Any business is good business

Davinder Juj, General Manager at Eros Hotel New Delhi Nehru Place, shares how they sailed through the pandemic and the steps they are taking to revive business, including liaising with travel agents, especially in a scenario when fear rules the minds of travellers.

Nisha Verma

How has Eros Hotel New Delhi dealt with the pandemic?

We utilised the lockdown period to prepare ourselves for the reopening, which included revisiting existing SOPs and modifying them as per new safety and hygiene norms, controlling operational costs, etc.

We kept engaging with our team members to know of their well-being, to keep them motivated and to support them through difficult times. We stayed in regular touch with our guests and kept informing them about all the protocols we adopted to keep everyone safe at the premises. We conducted useful trainings for our team members, pertaining to their skill development and preparedness for post-opening challenges.

During this difficult period, we came forward and joined hands with various NGOs to help and feed the needy. We provided hygienically prepared packed food to NGOs for distribution.

What changes were made to cope with the new normal?

For us, safety and well-being of our team members and guests remains top priority, and to ensure that their health is not compromised at any stage, we introduced our #EROSCARE initiative. Under this, we have implemented a stringent yet comprehensive outline of safety measures, which include screening of guests and team members at the hotel entrance, highest level of cleaning and sanitisation practices, touchless soap dispensers, sensor taps and automatic sanitisers to avoid contact, PPE in all relevant areas, self-declaration forms during check-in to assess guest’s medical and travel history, staggered seating in restaurants and guest areas, glass shielding at reception desk, sanitisation of guest luggage at the entrance, strict protocols for holding events and conferences, markings and queue manager placements to encourage safe distancing, digital/contactless payments, adequate display of various dos and don’ts in all guest and back areas, dedicated Hygiene and Safety Manager, trainings and mock drills for team members to prepare them for any emergency situations, etc.

What would your strategy now be to recreate demand?

We are exploring new revenue-generating avenues, including home delivery and takeaway services, long-stay packages for business travellers and families, as well as corporate and wedding packages for limited gatherings at exclusive rates.

Apart from that, we are actively running campaigns on our social media platforms that talk about the health and safety measures being practised at the hotel to instil the trust and confidence of existing and potential customers.

How are you engaging with travel agents now?

Since the reopening, we have been getting a good amount of business through travel agents and online channels. Hence, our flexibility with travel partners will help us gain a fair share and leverage the strength of our relationship with them. Apart from that, we have also redesigned our product
offerings to tap alternate streams of business through travel agents to gain market share.