WHAT IS THE STATUS OF YOUR
HOTEL?
The Prime Minister of Malaysia
announced the nationwide Movement
Restriction Order from 18 March
2020 to 28 April 2020. Initiated to
curb the spread of COVID-19, specific
businesses, religious activities and all
gatherings in the country have been
suspended until further notice. In light
of this new ruling, The Datai Langkawi is
regretfully unable to honour nor accept
any reservations until the 6 May, 2020
at least. As soon as the lockdown is
lifted and the resort reopens its doors,
we will have to first focus on the local
market, as it is evident that the ban
on international routes will remain for
some time. Our strategy thereafter
would be to focus on the international
markets as their borders reopen, with
potentially the closest countries like
Singapore and Hong Kong, followed
by the other countries as they relax
their travel bans. Unfortunately, it does
appear clear that this will take a while.
ARNAUD GIRODON
GENERAL MANAGER, THE DATAI
LANGKAWI, MALAYSIA
ARE THERE ANY INITIATIVES
THAT YOU HAVE PUT IN PLACE
TO ENGAGE WITH YOUR GUESTS
AND STAFF, WHILE THE HOTEL
IS EITHER SHUTDOWN OR ON
VERY LOW OCCUPANCY?
What is happening in the world today
is unprecedented and a reminder from
Mother Earth that there is no Planet B.
Although the lockdown is very hard for
everyone, it does give the world a very
much needed rest and deserved healing.
At The Datai Langkawi, we have always
placed an importance on nature and are
blessed to be located in a 10-millionyear-old
rainforest with a beautiful bay
- one of the
top 10 most
beautiful
beaches in
the world
according
to National
Geographic.
Therefore,
we have,
are and will
be working
even
harder to
preserve this unique ecosystem and
have created a unique programme
called ‘The Datai Pledge’, which is
a partnership between The Datai
Langkawi and various influential local
conservation and sustainability-led
Non-Government Organisations
(NGOs) and social enterprises.
Through such a programme, we hope
to be a pioneer in this industry with
initiatives to protect the earth, sea,
forest as well as educate local children.
We are therefore continuing (albeit on
a minimal level) to take care of some of
these initiatives on property as best as
we can, specifically related to recycling,
permaculture garden, beach cleanliness
and other conservation initiatives.
Also, whilst we are all on lockdown
we have observed that nature hasn’t
stopped and is thriving more than ever!
We are currently providing our guests
a glimpse of how active the fauna
and flora are at the resort through a
series of short videos posted through
our social media platforms (Facebook
and Instagram) every week. This has
garnered numerous great feedback
responses from guests and partners
alike worldwide.
We have 480 employees at The Datai
Langkawi and since they are what makes
our resort so unique and memorable, we
are doing all we can to secure their jobs
first and foremost. A few employees are
still working at the resort to maintain
it so that we will be ready to reopen as
soon as we are allowed to. While we are
not allowed to conduct trainings due to
government restrictions, we do stay in
touch with
every one
of them,
including
weekly videos
from the
management
team to
keep them
updated on
the situation
as well as
offer a
morale boost.
WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD?
It is very difficult to predict the future
as it is completely dependent on
the situation locally and worldwide.
At first, as explained earlier, we will
probably host more Malaysian guests,
then hopefully Singapore and the
countries where the pandemic is well
under control and have lifted their
travel bans. For the rest of the world
however, it is really hard to say as it
very much depends on how each of
those countries gets ‘back to normal’
and specifically opens up for travel.
We do hope however that some good
international traffic will resume within
the next eight to 10 months. Until
then, like many businesses worldwide
unfortunately, we have to streamline
all expenses to the strict and bare
minimum to most importantly
ensure we maintain our very valuable
employees.
ILHA 17