March 1: A positive outlook and resilience – these are the two qualities that define the hospitality sector. In the face of the multiple waves of the pandemic, the restaurant and hotel businesses have held their ground. Despite all the ups and downs, the hospitality sector remained a close-knit community, working towards thriving, come what may. And now the industry is all set to revive again, says international restaurateur Sanjeev Nanda.
Nanda, who runs popular restaurants in Dubai like Miss Tess and Billionaire Mansion, is quite optimistic about the pace at which the restaurant businesses across the globe are overcoming the disruption in operations caused by the pandemic. And his belief is backed by strong evidence that emerges from various industry reports that point out that the global hospitality industry is up for an easier time in the coming months as business continues to grow.
Of survival and revival
Irrespective of the general sentiment that the hospitality sector has received a huge blow amid the worldwide scare of Omicron, industry leaders report a slight dip of 10 to 15 per cent in the overall revenues of hospitality businesses as compared to the time when the first Covid wave struck. According to Sanjeev Nanda, a major factor at play behind this has been the increased levels of preparedness that businesses have shown ever since the disease first emerged.
“The first wave brought us face to face with the fact that we all need to stay prepared for the unseen challenges. Yes, it was a challenging time for the industry, but it was also a time full of new learning. It taught us to move past the profits once and operate on survival mode. It taught us to never lose patience in the event of a crisis and wait for it to pass so that the business can thrive once again,” says the Miss Tess owner.
The changing face of hospitality
The Covid crisis forced every single person to expand their horizons and cooperate with the others to make this world a safer and healthier place for everyone. It is only due to the sheer diligence on part of healthcare workers and pharma companies that the world now has a wide array of preventive measures like vaccines in place, which is a huge propellant for businesses irrespective of the sector.
Hospitality is also reaping the benefits of vaccination drives and awareness programs run by the governments across the globe. According to Sanjeev Nanda, continuous efforts and mutual cooperation among various industries has not only helped the world sail through the third wave of infection, but it has also helped hospitality businesses come up with unique solutions. The involvement of tech-based operational techniques is putting restaurant businesses in a stronger state than ever, which is the reason why the hospitality sector is thriving despite facing a difficult time.
Divya Agarwal
