Fierce competition, new social norms likely to change face of hospitality industry
|Published
A waiter serves customers at Guy Fieri’s restaurant, Time Square Casino. Picture: Jacques Naude / African News Agency (ANA) A waiter serves customers at Guy Fieri’s restaurant, Time Square Casino. Picture: Jacques Naude / African News Agency (ANA)
Pretoria – Fierce competition and new social norms are likely to change the face of hospitality as hotels, guest houses and restaurants resume service under strict new government regulations.
This is according to Robyn Christie, a consultant in the travel and hospitality industry, who said maintaining the trust of patrons and employees had never been more significant than it is now
in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Many hospitality enterprises that have survived lockdown so far now need to have a long, hard look at their operating models to make sure their businesses remain sustainable, with the new requirements,” she said.
“We have seen some truly inspiring innovations from certain restaurants recently in response to this new era of Covid-consciousness.”
She said from cuisine-on-the-go and humorous social distancing reminders, to more fundamental shifts in the type of service being provided, the hospitality industry was rising to the challenge with determination and creativity.
Around the world, as lockdown restrictions are eased, restaurants, cafés and bars have put up physical barriers, created glass cubicles, and even used stuffed toys and mannequins to “reserve” seats.
According to Christie, although businesses may find the initial adjustment to the new requirements difficult, the industry has shown strong commitment to the necessary changes to make their services as safe as possible for all.
“There has been tremendous eagerness on the part of hospitality businesses to implement various hygiene, social distancing and contact tracing precautions. This is not only about fulfilling government requirements, it’s about winning public confidence, so patrons want to come back and enjoy the experiences we provide.
“One of the things that really touched me while restaurants were unable to operate, was the many reports of patrons contacting their favourite local restaurants to express concern for the welfare of staff,” Christie said.