TRENDING
REDUCING
UNCERTAINTY
WHAT IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE COVID-19 CONTINGENCY PLAN YOU HAVE ENACTED ?
Puneet Chhatwal , managing director , CEO , The Indian Hotels Co . Ltd ., Mumbai “ Clear systems and processes have been deployed across the organization with well-defined ownership and escalation matrix to immediately identify and respond to any potential incident at any of our hotels .”
Brad Walker , vice president , GM , The Brown Hotel , Louisville , Kentucky “ We created an employee newsletter to keep our staff continually aware of the hotel ’ s decision-making and latest updates to stabilize the situation . Through this newsletter , we answered their questions about employment and new upgrades to safety procedures while also reassuring them that we are all here for each other during this difficult time .”
Geoff Ballotti , president , CEO , Wyndham Hotels & Resorts , Parsippany , New Jersey “ Waiving finance charges , eliminating certain fees and easing requirements to help franchisees keep costs down while continuing to prioritize the health and safety of their guests and employees .”
Spokesperson , Radisson Hotel Group , Minnetonka , Minnesota “ For our Americas franchised hotels , we are allowing complete or partial closure of food and beverage outlets , fitness centers and pools . At this time , we are providing a 12-month extension on both brand standard compliance and all PIP items due or overdue in the 2020 calendar year . We have waived administrative and initial franchise fees for renewal of license agreements expiring through December 31 , 2021 , and we have waived our monthly revenue optimization consultant fees for all participating hotels for the months of March and April 2020 . We have also postponed all QPR inspections .”
Ivan Hu , communications , New Century Hotels & Resorts , Hangzhou , China “ Kaiyuan Hotel Group launched a special cancel policy ; reduced management fee for owners all over the country ; strengthened disinfection and cleaning ; established a real-time epidemic notification mechanism ; made full use of the existing self-service check-in system , self-service supermarket and robot to promote contactless services .”
Leland Pillsbury , chairman , TenX Healthcare ; director , Thayer Ventures , Fort Lauderdale , Florida “ You can ’ t move too quickly and you can ’ t overreact ... Do everything possible to reduce uncertainty by putting the business on a ‘ war footing ’ that can withstand prolonged loss of revenues . In addition to reducing the operating costs to the maximum extent possible , raise capital early . Draw down unused credit lines , borrow where feasible , extend accounts payable terms , accelerate A / R efforts , and take any and all steps to horde cash .
“ Be fully transparent with your partners , lenders ,
YOU CAN ’ T MOVE TOO QUICKLY AND YOU CAN ’ T OVER-REACT ... DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO REDUCE UNCERTAINTY BY PUTTING THE BUSINESS ON A ‘ WAR FOOTING ’ THAT CAN WITHSTAND PROLONGED LOSS OF REVENUES .
LELAND PILLSBURY
suppliers and customers . Disclosure is your friend … Going forward after the crisis has past , become more transparent and build ‘ slack ’ into your business model to be able to absorb shocks to the system .”
Nakul Anand , executive director , ITC Hotels , Kolkata , India “ Prevention is better than cure . That serves as the guiding mantra to all of us in this hour … At the corporate level , a cross-functional senior management group comprising operations head , area managers , chief microbiologist , technical services head and doctors , among other key members , along with hygiene experts , are engaged 24 / 7 with the operations team to provide guidance and specific solutions to the situation at hand , for both associates and guests .”
Steve Kirby , managing principal , Mumford Co ., Buford , Georgia “ Staggered staffing to limit unneeded interaction .”
16 hotelsmag . com May 2020