The pandemic has made an hotels bussiness challenging undertaking even more difficult.
Phil Hospod, founder of hospitality developer Dovetail and Co. said “Opening hotels is never easy”, in a Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association webinar in early August. “There are a hundred different things that need to come together for a smooth opening — it’s long nights and weekends, and stress levels are high.”
On top of the normal challenges inherent in any hotel ramp up, however, Dovetail and Co. was thrown a major curveball as the Covid-19 crisis unfolded ahead of the opening of its latest project, the Wayfinder, in Newport, R.I., this May.
“Through March, April and May, pushing to an opening in the middle of everything was pretty wild,” said Hospod. “We were able to soft open at the end of May, which is kind of remarkable. But it required a fair amount of creativity to create as good an experience as possible.”
For example, the 197-room Wayfinder had to quickly pivot in order to replace its sit-down restaurant, which was no longer allowed to operate, with in-room dining options. Supply chains were also impacted, with lighting shipments delayed and only around half of the property’s artwork on the walls when it opened. In order to allow guests to properly isolate, the property decided not to offer daily housekeeping.
“There were a lot of things that you’d expect from a full-service hotel that we weren’t doing, but guests were appreciative,” added Hospod. “Everyone was a little more forgiving. We were more forgiving of ourselves and with our team, because perfection was unattainable.”
Like the Wayfinder, Room Mate Hotels’ new Room Mate Macarena, Gran Via found itself caught in the pandemic’s crossfire when it debuted in March. The brand’s sixth property in Madrid, the Macarena had only been open for a few weeks when Covid-19 began to sweep through the city and Spain imposed stay-at-home orders.
Rather than go into hibernation mode, the Macarena instead became one of 13 Room Mate properties globally to donate rooms to healthcare workers and the elderly.
“At the beginning, we offered all our hotels up to the local city authorities, and they initially said, ‘Thank you, we’ll take one of them,’” said Kike Sarasola, founder and president of Room Mate Hotels. “But little by little, that one became six. I don’t think anyone really knew then that this was going to be so big and hit so hard.”
The 130-room Room Mate Macarena is now opening its doors to leisure travelers for a second time, announcing a public debut redo in late July. Rather than having to scramble to incorporate the latest in cleaning and safety protocols, however, the property’s experience housing healthcare workers has helped prepare it for the current climate.
“We’ve actually had a huge advantage,” said Sarasola. “Because we were hosting medical workers who were working near the virus, we had to, very early on, implement all the sanitization measures that are now compulsory. We already had things like the [plexiglass] shields at the front desk and rules around having no more than two people in the elevator and social distancing already in place.”
Pandemi telah membuat tantangan bisnis hotel menjadi lebih sulit.
Phil Hospod, pendiri pengembang perhotelan Dovetail and Co. mengatakan “Membuka hotel tidak pernah mudah”, dalam webinar Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association pada awal Agustus. “Ada ratusan hal berbeda yang perlu disatukan untuk pembukaan yang mulus – ini adalah malam dan akhir pekan yang panjang, dan tingkat stres tinggi.”
Di atas tantangan normal yang melekat pada setiap peningkatan hotel, bagaimanapun, Dovetail and Co. mengalami kesulitan besar saat krisis Covid-19 terjadi menjelang pembukaan proyek terbarunya, Wayfinder, di Newport, RI, Mei ini. .
“Hingga Maret, April dan Mei, mendorong pembukaan di tengah-tengah segalanya cukup liar,” kata Hospod. “Kami bisa melakukan soft open pada akhir Mei, dan ini luar biasa. Tapi itu membutuhkan kreativitas yang cukup untuk menciptakan pengalaman sebaik mungkin.”
Misalnya, Wayfinder dengan 197 kamar harus cepat berputar untuk mengganti restoran duduknya, yang tidak lagi diizinkan beroperasi, dengan pilihan makan di dalam kamar. Rantai pasokan juga terpengaruh, dengan pengiriman lampu tertunda dan hanya sekitar setengah dari karya seni properti di dinding ketika dibuka. Untuk mengizinkan tamu mengisolasi diri dengan baik, properti memutuskan untuk tidak menawarkan layanan tata graha harian.
“Ada banyak hal yang Anda harapkan dari hotel dengan layanan lengkap yang tidak kami lakukan, tetapi tamu sangat berterima kasih,” tambah Hospod. “Setiap orang sedikit lebih pemaaf. Kami lebih memaafkan diri kami sendiri dan dengan tim kami, karena kesempurnaan tidak bisa dicapai.”
Seperti Wayfinder, Room Mate Macarena baru di Room Mate Hotels, Gran Via terjebak dalam baku tembak pandemi saat debutnya pada bulan Maret. Properti keenam merek tersebut di Madrid, Macarena, baru dibuka selama beberapa minggu ketika Covid-19 mulai menyebar ke seluruh kota dan Spanyol memberlakukan pesanan tinggal di rumah.
Alih-alih beralih ke mode hibernasi, Macarena malah menjadi salah satu dari 13 properti Room Mate secara global untuk menyumbangkan kamar kepada petugas kesehatan dan orang tua.
“Awalnya, kami menawarkan semua hotel kami kepada otoritas kota setempat, dan mereka awalnya berkata, ‘Terima kasih, kami akan mengambil salah satunya,’” kata Kike Sarasola, pendiri dan presiden Room Mate Hotels. “Tapi sedikit demi sedikit, yang itu menjadi enam. Saya tidak berpikir ada orang yang benar-benar tahu bahwa ini akan menjadi begitu besar dan terpukul begitu keras.”
Room Mate Macarena dengan 130 kamar sekarang membuka pintunya bagi pelancong rekreasi untuk kedua kalinya, mengumumkan pengulangan debut publik pada akhir Juli. Alih-alih harus berebut untuk memasukkan yang terbaru dalam pembersihan dan protokol keselamatan, namun, pengalaman properti perumahan petugas kesehatan telah membantu mempersiapkannya untuk iklim saat ini.
“Kami sebenarnya mendapat keuntungan besar,” kata Sarasola. “Karena kami menampung pekerja medis yang bekerja di dekat virus, kami harus, sejak awal, menerapkan semua tindakan sanitasi yang sekarang diwajibkan. Kami sudah memiliki hal-hal seperti perisai [plexiglass] di meja depan dan aturan tentang tidak lebih dari dua orang di lift dan jarak sosial sudah ada.”
