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The hospitality sector is getting back on its feet post-Covid and in some market, it is performing better than pre-Covid levels, says Markus Venzin, CEO, EHL Group.
EHL Group is one of the largest hospitality education consulting service provider and is a not-for-profit company. It has campuses in Switzerland and Singapore.
According to Venzin, hospitality industry needs a profound paradigm shift to thrive in the post-Covid world. In an interview with businessline, he talks about the recovery post Covid, the changing student requirements, supply challenges to the hospitality industry, among other issues.
Excerpts:
What has been the impact of Covid on the hospitality sector?
The industry was one of the worst hit during the pandemic and is now getting back on its feet. In certain markets, it is performing better than pre-Covid levels, whereas in some markets, numbers are still on the rise. But supply disruptions continue. There is a shortage of trained staff in the industry post-Covid and we are working with hotels and governments to ensure that the sector continues to remain an attractive career opportunity.
You said, during Covid, many hotel staff moved out of the sector. Can you elaborate on it?
It’s not just a Covid phenomenon. Across our campuses in Switzerland and Singapore, we see 50 per cent of the bachelor graduates go into the hospitality sector stricto sensu (mainly hotel & restaurant businesses); while the remaining half are thriving into neighbouring industries, such as retail banking (specially the customer facing segment), luxury, real estate, consultancy and other similar sectors.
This shows that hospitality competencies are highly sought after by other sectors and the hospitality industry needs to remain competitive to continue to attract talents and meet Gen Z’s expectations for purpose, sustainable practices and a decent work-life balance.
And how are you dealing with supply shortages?
There are hotels which are still unable to expand or open because of shortage in staff. The staff per room ratio is also down in some countries. Working hours for hotel staff in some countries are longer than earlier too, because hotels are short-staffed still. So, we are now working with governments in countries like Japan, and elsewhere, to see what the requirements of the industry are, come up with reskilling and up-skilling programs, specific management courses and also work with governments to revitalise the industry.
In Japan, hospitality contributes 4 per cent of the GDP and now, there is a thrust to take this up. So, it would need a focussed tourism strategy, hubs, hospitality schools, among others.
In India, we will soon participate in the G20 Summit and we are already in active discussions with the Indian government on various issues in the hospitality, and also the education sector.
Post Covid, what are the challenges you see now?
The hospitality industry needs a profound paradigm shift to thrive in the post-Covid world. And this won’t happen without human-centric innovation and leadership models.
By putting the human component first, hospitality businesses can reconnect with their long tradition of welcoming, be better prepared for next (phase of) disruptions and capitalize on their best asset which is people that is customers and staff members.
We observe this very well while teaching our students and see the popularity of courses related to sustainability or diversity and inclusion issues. Even if more digitally savvy, the new generation believes in the power of people.
(The writer was in Switzerland at the invitation of EHL Hospitality Business School)
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