Is the Vaccine too late?
Can it give a shot in the arm to your business?
Great news this week as Pfizer announced they are close to the launch of their vaccine for Covid-19. With other vaccines also in the pipeline, it was good to see the light at the end of the tunnel and the positivity that comes from it.
For me, it made me realise just how stuck in the ‘tunnel’ the hotel industry is. Sometimes when we are stumbling in the dark, it feels more comfortable to close our eyes. It’s time for hotels that have been stumbling to start thinking about what the future might look like.
I was talking with someone this week about the wedding industry. It is a big deal for hotels, but one that has been decimated by Covid. They were lamenting the fact that many hotel wedding venues have completely furloughed their events teams. Couples wanting to get on with planning their big, beautiful (post-Covid) weddings are finding the industry coming up short.
It made me realise that it’s hard to move out of ‘lockdown survival’ mode for an industry that has had the heart ripped out of it over the last six months.
With a vaccine comes hope. With hope will come customers. Now is the time for us to dust ourselves down and imagine a world 6-12 months from now when we will have more than 10% occupancy. Imagine a world where we can have people sitting in our restaurants (although still distanced for sure). Imagine a world where we do have people wanting to book events – even small ones.
But are you ready? Can you open your eyes and move towards the light?
The interesting thing about vaccination is that a vaccine alone does not work without you rolling up your sleeve, offering your arm, and accepting that there will be a ‘slight scratch’!
If you haven’t been planning already, now is the time to look towards the future. We are not out of the woods, and that ‘slight scratch’ may sting… but get customer focussed again, because they are coming out of the tunnel too!
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