Hospitality is one of the most adversely impacted industries by the Coronavirus, the recent surge in infections has again posed threat to the already struggling sector
Chairman of GVK Group, GVK Reddy has said that investing in digital technology can save the industry from unrepairable damages posed by the recent surge in coronavirus cases. The hospitality industry was one of the first to suffer when the pandemic was declared. As the dramatic events unfolded in the early months of 2020, restrictions on movements and travel movements in both India and across, devastated the global tour & travel industry. However, in the later months of the same year and the beginning of 2021, hospitality started recovering owing to decreasing infection rate and easing restriction on movement.
Paradoxically, a recent surge in coronavirus cases in India to a record level has again weakened the environment to get back on track. While commenting on the situation, GV Krishna Reddy, said, “Don’t see this pandemic as a hindrance to your business, this disruption is an opportunity in disguise for capitalizing digital capabilities.” He also indicated towards changing travel preferences of the travellers since the unlocking began in India.
“Digital capability will be the determinant factor of how your company will perform in the coming times. Especially for the firms in the business of tours and travel, it has already become the game-changer. Therefore, players in the industry irrespective of their size need to manoeuvre their digital capabilities,” he added. Reddy also acknowledged the dire cash crunch that most of the stakeholders in hospitality are facing since the past year, which is hindering the implementation of digital technology. For hospitality, the challenge is on a dual front, crashing revenues and enhanced expenses to address health safety protocols.
A vanguard of the Indian business fraternity, GVK Reddy, said that there are two key elements that players in hospitality need to understand to raise revenues amid such uncertainties. “Optimising the expanses and providing best-in-class delivery to the clients is what is required. Digitalization at first might seek an infusion of funds at a greater level, but in the long run, it will optimize the expanses by reducing several redundancies that are there due to age-old business practices. Talking about a delivery, digitization will also help enhance services by offering contact-less services and reducing a lot of wastage.”
As several recent reports have suggested, corporate travel will diminish permanently owing to remote working and virtual meetings. Therefore, the hotels will have to focus more on leisure travels for business while making fundamental changes in operations. In addition to what GV Krishna Reddy has suggested, the hotels will also have to adopt certain design changes to ensure health safety protocols, doing all while leveraging the best out of the assets
An eminent entrepreneur, GV Krishna Reddy holds several years of experience across the industries. Amongst other things, he is known for developing state-of-the-art infrastructure across India through GVK Group’s’Infra development arm GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd.
Source: The Prevalent India
