Page 34 - May2021

RLI LEISURE INSIGHT

Making Venues Safe

and Operational

The hospitality industry has been an adopter of digital transformation for some time, but
Covid-19 has accelerated how technology is being used across the sector. Here, Tom Ray,
Managing Director at CTS, looks at how technology has allowed the hospitality industry to
reopen venues safely, and what other opportunities technology adoption opens for the sector as
it recovers from the impacts of the pandemic.

The hospitality industry will be breathing a mass sigh of relief with venues increasingly catering for the tech-savvy customer.
the reopening of the economy. But the hard work is far from over for Even before the pandemic, a number of pubs and restaurants had
the sector. implemented technologies to allow customers to order at their table
Navigating strict Covid-19 safety measures, the ongoing risk of cases from their phone. Websites like OpenTable have allowed customers
going up and venues being forced to shut again, while trying to make to make bookings online in a matter of minutes. Meanwhile more
up for 12 months of poor trading – the sector continues to bare the and more hotels are turning their rooms into ‘smart rooms’, enabling
harsh brunt of coronavirus. guests to control things like lights, room temperature and the TV
A briefing paper prepared for the House of Commons in March channel from one central device.
about the impact of Covid-19 on the hospitality industry underlined But this tech modernisation has accelerated even more during the
the struggles the sector continues to face. At the end of February this pandemic. Hospitality businesses are being increasingly savvy in how
year – almost a year into the pandemic – only 43 per cent of hospitality they use technology to improve business decision making.
businesses were trading, compared to 74 per cent across all industries. Village Hotels, for instance, which runs 31 sites across the country,
Despite these challenges, hospitality businesses have worked uses technology to manage the huge volume of customer data it had
tirelessly to adapt their venues during lockdown and investing in amassed over the years, as a result of its online booking system, to
infrastructure to ensure their business is Covid-19 secure. improve decision making and improve services for customers in light
According to a Hospitality Leaders Poll by MCA Insight/HIM last of the pandemic.
summer found that almost a quarter of pubs expected to pay up to We worked with Village Hotels to move its entire IT infrastructure to
£3,000 to make their venues secure for staff and customers. Google cloud, migrating all of its data into a scalable cloud warehouse,
For many organisations right across the hospitality industry, using Big Query and Looker. In doing so, Village Hotels could access
technology has been a key part of that infrastructure change and and analyse its data quickly to uncover business insights, like what its
investment – allowing customers to engage with staff digitally to biggest cost drivers are. Having this information ultimately allows an
reduce unnecessary contact and, for many, opening up an entire new organisation to make quick and informed decisions.
way of trading. The new infrastructure allows Village Hotels to make important
Like some other consumer-facing industries, the hospitality industry changes to how the business operates following lockdown.
has been a front runner in digital transformation for some time, with This included introducing new systems including online check-in for
customers via its app, which would then deliver the key straight to the
customer’s smartphone. Customers can now go from their car to their
hotel room without needing to visit a reception desk to retrieve their
key – reducing all contact with staff and limiting touchpoints.
The hotelier has also been able to automate its online chat system to
respond to frequently asked questions from customers, freeing up its
travel agents’ time to focus on more detailed customer enquiries like
what Covid-19 safety measures they have in place.
These safety measures put in place by Village Hotels were made
possible with cloud technology. Like the ‘smart rooms’, online
restaurant booking systems and ordering a drink from an app –
cloud technology allows for these measures to be introduced
simply and quickly. It also gives hospitality business important insight
about consumers.
For hospitality businesses working hard to make up for the last
12 months of poor trading, having access to customer and business
information means organisations can make informed and quick business
decisions that could ultimately reduce operational cost.
While technology won’t be able to solve all of the hospitality
industry’s Covid-19 problems, it can play a considerable role in making
venues secure and operationally effective – which will be crucial in the
sector’s coronavirus recovery.

34 RETAIL & LEISURE INTERNATIONAL MAY 2021