Sustainability in hospitality key in wake of Covid 2nd wave

With tourism being a pillar of development and employment, there is a pressing need to coordinate the introduction of protocols for safe international travel to avoid adding uncertainty and undermining confidence. The 'Digital Green Pass' that aims to restart tourism in the European Union by June or July, should be an example for other global regions and countries to follow.

UNWTO and IATA outlined its new destination tracker, to address uncertainty and lack of confidence in travel. UNWTO is also working with the Inter-American Development Bank and with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations will help ensure the restart of tourism delivers benefits for rural communities. Sustainable recovery for hotels is all about a responsible recovery while emphasising on the importance of future-proofing businesses for growth and resilience.

In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and its second wave, a requirement for the recovery of the hospitality industry is a rigorous commitment to health and safety for guests. Hotels will need to reassess their buyers' priorities, responsibilities and challenges, and then provide them with options and solutions to demonstrate that meetings and events can be safe.

For hotels that already have environmental policies in place, now is the ideal time to reconsider them from the ground up and collaborate with all stakeholders to improve and sustain them. Digital skills training will become increasingly important as more economies embrace technological and digital solutions to attract and enhance the tourist experience as well as to adapt to health and safety measures.

Venues and hotels must also start considering more work from home options for their teams. Businesses now realise that they can trust employees to work remotely, savings on rental and utility costs from the offices are just an added plus. With travel restrictions, some flights still grounded and people afraid of travelling, one of the key areas hoteliers need to focus on is local sourcing. Make sure to pay attention to and nurture your local relationships.

Venue managers should also challenge chefs to be innovative, and make local, native seasonal foods the cornerstone of their menus. For instance, changing a couple of your daily specials to vegetarian could be beneficial for both the environment and your profit margin. The pandemic has highlighted the role that the hospitality industry traditionally plays among the community – as a driver of local economies and provider of employment, often to young people, women, local residents and vulnerable groups. There is a real opportunity for deepening community and government engagement, increasing strategic partnerships, and mainstreaming industry-wide action on the sustainability agenda.