order to alleviate the financial burden of servicemembers affected by the “Remain in Place” order while awaiting transportation to their new permanent duty station

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group extraordinary effort

An extraordinary gesture for extraordinary heroes. Our team at Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech has been busily sewing masks to distribute to local hospital workers. Thank you to our community heroes; thank you to our MO heroes.

Tejinder Singh moves to Kolkata as the Area Manager, East & Cluster General Manager of ITC Hotels East

Hotelier  Tejinder  Singh,  who moves to Kolkata as the Area Manager, East & Cluster General Manager will now head ITC Hotels East. In this capacity, he would  oversee  both  the Kolkata properties, namely ITC Sonar and ITC Royal Bengal.   Additionally  as  the  new  upcoming  WelcomHotel  properties  at Bhubaneshwar,  Kathmandu  and Port Blair become operative, the same will be under his leadership

Mr. Tejinder Singh,  popularly  known  as 'Teji' began his journey more than two decades back  at ITC Maurya in 1994 as a management trainee. Since then he has held senior  management  positions  at  several  ITC Hotels in Delhi, Jaipur and Hyderabad.

He has also garnered management expertise through international exposure in the  aviation industry as the General Manager Customer Services & in-flight Dining for Europe, UK & North America based in Brussels and subsequently as the General Manager Service Delivery & Guest Experience for the brand.

An  integral  part  of  the  pre-opening team as the General Manager of ITC Kohenur,  Teji,  was  one of the leaders for positioning and launch of this 274  luxury  destination  located  in the heart of Hyderabad’s new business district  (HITEC  City)

He  has been a core member of the pre-opening team of ITC Hotels and has played an integral role in the launch of several hotels, namely ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, WelcomHotel Jodhpur, WelcomHotel Bella  Vista, Chandigarh, ITC Grand Bharat, Gurugram as well as WelcomHotel Dwarka, New Delhi

 He  has  also  served  as  the Resident Manager of ITC’s flagship Hotel ITC Maurya, New Delhi in 2014 and the General Manager of ITC Rajputana in 2015.

Accor to launch cleaning standards certification 'label' post-coronavirus lockdown

Accor has partnered with testing, inspection and certification provider Bureau Veritas to develop a ‘label’ certifying that appropriate safety standards and cleaning protocols have been achieved.

The label will cover both accommodation and catering, and will set the sanitary standards applicable to all of the group’s hotels, “as well as to other chains and independent hotels”.

Accor said that the project had been carried out in partnership with doctors and epidemiologists, and had been developed in collaboration with Accor owners and trade associations.

Concrete proposals will be submitted initially to the French government and subsequently to relevant European governments, ministries and committees, and the result of the project will be “an operational guide made available to all stakeholders in the hospitality industry, enabling them to rigorously apply the health and safety recommendation of authorities (WHO, Health Ministry etc), both in guest services spaces and in back office and catering spaces”.

“Welcoming, protecting and taking care of others is the very DNA of Accor and at the heart of what we do. Today, more than ever, our employees, customers and partners need to be reassured of our ability to offering them the best welcome possible.

“As the European leader in hospitality, it is our duty to anticipate needs and respond to health and safety requirements by adhering to the highest standards. We are pleased to be pioneering this drive with Bureau Veritas and to extend it to all stakeholders.”

Coronavirus lockdown: Hilton partners with Zomato, Swiggy for food deliveries

Hilton, a leading global hospitality company, has partnered with top food aggregators Zomato and Swiggy for home delivery of its signature dishes to customers, following a safe and contactless delivery practice. Currently, six Hilton properties are operational for food delivery via Zomato and Swiggy including Conrad Bangalore, Conrad Pune, Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon, Hilton Chennai, DoubleTree Ahmedabad, and Hilton Mumbai.

Hotel's select delivery menu across cities features the top 20 signature dishes from the most popular F&B outlets of Hilton Hotels in those cities, at special delivery prices. Hilton claims to have always followed stringent hygiene protocols, and due to the outbreak of COVID-19, is taking all necessary precautions to ensure utmost safety in the delivery of food to its customers

Hilton will also be offering a curated delivery service for private parties and gatherings. Deliveries under this service will be done by Hilton's staff using company-owned vehicles

How Each Hotel Department Can Start Preparing for A “New Normal” Re-opening

By the way, this list is based on the scientific process of baseless, wild speculation, while waiting out the quarantine.

F&B and Restaurant

• Re-draw your floor plan so that there is a minimum of 6 feet between tables.

• Research which food costs will increase when you order less volume.

• Move kitchen stations (if at all possible) to create more space.

• Create a re-opening menu with items that limit the number of cooks in the kitchen

Front Office/Reservations

·         In expectation of occupancy restrictions, add “Covid19 Out-of-Order” designation in your PMS system. These rooms will be tracked differently than regular OOO rooms.

·         Decide which rooms you will take out-of-order to ensure social distancing and limit elevator use.

·         You may have to read the temperature of all guests when they check-in so decide on whether that will happen at the front door or front desk. You may want to start writing an SOP for this.

·         Start talking to your GM about the possibility of requiring a Covid19 affidavit to be signed at the front desk where guests confirm that they have not been close to anyone with virus symptoms.

·         Start crafting a Covid disclosure for Phone Reservations to read to each guest and to post on the website (with an electronic “Agree” button).

·         If your credit card scanner does not accept contactless cards, get one that does.

Finance/Revenue Management

·         Add a new line for “Covid19 Out-of-Order” rooms to your Pace, Forecast, and Yield reports. This will allow you to better compare Year-over-Year results this year and next year. If you bundle all the OOOs together you will affect the variances.

·         If there are occupancy limitations, you may be sold-out or close-to-sold-out every night, so you have to find alternative metrics to track the strength of the market. Try putting together data from your POS or CRM to track KPIs like average guest spend for all outlets year-over-year

Marketing/Sales

• Compile “Best Guests” list from your CRM to send personalized messages. A simple email blast will be lost in everyone else’s email blast.

• Redraw your meeting space floor plans for social distancing requirements. Load the new floor plans to your website.

• Divide your Sales contact list by group size. Large groups may not be able to commit to events for a while because of logistics, but small groups are very manageable.

The Fern Hotels & Resorts supports the needy amid coronavirus crisis; announces no paycuts for employees

Be it providing food to the needy during these times of national crisis or ensuring there will be no pay cuts across its 72 hotels, The Fern Hotels & Resorts, India's leading environmentally sensitive hotel chain is trying to spread the message of being sensitive.

The CEO of the company, Suhail Kannampilly said,” We as a company are doing our bit to contribute during this time of crisis. Quite a few hotels are offering food to the needy in Mumbai and other parts of the country.”

He assured his employees that the company will not be reducing any salaries. “The Labour ministry's advice on not reducing any salaries is clear and we as a company want to show our commitment in resolving this crisis.

At this point we are compelled to take some actions. So rather than salary cuts or unpaid leave we will work towards a salary deferment, where by each hotel pays based on their available cash flow, a base amount for substance and then when the situation reverts to normal the balance is paid out in tranches “, he said.

The CEO also exhorted his team members not to lose touch with the guest and used this opportunity to re-analyse the business.  Run through P&L / trial balance with a fine-tooth comb and evaluate as to how we can make this a healthier and more profitable business once the situation normalizes

Here’s how Royal Orchid & Regenta Hotels are doing their bit to alleviate community distress amid COVID19 crisis

Royal Orchid & Regenta Hotels, through their 60+ hotels across India, have undertaken a noble initiative to provide food and comfort to the needy amidst the lockdown.  The group has been distributing food packets to the migrants and underprivileged through their hotels in Bangalore, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Navi Mumbai, Goa, Mysore, and Rajasthan.

As a part of the initiative, the Regenta Resort in Pushkar (Rajasthan) has adopted a village named Bhagwanpura which is home to 300 people. The resort is regularly supplying meals and groceries to the locals.  Likewise, in Gujarat, the hotel has distributed food packets to 200 people in Bharuch, 600 in Rajkot and 900 people in Vadodara respectively. 

Besides, food packets were provided to more than 2500 migrant workers during last week’s mass migration through their hotels located in Jaipur and Madhya Pradesh’s Pench National Park. In Bangalore, the hotel has continued with its ongoing initiatives through its flagship property - Hotel Royal Orchid and Regenta Place.

How a Luxury Hotel on Billionaires’ Row Became a Dorm for Hospital Workers

Just a few weeks ago, it was typical for personal assistants to make reservations for thousand-dollar rooms at the Four Seasons Hotel New York for their high-profile bosses.

Remnants of the hotel’s luxurious past — the Art Deco-inspired entrance, the onyx ceiling in the main lobby, the oversize soaking tubs in the suites — are extravagant extras now that the five-star property has been converted into something akin to a military barracks.

The Four Seasons, just like nearby Central Park and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens, is yet another New York City landmark being retrofitted to fight the pandemic.

Although other hotels in the city are helping with hospital bed overflow, the Four Seasons has dedicated itself exclusively to keeping doctors, nurses and other medical professionals well rested and safe

At the entrance, two nurses, wearing N95 masks, take the temperatures of all guests, asking questions about symptoms over the past 72 hours and if they’ve washed their hands. Once inside, guests go straight to their rooms; there is no bar or restaurant. Elevators carry one passenger at a time; others must wait on taped Xs on the floor, placed six feet apart.

Of the hotel’s 368 rooms, only 225 will have guests to limit crowding on the property.

Guests and hotel staff no longer interact. For check-in, keys are placed in envelopes on a table

Dirty items are collected only after guests, who stay for a minimum of seven days, check out and the room has been fumigated

India's top hotels will now deliver meals at lower rates amid lockdown

With social distancing becoming the new normal, hotels such as Indian Hotels, Marriott, Grand Hyatt and Accor Group Hotels are ensuring their meals reach the doorsteps of guests. For an industry that counts heavily on the overall experience, a personalised touch and ambience to pamper its guests, this is a first.

Guests can choose their favourite cuisines from a specially curated compact menu at a tad lower price than what they would have paid when dining at the hotel restaurants.

 The owner of Taj hotels is offering confectionary and gourmet hampers and a hamper for spa at home

Marriott International, the world's largest hotel chain, too, is pulling all plugs for its guests to beat the lockdown blues. Its brands including JW Marriott, Sheraton, Ritz Carlton, and Four Points are giving the guests an option for a take away or home delivery.

The hotels have introduced a compact menu of their signature dishes and are already seeing a positive response from local residents in their vicinity, she said. Stringent checks and safety measures are being taken while preparing, packaging and delivering these meals across homes.

Accor pledges to pay for employee Covid-19 medical bills

The group said that more than half of its Accor-branded hotels worldwide are currently closed, with this figure likely to rise to two thirds in the coming weeks.

Accor said that the deteriorating situation had led it to take “aggressive, incremental actions”, including a travel ban, hiring freeze, reduced schedules and /or furloughing for 75 per cent of global head office teams for the second quarter of this year, resulting in a reduction in costs of at least €60m for the year

Recurring investment plans have also been reviewed, reducing costs by another €60m, and other costs including sales, marketing and IT have been streamlined.

Board members will forego 20 per cent of their fees, and the group’s chairman and CEO Sébastien Bazin will take a 25 per cent pay cut, with the cash equivalent being contributed to the fund.

The group said that its “recent asset-light transformation and cash preservation strategy” meant it had a strong balance sheet, with over €2.5 billion in cash on hand and an undrawn revolving credit facility of €1.2 billion, and it stressed that while it expected “a severe impact” on its 2020 performance, it remained bullish on the long-term perspective of the hospitality industry.

Accor pledged to pay Covid-19 related hospital expenses for all of its 300,000 employees who do not have social security or medical insurance