It is completely understandable that most hospitality industry companies are focused on short-term survival right now. World, business and industry conditions require such attention. However, as time passes and we settle into our routines and manage to put out our most pressing fires, it will soon become time for the industry's leaders to look past the clouds of uncertainty hanging over us and take the necessary time to consider how firms need to position themselves once the pandemic crisis has abated and the world returns to normal. Strategy is about the future, and it is a mediator between the firm and the environment. It is what helps us to evolve proactively to changing conditions. Thus, while the crisis will in fact end one day (though we don't as of yet know when), it would be naïve to think that the After Corona (AC) normal will be the same as the Before Corona (BC) normal. New laws, new social norms and behaviors, changes to democracy and governmental intervention policies, employment shifts, and so on will have helped create a new world for people and firms.

The question, therefore, is what will the new normal look like in the AC world? More specifically, how will the decisions, actions and events of today shape the hospitality industry of tomorrow, and what can firms do to prepare for the changes to come?

Tim  Weiland
Tim Weiland
General Manager at The Alpina Gstaad

The new normal in the western world may adopt more social gestures already long in place in many parts of Asia, where handshaking is less prevalent and wearing face masks in public has long been accepted as socially wise. We are a culturally diverse industry, and while we probably have not always been the fastest innovators, we certainly know the importance of adapting to everyone's needs on a personal level. This is in the DNA of every hotelier and this must not change.

While the current situation certainly leaves the time to work on strategy and long-term plans, I can't help but wonder how many companies are currently ripping apart the projections they had made just 6 months prior to the whole crisis. Flexibility, creativity and a leaner, more dynamic structure will certainly help to recover faster from the current situation, to then quickly find our place in the BC world.

View all 5 views in this viewpoint