Hospitality Industry's Unprecedented Role in Building Community Resilience During COVID 19

As governments, communities and businesses mobilize worldwide efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, support welfare, staff, and customers alike, the hospitality industry has actively stepped up its role in building community resilience.

The travel and tourism sector currently faces an unprecedented existential crisis. Despite this, hotels and restaurants around the globe are discovering ways to use their resources and personnel to d local communities.

Industry leaders like Hilton, IHG, Marriott, NH Hotel Group, and Best Western Great Britn have collaborated with regional authorities to transform vacant hotel rooms into facilities med at alleviating pressure on local healthcare systems by providing treatment spaces. Other notable companies include Melia, Travelodge, Whitbread, Amazon, Walmart, Lidl, CVS Pharmacy, Hyatt, IHCL, Divani Collection Hotels Group, Four Seasons, OYO Hotels and Homes, Diamond Resorts, Taj part of IHCL, Wyndham Hotels Resorts, Caesars Entertnment, Dorint, Colgate Mattress, GRT Hotels, The Residency Towers, Green Park Hotels, and Radisson Blu.

To provide temporary employment for furloughed employees during the crisis, large hotel chns like Hilton, Hyatt, and IHG are engaging with business networks that offer roles in essential services such as Amazon, Walmart, Lidl, and CVS Pharmacy. Senior management at Hyatt have either wved salaries or taken pay cuts of 80, thereby contributing funds to the global Hyatt Care Fund designed to assist colleagues experiencing financial difficulties due to income loss.

Several hotels are offering accommodation for homeless individuals and families in need:

• IHG in London provides temporary housing for the next three months for rough sleepers, while a Hilton hotel in New Orleans supplies food and lodging for the next month.

• La Ciguena resort near Madrid offers shelter and support services to refugees and homeless people, with staff volunteering their time to d them.

In France, hotels are being utilized as emergency shelters for victims of domestic violence who have experienced increased incidents since lockdown measures were implemented.

Hotel companies like IHCL and Divani Collection Hotels Group provide donations in the form of medical equipment, supplies, or services to local healthcare systems.

Hospitality professionals on the frontline battling COVID-19 can enjoy free meals and accommodations from generous hotel chns such as Four Seasons, Hilton, OYO Hotels and Homes, Diamond Resorts, Taj part of IHCL, Wyndham Hotels Resorts, Caesars Entertnment, and indepent establishments like Chicago's Sophy Hyde Park Hotel and Linton Lodge Hotel in Oxford.

In India, hotels have shared resources by donating millions of free meals to stranded migrant workers and supporting local initiatives through donations of pallets of food to charitable organizations. Some are also offering rooms for day use at subsidized rates for business travelers who cannot access their regular workplace due to lockdown measures.

Daytime accommodations are being provided in Wyndham hotels and Dorint properties for business professionals requiring professional spaces away from home isolation.

In a kind gesture towards community welfare, hotels like Belize are showcasing innovations that could reshape the hospitality sector through initiatives like Net Positive Hospitality, which promotes sustnability practices med at achieving environmental balance.

To summarize this year's finals, seven visionary teams from around the globe have been celebrated for their groundbreaking ideas contributing to transformative changes in tourism and hospitality. The prestigious awards ceremony was held during World Tourism Day in Belize, where winners were announced amidst global recognition of net-positive initiatives.

reiterates the importance of responsible hospitality practices that foster a better world through sustnable solutions and innovative strategies. It highlights how leaders from various sectors are collaborating to ensure resilience, support community welfare, and redefine industry norms for more positive outcomes.

The World Sustnable Hospitality Alliance celebrates partnerships with esteemed institutions like the University of South Carolina to develop research projects focused on advancing Net Positive Hospitality. Together, they m to create a framework that enables the sector to thrive while minimizing its environmental impact.

Furthermore, this year marked the inauguration of the World Sustnable Travel Hospitality Awards in Belize, underscoring the commitment to recognizing and promoting best practices for a more sustnable future.

This content reflects a comprehensive revision of an earlier piece originally associated with the International Tourism Partnership ITP, part of Business in the Community BITC.
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