Sanitation protocols, contactless guest service, home offices… The COVID pandemic has changed the way we conduct our business and our consumers’ expectations and concerns. How has this shift affected Omnifique? Read on to discover our COO’s view on the state of our industry. Click here for more.
Some travel industry experts agree that everything has changed. Do you think we’re facing a new era in the travel & hospitality industry? What are your views on this?
PB: The new COVID protocols plus consumer behavior inevitably introduce new challenges to our industry. I won’t say it’s a “new era;” the industry adapts to the current protocols, enforces them, and is still able to provide an outstanding experience. This affects all industries in a transversal way; it’s not only travel. Mass media and other industries are already educating consumers.
For me, a new era still has more to do with the disruption of new players like Airbnb and Vrbo and how cities keep responding to that phenomenon. How big players lobby in politics: that’s shaping the future for the different sectors in travel. Also, how the most visited cities are using the pandemic to ban short term rentals, but not hotels. For example, in Hawaii, you can only quarantine in a hotel room but not in a vacation rental. That is interesting.
How do you think the pandemic has impacted Omnifique? What lessons have you learned in the last months?
PB: Omnifique has been able to grow during the pandemic. Homeowners are more interested in receiving an extra income. Guests are looking for secluded private properties, with a fast internet connection. They want to work, have a vacation, and change scenarios at the same time, without the risks of staying at a hotel.
Our guests are more willing to travel. They have changed their preferences to private settings that favor us: large, secluded properties, private pools, private chefs, isolated natural surroundings, driving distance from their own home.
It has been an opportunity to grow.
How have the concierge services that Omnifique offers changed concerning the new protocols and the guests’ new demands and expectations?
PB: We have been able to keep providing our outstanding services with no disruptions. The main changes have been contactless services: remote check-in and check-out, grocery delivery at the front door, private chefs preparing and cooking outside the property, and delivering the food, personal services like yoga classes being held outdoors.
As Omnifique, we also have new protocols:
- Sanitization station in our properties.
- We test our staff members before they interact with guests.
- The use of the recommended PPE.
- Our cleaning team is also CDC and GBAC-trained and disinfects the property before guests and homeowners arrive.
- We also have strict COVID protocols for vendors.
What are Omnifique’s plans for the future? Are there new locations, markets, or surprises on the horizon?
PB: The future is bright. We are launching 6 new locations by December this year, including Europe and South America, and 30 more locations for 2021.