The State of Travel — Reality On The Ground
The future of travel is bright — let me be more specific, the future is bright for the companies that are pivoting at this moment. On every continent, the tourism industry has been hit and the consequences are easy to spot.
Usually walking on the streets of Paris at the beginning of July in the middle of the afternoon has always been an adventure — nowadays, it is so easy to stroll through Hotel de Ville, Notre Dame or the Pigalle neighbourhood, streets are almost empty. Of course, people are walking on the streets; businesses have reopened but this time is different. Nowadays I am stunned to see many stores in several cities offering discounts up to 50% (high end and mainstream); it is not yet the sales season.
When it comes to the tourism industry, many sub industries are involved — airlines, hotels, restaurants, bars, stores etc. In Lisbon, when I was when writing this article, bars and night clubs are still closed in mid July.
On a Bloomberg interview, Brian Chesky, AirBnB’s CEO, the group lost a billion of dollars in cancellations and most hosts were ‘outraged’. Although the company has done its part in trying to cope with an unprecedented situation, the reality is that hospitality is still a profession ; the AirBnB hosts will have a hard time coping with the economic downturn.
Guests especially families might not feel safe in the room. That is the thing of the moment ; to reassure guests and provide a maximum of proofs that the rooms, the houses are clean.
When the travel restrictions were lifted, I travel for work and I saw first hand how hotels groups (IHG Clean Promise) were committed to a standard of quality in services and in cleanness to respond to the customers’ fears.
In Lisbon, entering in my room at the Intercontinental Lisboa, there was a ‘cleaned and disinfected’ tag at the door that reassured me that no one came into the room after it had been cleaned.
In Paris, following the government restrictions, once a guest enters a room, no cleaning service is available for two days (you can still ask for towels and other items) but usually the room is emptied. What was once seen as impossible in 4/5 star hotels is now becoming the norm.
The breakfast and room service have a limited choice.
I am travelling solo and I am not bothered by all this — however I had trouble booking a plane ticket. I bought a ticket to Lisbon (Lyon — Lisbon via Brussels) and the airline, Brussels Airlines cancelled my Lyon — Lisbon route with no explanations. It took me three days and 45 min of waiting on the phone to speak to someone. I asked if the Brussels — Lisbon flight was still on, if so, I will book myself a train ticket to Brussels and fly from there. The agent assured me that it was impossible as I needed to check in from Lyon. After ten minutes of discussion and checking with his manager, he ended up offering me a ticket a day early or a day after from my original booking. I asked if I will be reimbursed because I had to book another night at the hotel and the cancellation was not my fault. Again, checking with the supervisor, the solutions was to offer me a ticket with no additional charges. You are so kind!
I managed to book another night with my rewards points that I could have used some other time but because I needed to be in Lisbon by the 9th of July, I did it anyway. I remember thinking that the experience from my booking experiences was bad. I am a tourism professional and I was angry with the whole experience.
How much more if it had been a family of five? With kids under 10?
Like Brian Chesky predicts, travel will never be the same; I second that however if tourism professionals are willing to provide a different experience to the guests, I believe that some people will be able to venture into new territories. I shared my booking nightmare with a friend, she assured me this was the reason why she was not travelling far this summer. She is a mother of two.
Hospitality is more than welcoming guests, it is a whole ecosystem that brings a lifetime experience to a person.
