Tomorrow will belong to the unafraid
To survive and thrive in today’s world, it takes a lot more than clinging or going back to yesteryear’s strategies and hoping for the best. For sure budgets are tighter, consumers harder to reach and hiring staff a nightmare, but it’s just not the time to surrender. Instead, the time to move leaner, faster, smarter, and with laser-like focus is now!
At the beginning of COVID-19, many businesses waited in hope that it would soon go away. Unfortunately it did not. The coronavirus turned from an epidemic to a pandemic and all hell broke loose. Many restaurants closed shop. A few restaurants (including hotels), moved quickly; changing their model of operation by shifting from a ‘waiting for the customer’ to ‘going to the customer ‘mode.
They operated like a ‘start up’, changing their product and service offerings and methods of distribution. Several restaurants put up shutters…some temporarily, others permanently. They failed to think outside the catering box, refusing to move away from the “but that’s the way we have always done it” mantra, and eventually perished or ended up as losers.
One might say that a significantly large number of hospitality businesses that closed were organizations’ that nurtured only ‘busy bodies or busy doers’ and no ‘big thinkers’. They stayed within the comfort zone, doing what they always did, not rocking the boat and delivering just enough to make profits until they became another sad statistic.
To stand above the crowd, particularly during catastrophic times, it takes more than rate reductions or yelling louder than the others, that your benefits are better, safer, healthier and greener. The cacophony of competitor voices - all trumpeting the same will only make you, not others, fall in love with your voice.
The future will belong to those who don’t just settle for trying to re-create their past. They are those who will continuously push the “never been done before concepts”. The economy maybe going into reverse, but some affordable and innovative food and beverage concepts are charging ahead.
After all, innovation only comes to those that relentlessly pursue it.
Ilzaf Keefahs is a freelance writer who enjoys focusing on hospitality related matters that he is passionate about, and likes to share his views with hoteliers and customers alike. He delves into the heart of hospitality to figure out both customer service and consumer trends that impact the industry.
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