The Covid 19 pandemic is uncharted territory for the hospitality industr

The Novel Coronavirus pandemic has hit 150 countries, affecting over 800,000 people and leaving several thousand dead. And the count keeps goings up, every single day. Even as the world waits for the curve to flatten, for a drug cure to be found and a vaccine to be discovered, many are facing the prospect of unemployment, job loss and social disruption.

The pandemic is uncharted territory for the hospitality industry. While most industries have been badly impacted and world economies are in recession, it is the hospitality and travel industries that have been crippled globally.

Industries that depend on people travelling, for work and pleasure. With over half of the world's population under lockdown due to COVID-19, the crisis that began sometime in early December in China, before spreading its tangled web across the world, will continue to unfold for a while.

The potential losses and disruptions India’s hospitality industry was on overdrive before things went downhill:
■ India is third-largest globally in terms of investment in travel and tourism. In 2018, US$ 45.7 billion was invested in the country, says World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).
■ KPMG estimates that the tourism and hospitality sector accounted for 7.5% of the country's GDP in 2019.
■ KPMG expected the hospitality sector to grow at 16.1% CAGR, to reach Rs 2,796 crore in 2022. Now, WTTC estimates up to 50 million jobs in the travel and hotel industry are at risk due to the global COVID-19 pandemic; several of those are likely to be in India.

Hotels have upped their hygiene game, disinfecting their properties and putting in place all the WHO safety protocols, which may continue even after the COVID19 crisis blows over.

The impact of coronavirus is unprecedented. The month of February and March, generally considered peak season for inbound tourism, have witnessed a 70-80%downfall in revenues and if the spread continues for a few months, the holiday season of May-June will be no better, followed by a tepid business cycle of three months.

Travel companies, governments and hotels fear a complete washoutof the summer holidays, which are peak business season. Given the huge potential the industries offer for growth and employment, the Hotel Association of India (HAI) has stated, in the letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that the “potential shock to the livelihood of millions is enormous. We will need to think in terms of forming a task force with the industry and the government to establish a path for normalcy in general, and build confidence in this industry in particular”.

The hospitality industry was among the first to show the big signs of distress, with large global groups such as Marriott International and AccorHotels announcing furloughs of staff, leave without pay, closing of hotels and postponement of new hotel plans. Half of the Accor-branded hotels worldwide have already been closed, and this is likely to increase to over two-thirds in the coming weeks. Many groups such as IHCL have opened its hotels to BMC medical staff, to travellers stuck due to the lockdown, even as they supply nutritious meals to hospitals dealing with COVID-19 patients.