The Leisure and Tourism sector has undoubtedly been the major victim of the Covid-19 pandemic, having been forced to face a situation unprecedented in history. Reflecting this, the great feeling of uncertainty among the leaders and professionals of the sector is natural, as they do not know how they will be able to deal with the imponderable of tomorrow.

In the specific case of hotel chains, a pillar of tourism, this uncertainty confronts them with several future scenarios. All of them need to be understood to define exactly what actions will be fundamental to overcome them. It should be noted that the cruises were the ones that suffered the most, because the contagion at sea goes far beyond the known terror, because people are imprisoned, suffering in homeopathic doses every day, with the rumors of infection in the next cabin, and a succession of ports will refuse them access to leave.

In fact, the cruises affected by the coronavirus, have become the world symbol of devastation in the Tourism sector. The fundamental reason is that Tourism & Leisure represents a peculiar industry, because its main monetized attractions – stunning views, paradisiacal islands, pharaonic cathedrals – do not belong to this industry. Now, the Covid-19 virus has given us a paradoxical image, at the same time frightening and beautiful, of what the world would be like without tourism.

For the brief reasons explained, Covid-19 revealed the danger of dependence on tourism, demonstrating in a brutal way what happens when the industry collapses. Thus, with the clear purpose of serving as an element of reflection to the new challenges, we came to share these brief lines in order to encourage individual reflection on the measures to be implemented by all professionals and entities in the Tourism and Leisure sector, especially in the Hotel and Gastronomy market.

It is important to emphasize that, as a rule, Tourism & Leisure responds with one in every ten jobs in the world. There are developed countries, such as Spain (15%) and Italy (13%) that before Covid-19 represent a substantial part of their respective GDPs. So, it is clairvoyant to be a danger when tourists suddenly stop, because even the economy of the “developed” collapses.

In Brazil, it is worth mentioning that most of the networks are in the market in the form of condo-hotels, because this strategy was making possible security in the hotel expansion in the country. Nevertheless, the pulverized financing and diversification of risk in the construction and operation of the hotels of these large chains has now become a nightmare for investors and operators, because with covid-19 the maintenance of the overwhelming majority of these ventures remained delicate.

It happens that most condo-hotel investors are individuals, who in practice are unaware of the operation of a hotel, and added to the current financial crisis, they tend to seek to urgently dispose of this type of asset.  Today, the survival of condo-hotels is close to zero, because individuals no longer have the resources to invest, reasons why they will force the operators of these enterprises to leave. By reflex, soon we will have an arsenal of properties from this sector marginalized in society, since they will be entire empty buildings without any apparent destination.

Moreover, before the arrival of covid-19, the Leisure and Tourism sector was already immersed in a process of transformation, which sought to achieve a more dynamic model the current needs of modern men, in which the tourist would know how to value experiences complementary to traditional, until then offered by most travel guides.

On top of that, we’re all going to have to learn to live with the virus coming from this pandemic, to advance in the sector in some way. We cannot stand still, because it is the exact time to rethink the business model, which was being adopted. So now we need to take steps to survive, to transform and evolve, being resilient to possible scenarios.

It is a fact that today, despite the pandemic, the rethinking of what should be the sector’s model for the future will give prestige to objective criteria of strategy and planning as priorities, however, at the same time, it must correspond to the new needs of the modern client, which have emerged in face of this dark, unprecedented and uncertain period experienced by society.

At first, it is indispensable at this time for companies in the sector to manage the liquidity of the entity from all its angles, i.e., to evaluate financing alternatives, make the most of tax and financial incentives, and finally manage their cash flow efficiently.

Thus, the business model should always be capable of constant change, periodically evaluating what potential customers need to meet their expectations. Thus, it is to think how to provide and execute new values, not only those related to price, so that the business becomes more and more resistant to the adversities of modern life.

At first, some lessons have already been learned from the pandemic, which unfortunately persists among us, whatever they may be:

a) the importance of the commitment to digitalization, because in addition to the evident simplification of internal processes, it allows you to advance in the knowledge of your client’s profile and, based on this knowledge, be able to personalize your experience;

b) the importance of direct sales by the sector, thus compensating the high dependence of tour operators and travel agencies, because in this way the margins of profitability are increased, lost with countless intermediaries, as well as the increase of loyalty.

c) the need to achieve in a positive way the social and environmental commitment of the business activity. Thus, the degree of attention of the sector should prioritize the value issues of ESG (environmental, social, and good governance).

d) the need to design a sustainable organization with flexible contractual structures that fit the reality of its business.

e) the need to study commercial alliances, which allow it to overcome competitiveness, as well as the importance in the selection of suppliers, far beyond the mere economic variables.

At the same time, we will soon see a much more customer-oriented action, either through a greater digitalization of activities and processes within the entity, or through greater proactivity in capturing and offering personalized services, adding that “plus”, now inexorable the experience intended by the post-covid tourist.

Therefore, we will see more and more companies implementing these capabilities in their business models, with the objective of shaping new, unique, and personalized experiences. New business, then, will arise from these models, either evaluating the different uses of existing assets for a different type of client from the traditional one, or converting your establishment to long-term stays throughout the year, etc.

On the other hand, it is also expected that hybrid and more flexible business models will emerge, designed to reduce the weight of seasonality, and thus adapt to the new life models that have emerged in the wake of the pandemic. As an example, in the future we will have no problem in seeing hotels, that integrate the home-office needs of their clients in their service offerings, or act with differentiated prices concerned with the clear well-being of the tourist.

In view of the above, the new purpose of companies, which live from Tourism & Leisure, should be linked to an effective contribution to society, to the inserted environment and the value of social solidarity. As destructive as it may be, the virus offered us the opportunity to imagine a different world, where tourism should always think and respect the environment, paying for the monetized luxury of its attractions in all its new recovery.