The coronavirus pandemic doesn’t discriminate businesses, but one of the industries hardest hit is tourism. Many accommodation options, like hotels, suffer from low occupancy rates as people skip traveling.
If you’re in this business, the next best step is to pivot. Fortunately, you can explore many opportunities that are more resistant to the pandemic’s economic effect:
1. Commercial Cleaning
For many people, hotels need to smell and look clean. If you have that characteristic, you can use it to your advantage by launching a commercial cleaning service. If you don’t want the hassle of starting from scratch, consider getting a commercial cleaning services franchise.
Commercial cleaning is one of the most relevant services these days because of the various health protocols for the workplace. Employees are also less likely to avoid getting back to work if they see their companies doing their best to keep them safe.
2. Food Catering
Many hotels thrive not only in their occupancy but also in their restaurant, bars, and entertainment facilities. With fewer people coming in, perhaps it’s time to bring these services to their doorstep.
You can offer the following:
- Food catering – Target menus and setup for small gatherings, such as weddings and birthdays. Make sure you can create a safety or wellness plan, which you can also use as your unique selling proposition (USP). You can also create subscription meal plans.
- Ingredient supply – As a hotel, you likely have built great partnerships with food vendors or suppliers. Why don’t you make yours a retailer, providing your market with hard-to-find food products?
- Bar supply – Everybody is stressed and hopes to unwind. Wines and beers are the perfect companions for that. Offer curbside delivery or pickup for these items.
3. Long-Term Stays
With plenty of borders shutting down and with limited flights, many cannot travel. According to the Cato Institute from Customs and Border Protection, over 6 million foreign visitors might have been stranded. These didn’t include foreign workers and students.
Further, hundreds of Americans might be needing a place to stay temporarily after having been evicted from their homes or their properties foreclosed.
You can offer your hotel as a refuge for these people with more affordable long-term stays. It can boost your occupancy rate and guarantee a consistent stable income. Your revenue might be break-even at least, but you reduce the risk of closing down for a longer period (or even forever).
4. Isolation or Quarantine Facilities
A 2020 study in the Lancet revealed that the transmission rate of the virus can be faster in the household. It isn’t surprising since people are less likely to wear a mask or practice social distancing when they’re living in the same home.
Moreover, if a patient decides to home quarantine, the responsibility of care passes on to the kin, who might not be that knowledgeable on the proper protocols.
As a hotel, you can provide an alternative to these families by converting some rooms into isolation or quarantine facilities. Work with your health department and experts for guidelines and permits.
These pivots could help your business survive until the pandemic ends or, who knows, open opportunities that deliver better sustainable income.
