The hospitality industry in Maharashtra is slowly but steadily picking up the pace ever since hotels were allowed to open from July 8, 2020. However, with social distancing rules and other restrictions, occupancy remains a challenge. TMM chatted with Nicholas Dumbell, General Manager, The St. Regis Mumbai, to understand how the pandemic has affected them and what steps they have taken to ensure the safety of their patrons.
The hotels opened up for business again two months ago. How has the response been so far from the patrons?
We’ve had a huge interest in staycations as well as certain business leaders who have started travelling so as to connect with key clients face-to-face. We’ve also seen a lot of interest in meetings and in weddings; however, it all depends on the government guidelines. Currently, we cannot host non-resident guests in our restaurants, and we can only host meetings with 15 people. We do hope that this will change soon. I must say, it’s so good to see that the hotel has a great buzz and is gaining momentum since Mumbai begun to open up.
Can you tell us about some of the initiatives taken up by The St Regis to ensure the safety of their patrons?
We have embraced Marriott’s Commitment to Clean program to ensure absolute precision in our cleaning and sanitation procedures. The program is led by a Marriott Global Cleanliness Council. The council includes in-house and outside experts in hospitality, epidemiology, sanitation, and protective health and hygiene technology.
Guest safety is our utmost priority, and so we ensure all high-touch points are periodically sanitized. We only use next-gen medical-grade cleaning chemicals to sanitize surfaces and upholstery. All Marriott hotels will be initializing the use of electrostatic sprayers – a machine that puts a small charge on the cleaning agent which then has a magnetic effect as it sanitizes surfaces thoroughly.
In addition to that, The St. Regis Mumbai has invested over 25,000 hours of training our hosts. I feel training is the key ingredient as the team needs to be 100 per cent knowledgeable and engaged in the process.
What is the number one priority for The St Regis at this time?
The number one priority for The St. Regis Mumbai has always been to ensure that we create the safest possible and the most comfortable environment for our guests, so as to ensure that they have the confidence to return to ‘The Best Address’.
What is the biggest challenge that lies ahead now? And how is The St Regis gearing up to deal with it?
It’s all about sentiments and giving travellers the confidence to get back on the road and start travelling again. What hotels need to do is give customers the confidence to come and stay at the hotel fearlessly and let the hotels take care of the rest.
For example, in countries such as the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, occupancy is back up to 60 per cent. We need similar confidence to spread in the Indian market, whilst at the same time ensuring that all the safety guidelines are in place to prevent a spike in infections.
The hospitality industry suffered a great deal during the lockdown. But now, how do you see the industry picking up the pieces and moving on? What are the trends you foresee for the industry?
The St. Regis Mumbai has built and developed various new revenue sources over this lockdown, Marriott on Wheels being the most prominent one. Hotels have always focused on curating luxurious experiences which involves a lot of personal interaction; through Marriott on Wheels the aim was to recreate the experience in the homes of the guests by delivering exceptionally packaged food.
The St. Regis Mumbai has actively targeted the corporate segment offering ‘Work Exquisite’ at our luxury property. In addition, we are also encouraging meetings while working from home, so we can host meetings for 15 people to bring them together. We are also going one step further by offering ‘Dine at your Desk’ where we have curated meals helping those going in to work with packed lunches and meals for their comfort avoiding the whole scenario with the cafeteria or preparing and bringing your own meal. Also, we are trying to see how we can make sure that everyone has the same food in front of them when there is an online meeting much like having a meeting over lunch while at work.
We’re excited to offer our guests our food and beverage venues exclusively to host intimate, private celebrations.
Beginning of next year, we will see things picking up significantly, but this all depends on how our country manages the spread of the virus. I see the trend of people wanting to do more invite-only private parties and events where the guest list is carefully tailored to ensure every guest is comfortable with each other.
Humans are intrinsically engineered to having social interaction, so masks will become a very normal piece of attire. Lockdown has given us the gift of time, it’s given people a chance to spend time with their families, take more leisure breaks, to work on their fitness goals and general wellness. In fact, I think there may be a revolt soon against constantly being connected online.
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