The year has gone by slowly and yet so quickly at the same time.
We are living through a pandemic, and there is still a lot of uncertainty all around us. In the hotel industry, we went through cancellations vs. rescheduling of future guests. At The Cayuga Collection, we closed our hotels down, let go of staff or sent them on furlough. After months, we reopened hotels again with only a fraction of the previous bookings and stringent hygiene and safety protocols in place. Of course, all this comes with demand levels that are not financially sustainable.
The tourism industry around the world is hurting badly. According to a United Nations Report that was published in September, there are 120 million jobs that are at risk worldwide, and the economic damage in 2020 is estimated at $1 trillion. Additionally, the hotels, restaurants, tourism attractions and operators that are still functioning face increased operating costs to keep guests and employees safe and healthy.
Tourism business owners have poured their savings into maintaining their hotels and keeping staff on the payroll. Hotel, restaurant and agency employees are working twice as hard for half the pay, doing it willingly because they believe in that “extraordinary” tomorrow.
It’s been tough, really tough. But we won’t give up—that is not an option. We vowed to be strong today for an extraordinary tomorrow. Our small collection of sustainable luxury hotels and lodges that operate mostly in Costa Rica (as well as in Panama and Nicaragua) have made the best out of this situation. We have discovered a strong domestic market of travelers that have carried us through the toughest months. Well-off Costa Ricans that would normally have gone on safari to Africa or wine tasting in Tuscany could not leave due to airport closures and discovered the beauty of their own country.
Costa Rica has reopened its borders gradually to international tourists and by 1 November, visitors from our most important feeder markets (the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe) are welcome back. There are some requirements to enter the country, such as proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of departure and health insurance. Getting this sorted is a bit of a hassle, but totally possible as some of our first guests have told us.
Where does that take us in the next months? What is next?
I have been reading a lot about how travel is about to change. No more stories of over-tourism. Everybody is talking about a better way of traveling. It is almost like focusing on eating only “quality calories.” Not necessarily calories high in protein or low in sugar, but calories one will enjoy fully. Are we about to see a focus on “quality travel”—a kind of travel that takes into consideration local communities and conservation initiatives? If this is the case, that would be great news. But it also has implications.
The situation is dire. What were you taught in elementary school to do when you see somebody lying hurt on the floor and in awfully bad condition? You help them and lend them a hand, right?
This is where we ask our future guests to please not squeeze us. Please do not take advantage of the fact that demand is rock-bottom low and ask for steep discounts.
Heavy discounting today would be the final punch that won’t allow us to get up again tomorrow. It would also put anyone that comes to the hotels at risk.
To effectively implement safety and health protocols well, we need financial resources. Keeping our properties properly sanitized and with rigorous cleaning protocols costs more money in labor and quality operating supplies. Keeping distances between everybody means less guests at the same time at our hotels, hence less sales. Running private transfers and private tours increases our operating costs.
If you are in search of bargain hotel discounts as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, we might have to disappoint you and ask you to look somewhere else. But if you are comfortable paying a fair price and at hotels that have been doing things right in the past, during the crisis and continue to invest in people, community and conservation through travel, then let’s talk. Having said this, we do understand that some of our guests have been suffering economically as well and want to help them still enjoy a quality vacation experience, which everyone badly needs.
As the phones start to ring again and the email inquiries begin to pick up, we have one big request for you: Please don’t squeeze us!
Hans Pfister is co-founder and president of the Cayuga Collection of sustainable luxury hotels and lodges.
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