Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-12-21)

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Myadvicefortravelingduringthecoronaviruspandemichas

remainedconstantandsimplesinceMarch:Don’t.Thatmay

soundoddcomingfroma traveleditorwhosejobis toalways

finda waytogetoutandexploretheworld—andstranger

stillconsideringtheextremeduressthatborderclosuresand

socialdistancinghaveplacedonthehospitalityindustry’s

shoulders.Theyneedvisitorsasmuchasweneeda break.

Butthosewhorunhotelsandguideexcursionswillhurt

muchmoreinthelongrunif wedon’theedthecallofthe

momentbystayinghomejusta bitlonger.

Inthemeantime,theindustryhasadopteda previously

unthinkablesetofpracticesthatputthefocussquarelyon

providingthesafestexperienceandbestservicepossible,

whetherit’santimicrobialTSAbinsorblockedmiddleseats

andevery-other-rowseatingconfigurations.Hotelsareregu-

larlydisinfectinglobbies,andtheirconciergesareusingSMS-

basedcommunicationsinsteadofhavingguestslineupface

toface.Andsuiteshaveevenbeentransformedintoprivate

diningroomsforMichelin-starredrestaurantsthatnormally

paradeelaboratedishestoelbow-to-elbow-packeddiners.

Takeoutthereasoningbehindit all—thesearedesper-

ateattemptstosavelivesandbusinesses—andsomeofthese

changesveerintoindulgence.Here’sthetruth:Pre-pandemic,

travelcompaniesweremoreconcernedwithaddingnewthrills

thanidentifyingandupdatingtherustycogsintheirmachines. ILLUSTRATION

BY

KLAUS

KREMMERZ

CRITIC BloombergPursuits December 21, 2020

Look at Peninsula Hotels, whose 10 properties around the

world are bastions of white-glove hospitality. Until lately,

the company’s energy had been concentrated on curating art

for public spaces and drumming up exclusive, expensive activ-

ities such as a multicourse brunch on the Great Wall of China.

Sure, these flourishes added sophistication to an already fabu-

lous brand. But you know what guests will really appreciate?

The ability to check in and out at any hour of the day, free of

charge—an amenity Peninsula is rolling out in January.

Similarly, frequent flyers may have gotten a kick out of

United Airlines Inc.’s Star Wars-themed plane, which took

to the skies in 2019, but they’ll be more gratified by the car-

rier’sdecisioninNovembertoopenfirst-classlavatoriesto

economypassengers.

Gimmickswon’tsellin2021,butflexibility—thatformerly

forgottentenetofhospitality—will.It used to cost more than

$200tomodifythedatesonevena cheap domestic flight.

Now,American,Delta,United,andAlaska Airlines have all

committedtonixinga majorityofthoseinane change fees for

theforeseeablefuture.Thesameis true for loyalty. Years of

devaluedprogramshadmadeit impossible to earn status with

goodoldpointsandmiles,leavingcustomers feeling more

rippedoffthanrespected.Nowtherace to win back business

is on:Mostcompanieshaveputa stopto points expirations,

andacrosstheboardit’seasierthanever to redeem them.

Thesechangesaresettolast,giventhe unlikelihood that

businesstravelwillimmediatelyrebound now that we’re

(somewhat)conversantinZoom.And I don’t imagine air-

lineswillsuddenlystopcleaningseatback screens and arm-

restsbetweeneachflight—whichwereshockingly not part of

theprotocolbeforeCovid-19.

Thisreassessingofbasicvaluesgoesbeyond promoting pub-

lichealthandeconomicrecovery.While protesters were tak-

ingtothestreetsworldwidetofightracial inequality, the travel

industrylookedinward,too.Researchfrom the Castell Project,

a nonprofitnormallyfocusedonadvancing women into exec-

utivehospitalityroles,foundthatBlackmen and women hold

fewerthan1.5%ofthehotelindustry’ssenior-most roles despite

representingalmost20%ofitsworkforce.That’sevenworse

thanthemeager5%averageacrossotherindustries.

Customersin 2021 andbeyondshoulddemandbetter—not

onlyintheservicesbeingprovidedtothem, but in expect-

ingexecutivestokeeptheirwordwhen it comes to promot-

ingdiversitywithintheirranks,asthechief executive officers

ofDelta,United,InterContinentalHotels,Marriott,andso

manymorehavepromised.Afterall,increasingrepresenta-

tioninsidetheindustrywillhelpmoretravelersfeelwelcome

whenexploringtheworld—asocialand economic boon.

Asforwherewego?Thatmayevolve for the better, too.

We’veseenthatthewatersofVenice are clearer without

cruiseshipspassingbydaily,butthatcommunity-owned con-

servationinKenyais almostimpossible to pull off without

theflowoftourismdollars.Whetherwe reshape our bucket

liststoprioritizetourism-dependentdestinations instead of

tourism-spoiled ones is up to us. <BW>

Travel may not come back

bigger, but it will be better

By Nikki Ekstein

The Customer

Is King Again