Legacy hotels clinging to old traditions will be left behind, as others adapt their business strategy to the current reality.
Facing an unprecedented drop in demand for its core product, the hotel industry is taking a moment to reflect and redefine itself, so that the show can not only go on but get better. Trouble is, there is no real consensus on how to do this.
“We don’t want only high-tech, that’s not the way for us to go. It can be low-touch, but human beings are key. Even with a mask, you can smile,” said François Delahaye, COO, Dorchester Collection (of nine ultra-luxe hotels) during The New Travel conference last month. Throughout the weeklong virtual confab, reopening strategies were as varied as individual opinions, many of which seemed to deny our present reality. You know, the one in which the act of traveling “increases your chances of getting infected,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But it’s summer! And travelers are traveling. So to all hoteliers reopening now, it must be said: There is a big difference between service and hospitality. Service is the delivery of speed, convenience, and efficiency. Hospitality is the art of making strangers feel welcome and safe. Both are necessary components of a hotel’s particular je ne sais quoi.
Inside just-reopened establishments across the Northeastern seaboard, these components are being unevenly implemented. Comparing various approaches over the course of an 8-day trip in June, I came away convinced that technology is necessary to keep the industry alive. As a lifelong lover of hotels, who believes in their power to transport and transform, the following ‘Do and Don’t’ list is an effort to build up rather than tear down.
THE DON’T LIST
Despite Covid, it’s peak summer season in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where the clothes are pastel, the cars are vintage, the hydrangeas are in full bloom, and the oysters and beer are served ice-cold by competing resorts. For all its maritime charm, the Cape is leaning heavily on the advantages of its mainland foothold, which extends straight out into the Atlantic with miles and miles of sandy beach. Here, you can almost forget about 2020 altogether and let the saltwater wash your cares away. Almost. Here’s what the Cape’s famously tony establishments should not be doing:
