Thursday Thoughts: Other Industry Perspectives
Planning for the future requires information, and our goal is to monitor industry research/data to assist our partners in understanding short and long term COVID-19 ideas and opportunities.
For the last two weeks, our Tuesday Tactics focused on future planning. This includes envisioning different operating scenarios as well as visitor experiences. This week, CHMGS highlights two articles that provide additional insight on those issues.
Short Term Thoughts on Future State of Travel. This article by the CEO of MMGY Global frames out some core thoughts on future consumer behavior. It discusses how consumers think and respond to crisis. As you plan your visitor communication to prepare visitors to your site, you need to understand a bit about consumer behavior. Marketing to your users in a way that makes them understand the opportunities and required changes in behaviors (e.g., preparing them for the experience) should be an important priority. The article points out that “leisure” travel that is close to home, low cost and facilitates social distancing (e.g., in-state and camping) will be the first place to bounce back. This means that public lands will be a key destination.
Operational Best Practices: Good ideas come from many places. This article from the South Asia Office of HVS, focuses on what operational policies management should consider when re-opening. It does a great job breaking down operational strategies by hotel department. It covers both “visitor facing” as well as “employee management.” While local campgrounds, beaches, and day use areas are not hotels, they are in the business of making visitors feel safe and protecting their employees. Consider using this checklist/thought process to think strategically about each of your visitor interaction areas.
