Joschua The tourism industry is arguably the worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in Hong Kong. According to the South China Morning Post, tourist arrivals to the city have fallen by more than 90 percent in 2020 and saw an almost 100 percent plunge in January 2021 compared to the same month a year prior. As one of Hong Kong’s main pillars, tourism has always played a big role in placing the territory on the map and shaping it into the international city that it is. And while the city of 7.5 million usually employs almost 260,000 people in hospitality, the jobless rate among hotels has risen to a terrifying 8.8 percent since the pandemic began. According to the executive director of Hong Kong’s tourism board, travel will not rebound meaningfully until earliest this summer, meaning that, for hospitality businesses, things will likely get worse before they get any better. But as so often is the case, crisis breeds innovation. And with the industry trying to survive, hotels have been forced to creatively redesign their business models.
Without tourists, it is “staycationers” that are keeping higher-end hotels afloat. For hotel managers, it was only logical to begin targeting the local market once the borders closed down. As a consequence, we have seen many vacation package deals pop up over the past year, targeting Hongkongers looking for some time off from their stressful lives. The new philosophy is to treat hotels more like a cruise ship experience, where the stay is the destination. This has prompted many to expand their service offerings. These days, besides wine or spa-themed staycations, some holidaymakers can even opt for a pet-friendly getaway. Don’t worry if you haven’t experienced any of these yet. With more government initiatives on the horizon attempting to boost local tourism, you could find yourself enjoying a spa holiday in your own city very soon.
One winner during the pandemic is the local start-up Flow. Flow’s by-the-hour hotel booking service was launched a few years ago, but only really began taking off with the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. The business cooperates with more than 100 hotels in Hong Kong to offer customers daytime hotel room bookings lasting anywhere between one and 12 hours. Flow targets both leisure guests and those looking for a quiet space to work, making the product all the more attractive during these times of remote working. The concept is a win-win situation for both guests and hotels, as it allows hotels to gain extra revenue at almost no additional cost and gives customers a range of facilities to enjoy, while keeping the price a lot cheaper than overnight stays.
While it is fun to see all actors in the industry innovating with creative ideas, these fixes are only recovering a fraction of the daily financial and human losses in hospitality businesses. However, it might just about be enough for hotels to weather the crisis and, once the pandemic is over, go back to promoting Hong Kong as one of the prime cultural and culinary hubs in Asia.
Originally published in March 2021 in The BASE Bulletin. Cover photo by Kotaro Maruyama on Unsplash.
Sources:
- Jennifer Cronin FT: https://www.ft.com/content/87c33247-7a76-4bae-a60d-bc3a4df9093a
- Hotel quarantine info: https://admedilink.hk/quarantine-hong-kong-hotels-complete-list-costs-updated/
- Cronin Opinion: https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3120492/help-hong-kongs-battered-tourism-industry-government-must-set-out
- HK Hotel Union Unemployment SCMP: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3121888/hong-kong-hotel-union-blasts-lack-covid-19
- Hotels rethink business models: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnfFl5bJCn8
- Flow: https://app.flowtheroom.com/hk/en/about
- Tourism board HK: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3123814/coronavirus-hongkongers-may-have-wait-six-months
- HK pillars: https://www.legco.gov.hk/research-publications/english/1415rb03-four-pillars-and-six-industries-in-hong-kong-review-and-outlook-20150209-e.pdf
