Anne Golden, hospitality industry veteran and General Manager of Pan Pacific London, opening next year, has weathered the storm of previous recessions – having worked for Ian Schrager and Morgans Hotel Group for over 12 years – we had a brief chat to find out how she thinks the recent recession news will affect hotels.
“We have already witnessed wholesale redundancies throughout the sector to reduce fixed cost,” said Anne. “As most Hoteliers have lived through the global recessions of 2008 & 2001, they will know to creatively restructure teams to reduce management level positions & impose a hiring freeze until the outlook improves.
“Hopefully Sales & Marketing will not be too badly affected as Hotels will need this expertise over the next 12-24 months. Commercially, all will concentrate Sales & Marketing efforts on the domestic market in the short to medium term, constituting a repositioning for some hotels who were dependant on US business, especially prevalent in the luxury sector.
“Rates will be lowered and some will pass on discounts via the VAT reduction scheme. Relationships will be all important and so key clients should be communicated to on a regular basis,” she added.
Do you think there’ll be lasting impacts that will considerably alter the face of the industry?
“Unfortunately I fear that some regional hotels may not remain viable and may fall victim to over-supply, possibly closing for good. I believe that the domestic market will grow in the short to medium term as latent fears about the safety of air-travel persist,” she continued.
“We may see guests preferring to stay in slightly higher category properties or even new hotels as they may be perceived as better prepared to handle the virus. The meetings industry may change into a more hybrid version, technology will play a big part in enabling these new style meetings which may replace large conventions and conferences. However, overall the industry will not lose the key touch points of experience led engagement and will become more focussed on trust and authenticity.”
