Rohit Vig, Regional Managing Director – India & Director Development, StayWell Hospitality talks about StayWell Holdings post Covid-19 hygiene and sanitation standards and its plans to tap the domestic tourism market.
Regions and countries are beginning to open up, but the coronavirus pandemic has undoubtedly changed what amenities travellers seek once they decide to stay in a hotel. Experts foresee hospitality players that are able to implement new hygienic standards that go beyond the paper wrap over the toilet seat having an edge over competitors. Keeping up with the changing dynamics of the hospitality business, StayWell Holdings has recently announced its post Covid-19 brand standards for hygiene and sanitation. With a focus on protecting guests and employees, the standards have been developed in conjunction with one of the world’s leading testing, inspection and certification agencies, Bureau Veritas.
The brand standards adhere to the Bureau Veritas SafeGuard Assurance Program, and outline auditable measures that span front office, guestrooms, and housekeeping, public areas, back of the house including suppliers, restaurants and food outlets, functions and events, and human resources and training.
Each new measure complements the already stringent standards upheld by the group and has guest and employee safety at its forefront. These standards have been translated into what has been dubbed the ‘Stay Well’ measure for the group’s hotels. This program is designed to not only provide the safest possible environment for guests as they return to travel but also to assure them, through independent implementation audits, that StayWell has adopted the highly stringent standard and operational protocols required to achieve the certification.
“Hospital grade cleaning features heavily in the new standards, including increased frequency of cleaning, and use of chemicals approved to kill Covid-19. Every property will install sensor hand sanitisers within all public spaces including lifts, and will undertake the management of social distancing across public spaces. In addition, StayWell Holdings is introducing innovative measures such as immunity-boosting menus, and the introduction of contactless free restaurant mobile ordering systems at all participating hotel restaurants,” informed Vig.
The hotel group plans to focus on the domestic tourism market as travel restrictions ease out. According to industry insiders, domestic tourism will be the only focus area for the first few quarters once the pandemic is over. As per the statistics available with the Ministry of Tourism, India recorded 1854.93 domestic tourists visits in 2018, a growth of 11.9 percent over the previous year. These numbers look staggering when compared to 10.56 million international tourist arrivals recorded in 2018.
“Our initial phase will be to focus on the local domestic market, as we align all our revenue generation strategies including digital marketing, pricing, and cancellation policies, to drive more business opportunities. It is critical to win the trust of our past and potential guests, to effectively communicate that our hotels are safe and are adhering to the stringent hygiene and sanitisation measures,” said Vig.
“In India we are prioritising partnering up with local tour operators, adjusting our offers to appeal to locals, and using paid media to drive traffic to our websites. On our website, we are focusing on a tailored approach with unique messages that are segmented by geo source targeting less crisis-sensitive areas. Our direct booking perks are unique and tailored to appeal to travellers. Whilst this is a challenging time we are optimistic that travellers will return and we are eager to welcome them back,” he added.
In order to provide additional peace of mind to those wanting to make travel plans, StayWell has also launched a range of flexible booking options for guests. The group’s reserve now, pay later initiative allows guests to book their stay across all of the StayWell properties with a 20 percent discount, and without any payment upfront. The initiative also permits cancellation without penalty up to 48 hours prior to arrival. StayWell loyalty program members also receive additional discounts on rates globally.