The hospitality industry got a huge hit during the pandemic. Thousands of firms shut down due to a lack of patronage and funds. People were at home because of the lockdown and didn’t patronize hotels, restaurants, resort centers, and so on. The situation has gradually changed after the first pandemic and many people have recorded lots of success stories. David Antico, a seasoned businessperson, and an executive in a top hospitality firm share the success of Valerie Contreras. Valerie Contreras is a graduate of the University of Central Florida.
Valerie’s Post Pandemic Success Story
According to David Antico, Valerie became a success before and after the pandemic. She is one of the many graduates that are estimated to be employed after post-pandemic graduation.
She plans to be an intern which she has secured at a reputable hotel. The 12 months highly paid internship period will equip her with her real-life skills. She was recruited during recruiting days before she graduated. Her academic performance and abilities played a big role in securing this job. She was among the very few scholars given scholarships worth thousands of dollars each by Guy Fieri. Her scholarship success story was also due to her lecturers that encouraged her to apply for the grant. She plans to have her cafe with the grant given to her and her salary from the internship.
Valerie’s success story didn’t begin suddenly. She suddenly lost employment from her two jobs almost simultaneously early last year. The jobs were lost because of the bad economy due to the pandemic. She had no choice but to move back to where she grew up to stay with her family. However, the hospitality sector got back on its feet late last year. Many shops, hotels, restaurants, and other hospitality-related firms that were shut down reopened for business. Business operations were beginning to pick and job openings became available to job seekers. Many unemployed people got employed. The industry is improving and has given opportunities for people like Valerie to learn and showcase their talents. Valerie was actively involved in her school’s mentorship program and participated in virtual fairs which facilitated networking. She was able to build personal and professional connections through all these.
Indeed, Valerie made use of the post-pandemic to the best of her ability and became successful.
Other Success Stories
Hard Insurance Success Story
Getting insurance has been a big problem during and immediately after the pandemic. It has deterred lots of hospitality firms from getting firmly back on their feet. Risk mitigation and management, financial management, and fundraising became difficult. Since the insurance companies were also experiencing their problems, their services became scarce and expensive. Insurance coverage for infectious diseases was excluded from compensation plans. Umbrella and multiple insurance coverages were costly and hard to get.
The price for housing insurance coverage plans was inflated so much. The hospitality industry also found it difficult to get security (both digital and physical) insurance policies. This has exposed the industry to internet crimes.
The good news is that the rate of insurance has started reducing many months after the pandemic. Hospitality experts use insurance brokers to get the best deals and save money. The brokers give them professional risk managers to help them to manage and mitigate risks.
Investments Success Story
North Americans highly want to travel and dine as well. More enterprises are looking to put off virtual meetings and embrace physical business seminars recently. As summer seasons approach, tourist activities skyrockets.
In respite, owners took advantage of the lockdown to invest in technologies that will prepare them for such embracement. As technology was being adopted before the lockdown, it was boosted by using online networks. Modern capacities are added to make trades less touchy for the safety of the customers and the workers. These are the clues needed for accomplishment in the hospitality industry and after the pandemic.
Integrating the outlets can enable the follow-up of customers’ use of space aside from the normal booking. It tracks when the rooms are decontaminated and made available to the customers for use.
Such modern capacities also give customers room for online communication with workers for spa booking or assistance. They facilitate keeping buildings coordinated underneath as well.
Most investments focus on the customers’ experience, as this is presently a great competitive advantage.
Gaining good insights (analytics) and user experiences are the technologies mostly prioritized by the hospitality industry.
Good insights give industries deep information on how customer experiences can be personalized using personas. These show the unique sections of guests, match the experience and services with their taste.
The importance of personalizing customers’ experience, thereby getting satisfied customers can be seen in the return on investments. Customer reviews should be greatly considered as positive reviews from them can increase the revenue of hotels. The ratings can also enable prospective customers to make decisions on paying for high-class lodgings.
Conclusions
Post-pandemic saw people appreciating the gift of moving about as they wish, which was lacking before the pandemic.
There have been records of improvements in hospitality from last year to what it is now. There are evolving actions for the travel industries to carry out to leave the shores of the river. The capacity to navigate through the challenges to be faced is what will make the recoveries sustainable.
