After remaining shut for more than three months, over 10,000 hotels re-opened for business earlier last month in Maharashtra. The current pandemic has brought with itself, a host of challenges but it has also widened perspectives and made hotels look at alternate revenue streams. TMM spoke to Mr. Dietmar Kielnhofer, General Manager, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar, to find out about some of the unique initiatives they have undertaken during this period and adapting to the ‘new normal’.
What kind of unique initiatives have been undertaken by JW Marriott Sahar during the lockdown period?
COVID-19 has led to a major paradigm shift from what we have done in the past. We had to carefully re-examine existing processes, systems and protocols, methodologies etc. to reinvent ourselves to cater to the current situation at hand. This ‘outside shift’ that was imposed upon us by forces, not of our making, made us more agile and efficient. Restaurants and function rooms will certainly see fewer covers than before (due to social distancing), but we see a substantial upside in Marriott on Wheels which is our Home Delivery model. Thus, COVID-19 made us look intelligently at new revenue streams as consumer behaviours have changed as well.
From a marketing standpoint, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar devised a renewed approach to connect with guests. Facebook Live and IGTV videos were a great way to engage with guests directly along with our chefs back at their homes and a few in the hotel. Social Media was our main promotional platform helping our team to stay connected with those that reminisce about our food and also gave them an opportunity to learn the recipes from the kitchens of JW Sahar. Culinary innovations have always been JW Sahar’s forte and in uncertain times like these where curating experiences for guests were becoming a concern, the hotel took its passion to serve guests with authentic hospitality, a notch higher. Quick recipe videos were created with popular items from Romano’s, our Italian Specialty restaurant, and a demonstration of wholesome meals prepared with leftovers. Keeping in mind the changing dynamics of business, the need of the hour was to build experiences for guests encouraging them to stay home yet stay connected with us. Social media gave the opportunity to brands like ours to foster positive communication with our followers. Apart from collaboration with leading food influencers, the hotel also demonstrated its own recipe videos and conducted Facebook and Instagram lives to constantly create a top of the mind recall. Guests could no longer come and dine with us, hence, the only dining experience we could create was by demonstrating culinary skills via social channels. The team at JW Sahar curated immunity-boosting beverages, teas, and food items, and communicated these to guests, stay true to its commitment to ensuring well-being.
Now that it has opened its doors, what are the safety measures being deployed?
The well-being of its patrons has always been of paramount importance for JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar. Taking this practice, a notch higher, the hotel is providing a heightened sense of safety and hygiene through a branded program devised by Marriott International – Commitment to Clean.
The longstanding commitment to clean is an elevation of processes to create an environment to address the current challenges. All protocols and procedures have been aligned to instill a sense of safety, security and comfort in our mindful guests. A dedicated cleanliness champion along with supervisors across all departments is appointed to ensure clinical level of cleanliness and hygiene across all 222 touch points in the hotel. The program covers the guests’ journey from arrival to departure and ensures safety at every stage. Mandatory body temperature checks, contact-less check ins and payment options, regular disinfecting of frequent touch points, maintaining social distancing and providing menus, guest service directories etc digitally by displaying a QR code on the television screen are some key highlights of the Commitment to Clean program.
In terms of restaurants and food & beverage department, how is the hotel reinventing itself to adapt to the changing scenario?
In terms of food & beverage, buffet and brunch concepts will be seen diminishing and the focus will be more on live station and individual portions. Our endeavour will be to promote local and organic produce. Concepts of individual bento boxes have been curated by us, which can be designed as per the preferred cuisine of the guest. With regards to the beverage experience, we will have a mobile trolley bar moving around the restaurant serving guests their favourite cocktails. Safety and sanitization will be enhanced through social distancing across the restaurants, temperature checks for guests and frequent cleaning of cutlery, tables, chair and other touch points.
Footfalls are going to be an issue for the coming few months. How is JW Marriott tackling that challenge?
Whilst hotels have allocated large amount of space for their restaurants, we could recommend looking at co-working spaces as a serious concept for our coffee shops and any other area that can support this concept. Another revenue stream that will continue to be in focus, would be home delivery. With limitations on dining out, the future of hospitality will be on creating more options via home delivery. The team at JW Sahar is currently providing various options apart from its delivery menu. Brunch boxes are being sold to guests where one can experience a brunch within the comfort of their homes. Bento boxes for corporates and special occasions are also seeing a great response. Catering for intimate weddings and at home celebrations is being explored as a revenue stream.
Apart from footfalls, what do you think are some of the biggest challenges for the hospitality sector in the foreseeable future?
Some of the major challenges for the hospitality sector would be re-skilling of the team members. The associates would need to adapt to the changes arising due to the COVID 19 situation and work towards developing a skill set to tackle these problems. Our offerings may remain the same, however, manners of service have undergone change. It is essential that the teams adapt to ‘The New Normal’ changes. Focus on a contactless interaction without losing the human element is something that the hospitality sector would need to work on. What has not and will not change is the innate hospitality mentality for which India is famous. The sincerity and genuine hospitality, the ‘Take Care’ approach will remain unchanged. Technology has to be seen through the wider lens as an enabler, technology facilitates processes and efficiencies – and to a certain degree prescribes a desired outcome, but it doesn’t alter the hospitality mindset. We will have to work towards crafting experiences with the right balance of technology and human interaction and make sure that the authentic hospitality is not lost amidst the technological necessities.
TMM
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