There’s been a flurry of news lately pointing to potentially better days ahead for hotels in Singapore. Allowing non-fully vaccinated travellers entering the city-state to skip quarantine, reopening Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 after two years of hibernation, and starting work on a fifth air terminal that will not only be one of the largest of its kind in the world but also one that’s pandemic-proof, are among the things that ought to keep hotels busy for some time to come.
Hotels are already back on their feet, with visitor arrivals to Singapore rising as borders reopen. Occupancies and room rates are at pre-COVID-19 levels, and the momentum is likely to be sustained as the country expects to receive four to 6 million visitors in 2022, compared to about 2.2 million so far this year.
Still, the heart-wrenching experience of the last two years and longer-term issues such as climate change should serve to remind hotels that they need to better align themselves with the times and even change how certain things are done to raise their game.
Doing even more with less, given the perennial shortage of workers, navigating disruptions to global supply chains, and staying up to speed with sustainability developments and practices, are a few themes hotels have to get a handle on even as business is recovering.
Doing more with less
Avoiding unnecessary physical contact has been ingrained in most people’s minds during the pandemic. Contactless payment systems, pre-arrival online surveys and virtual concierges are a few tools already in place in many hotels even before the onset of COVID-19. But there’s still room for contact-free applications for other routine tasks.
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Self-check-in, for instance, is still not common practice in Singapore. One reason for this has to do with security, as hotels want to make sure they don’t end up housing unwanted guests. But with technologies enabling secure and seamless self-check-in already available, guests should be able to do without face-to-face interactions and queues at the front desk.
Checking in can be done even before arrival as a guest can simply punch in the relevant information using a smartphone with an app or portal linked to the hotel. Hotels can take this further by issuing digital keys for rooms instead of physical ones. This would enable guests to simply head straight to their rooms upon arrival.
Besides convenience for guests, self-check-ins can help hotels save on manpower costs. Human resources will also be optimised with workers being freed up to take on more productive and interesting roles, which hopefully will help with staff retention. These are outcomes that any accommodation provider will welcome in today’s tight and increasingly expensive labour market.
Using robots for run-of-the-mill tasks such as baggage handling and food delivery can be another option. The economics must, of course, make sense as the initial outlay for these machines can be substantial, depending on the hotel’s requirements.
Supply chains and sustainability
More than two years into the pandemic, and with the Russia-Ukraine conflict still raging, disruptions to supply chains and the resultant surge in food costs continue to be felt worldwide. Food security, among other things, has become a foremost concern for many countries.
To reduce reliance on imports, Singapore seeks to have 30 per cent of its nutritional requirements met by 2030 through locally and sustainably produced foods. Many companies are rising to the challenge by developing new food solutions, including alternative proteins.
These mainly plant-based alternatives are becoming popular among consumers who are mindful of the environmental challenges linked to traditional meat farming and production. On their part, hotels can consider featuring more alternative proteins on their menus to support food sustainability.
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With climate change becoming an increasing threat, mitigating emissions and reducing wastage should also be priorities for hotels. Equipping rooms with smart thermostats that automatically adjust the temperature to a pre-set, environmentally-friendly level when no one is around is one such hack.
It’s also time for hotels to ditch or reduce the use of bottled water. Making water dispensers readily available and giving every guest a glass bottle for refills will go some way in reducing plastic usage.
Even blockchain has been touted to be of help to hotels. Blockchain advocates argue that the technology enables, for example, the monitoring of wines from the time of production in a winery to the time distributors get hold of the final product and deliver the bottles to the hotel.
With every transaction recorded and available for viewing on the blockchain, they claim that counterfeiting of expensive wines can be avoided. At the same time, any delays in production or shipment can be grounds for the hotel to source alternative supplies. Promising as it sounds, blockchain adoption is still in its infancy in the hospitality industry.
Hotels in Singapore should leave no stone unturned in seeking to up their game in today’s increasingly challenging operating environment. Some ideas may seem radical or conceptual, but it’s never too late to start future-proofing against present and future threats.
Even if the initial outlay in some cases may not be small, that may be a price hotels must pay to give guests what they want and get them to keep coming back.
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