Following the decision by the Executive to confirm a date for the reopening of Hotels in Northern Ireland on 3rd July, Ciaran O’Neill, Managing Director of Bishop’s Gate Hotel, has welcomed the decision.
Among the various new measures implemented by the hotel to facilitate a safe reopening are the installation of hand sanitiser stations at entry points, the introduction of disinfectant “fogging” machines to sanitise guest bedrooms, a contactless payment policy where possible and reconfiguration of bar and restaurant areas.
Ciaran O’Neill talks about his journey over the last three months: “Covid-19 has and will continue to have a seismic impact on the hotel industry. From a business perspective, the impacts of the crisis have reached every industry in the world, with travel and tourism taking a massive hit.
“In the future when we reflect on the pandemic, we will be doing so with the benefit of hindsight and our interpretation of events may be very different to what it currently is.
“Personally, at the start of March, if someone had told me that the country would be shut down by the end of the month, I wouldn’t have believed them. The pace of announcements and developments is hard to fathom. Government leaders and officials had to make quick-time decisions.
“When I met with my team at the hotel on the Thursday morning to tell them that we would be closing the following day and I didn’t know when or if we would reopen, I will never forget the anxiety and shock on their faces. At that point our priority was to protect life, to keep our employees, customers and community safe.
“On the Monday morning as I stood in the foyer of an empty hotel, on my own, the reality of the situation started to hit home. Despite having over thirty years’ experience of managing and running businesses, I wasn’t prepared for this scenario. In contingency planning you’ll often consider how different issues could impact your business, but given there hasn’t been a pandemic of this scale in the last number of decades, it wasn’t something that we had a plan for.
“I consulted a trusted advisor and decided that the best option was to put the business into an induced coma in order to survive. In terms of revenue forecasting, we plan nine to 18 months ahead, so I knew that as a business we were in a strong trading position.
“Government support and information was unclear. The job retention scheme was a blessing for our 91 staff and gave them security but with the exception of rates relief, we were unable to avail of any other funding. We needed to be creative and flexible in our thinking and focus on the opportunities for the future. To do this successfully we reached out to others and formed alliances to ensure government was aware of the challenges facing the hotel sector. The goal was to ensure that our position was reflected in the policy decisions.
“Now we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, with a date for reopening the majority of the products and services we offer, and the subsequent recovery of our industry. Undoubtedly, it will be slow and in order to comply with restrictions, we will not be able to pick up where we left off at the beginning of March.
“We started from scratch four years ago and I am confident in the skills and talents of my team. I believe we can replicate the process and build a successful business all over again. It really is like trading in a new world. We have embraced the challenges and we have worked to ensure that we have a safe environment for our employees and guests, while still maintaining the Bishop’s Gate magic that we are renowned for.
“Feedback from customers to date suggests that the “new” hotel experience looks very like what it was before, albeit with some face masks apparent, increased evidence of cleaning and some changes to the flow of guests through the building.
“The legacy of this pandemic will be difficult for all businesses and for Tourism based enterprises in particular. The hospitality industry will have to learn to function in a way not seen before. As the relationship between each brand and consumer starts by building trust, regaining customer confidence will be the first step in overcoming the crisis. Life will return to normal. Our industry will bounce back.
“I am delighted that the month of July has allowed the team at Bishop’s Gate to get back to business and welcome those who are staycationing at home. The success of the “Staycation” will be to make sure the guest feels that going local is a choice and not an option that has been imposed upon them. It needs to be a great experience and one which hopefully affords us the opportunity to build trade in the coming year.”
