The Hospitality Industry In 2020: What a Wild Ride

Oh, what a year it has been. That statement may mean something different to each of us, but surely, we can agree on the general sentiment it provides. If 2020 felt both like a whirlwind and the slowest year on record, I can relate. If it exhausted your capacity for the daily news cycle, I can relate. If the terms "unprecedented times" and "new normal" now leave a bad taste in your mouth, I can relate. But if the year also presented you with an opportunity for new growth, I, too, can relate. If the year illustrated that your tolerance and appetite for a challenge is more than you initially thought, I can relate.

More than that, if the year reignited your zest for what was previously perceived as normal life - perhaps even considered mundane - I'm right there with you.

2020 was, if anything, a masterclass in hardship and evolution, disappointment, and gratitude. A rare occasion when opposite ends of our spectrum of experience came together to show us the duality of life. We felt the pressure, and we bent - we did not break. And now, we're heading into the holiday season with a new year on the horizon and a renewed sense of gratitude for the things that matter most. We have weathered a storm we didn't see coming, and while we cannot guarantee the forecast offered by the months and year to come, we now know how resilient we truly are. When we work together, when we align our passions with purpose, and when we focus on the human experience we share across our personal lives and our professional pursuits, we can accomplish incredible things.

As we look to the year ahead, I would be doing my team a great disservice if I did not relish in a moment of reflection. As we got together last week (virtually, of course) to discuss our 2020 milestones, one of our staff members said it best: "We survived!"

I couldn't help but to smile at this sentiment. We all looked back at one another with a sort of rueful expression and shared understanding. We did. We survived. But we didn't just survive. Through the undeniable hardship experienced by our industry at large, our company, SalesAndCatering.com, also found ways to thrive.

Against the odds, we pulled off some significant achievements this year, and I owe it to the endless hard work and dedication of my team and our incredible clients to shine a spotlight on those accomplishments. Over the last eleven months, we completed a long-awaited PMS integration with Opera, and we added over 20 new management company clients. Not only that, but we also grew our overall STS client-base to over 2,200 properties worldwide. Much of that growth was thanks to word of mouth - our incredible clients simply sharing their experiences with their industry peers. Looking at this momentum, we can't help but recognize that 2020 was, in many ways, a 50/50 experience. Half of it just sheer survival, and the other half incredible growth.

If you ask me how we prevailed, the answer is that we stayed true to our core values. As the Coronavirus pandemic swept across the globe it became apparent that no industry was exempt from impact. Hospitality and travel were of course, more notably affected. Once busy hotels fell quiet, airport terminals remained mostly empty. Brands everywhere found themselves facing an uncertain future. But for us at SalesAndCatering.com, the plan of action was the same plan we've always executed: To provide world-class, personalized service and full-featured technology at an affordable price.

At the end of the day, our customers have always been at the heart of everything we do. We consider that human connection to be the ethos of our brand. We don't simply care about how our product fits into a hotel's technological ecosystem - we care about the hotel as a whole. The hospitality business and service are part of our DNA, and we have always been focused on helping our clients be successful. I believe it is precisely this mindset that enabled us to navigate through the choppy waters of 2020:

• Provide a complete, best-in-class solution for the best price.
• Make the tools that hoteliers need to streamline their post-pandemic recovery affordable and accessible.
• Make it simple.
• Make it seamless.

That was the method to our madness, and, honestly, it worked. And I wholeheartedly believe that it will always work. In these challenging times, SalesAndCatering.com has been able to adapt and innovate, and our culture of compassion has never been more relevant.

The hospitality industry will not emerge from the COVID-19 crisis the same as it entered. Yet as we start to look beyond it, I am optimistic that we can do better than returning to normal. I am confident that working together, we will create a whole new world of hospitality.

Ryan Hamilton
Co-Founder
+1 847 488 0225
SalesAndCatering.com, LLC