Answer to Question #266082 in Management for Himalaya

Question

3. Lemon Tree, a premium chain of hotels across the country has suffered tremendous losses during this pandemic and have hired you as a consultant in order to analyze the same

a. Can you explain Political, Economic and Social forces which have had an impact on the business?

b. Can you also help them apply the contingency approach of Modern approach in order to face the pandemic effectively?

Answer 1

3. Lemon Tree, a premium chain of hotels across the country has suffered tremendous losses during this pandemic and have hired you as a consultant in order to analyze the same

a. Can you explain Political, Economic and Social forces which have had an impact on the business?

Lemon Tree Hotels is a hotel chain company, based in India. It is India's largest hotel chain in the mid-priced hotel sector, and the third largest overall, in terms of controlling interest in owned and leased rooms. The hotel industry which is under tourism sector is one of the sectors that has been greatly affected by COVID-19 pandemic. Findings reveal that the outbreak of pandemic disease led to rapid shutdowns in cities and states across the country, which greatly affected the hospitality industry. This pandemic showed the rapid negative impact on the country tourism and hotel industry. The findings of the review revealed that COVID-19 had increased cancellations of hotels and travel bookings which resulted in revenue loss and unemployment situations, resulting to loss of substantial revenue to the government and increasing incidence of poverty among others. The outbreak and spread of covid-19 affected the tourism industry most. As countries of the world continued to place travel restrictions and closure of their borders, cruise companies, hotels and hospitality industries faced declining demand and patronage. Also, the pandemic placed up to 8 million jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector at risk, with travel crashes and cancellations continues. The WorldTravel and Tourism Council (WTTC), estimates that more than 50 million jobs in the travel and tourism sector could be at risk globally. 

b. Can you also help them apply the contingency approach of Modern approach in order to face the pandemic effectively?

It is now important for the hotels to think about how the business should confront the COVID-19 crisis. Below are some Strategies for The Hotel & Tourism Industry during the “New Normal” of Covid-19.

• Security

In the new normal, travelers and guests will make safety and hygiene measures a priority when choosing their accommodation and they will demand that client-hotels implement strict cleaning protocols to deal with the coronavirus therefore, the hotel should be ready to meet customers’ demands.

• Flexibility

Flexibility is one of the most important aspects when booking hotels. New policies that adapt to unforeseen changes, like business meetings that may unexpectedly change or vacations that will need to be delayed due to sudden travel restrictions being imposed, will need to be developed. By offering flexibility to the customer, hotels can give a degree of confidence to their customers who are undoubtedly worried when booking accommodations due to the inherent insecurity of possible isolation situations, closing of borders, and flight cancellations. 

• Hospitality

The hotel must ensure that detailed information is provided, like the time it takes the hotel to answer inquiries, details of the what is included in the stay, the hotel’s current situation, and expanded information on security measures, concierge services, transfers to and from the airport, museum tickets, etc. Furthermore, they must offer explanations and advice on local measures pertaining to Coronavirus social distancing and restrictions. All of these points will now be key to generating reservations.