PANAMA CITY — At the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced travel downturn, Thomas Dubaere, Accor's CEO for South America, said 70% to 80% of his companies' properties were closed.
At that point, Accor's focus was on surviving and giving owners relief from fees to do "basically everything possible to keep them afloat," he said.
That move was made with an eye to the future, he said, and he believes Accor and the industry at large, particularly in the Latin America and Caribbean regions, has reached a point of refocusing on growth.
"The last thing we wanted once this pandemic is behind us, which I think is today, is to lose hotels or lose partners because we're in this business not for a two- or three-year term," he said while speaking on the "A View From the Top — Hotel Leaders' Vision" panel at the 2022 SAHIC Latin America and The Caribbean conference. "We're in the business for 20 years, 25 years, 30 years."
David Tarr, senior vice president of real estate and development for the Americas at Hyatt Hotels Corp., agreed that hotel brands in the region have switched back to growth mode, a move made out of necessity as much as the overall health of the travel industry.
"You have to find ways to grow your enterprise," he said. "And for a company like ours that isn't as broadly distributed [as companies like Marriott International], a crucial element to remain competitive is to find ways to grow even through difficult times."
Tarr said Hyatt has managed to fuel further growth through strategic acquisitions, first with Two Roads Hospitality before the pandemic and then with Apple Leisure Group in 2021, which significantly boosted Hyatt's portfolio in the Caribbean and Latin America, adding 100 resorts globally.
Dubaere said the global nature of Accor's business has helped it prepare, as much as possible, for coping with the pandemic, adding that since 2000, Accor has dealt with "probably about 27 differences crises."
He said through all of the tumult, brands have to keep their eyes on the ball and make sure they're delivering the best experience possible to travelers.
"Our guests are evolving," he said. "We used to talk about the corporate guest and the leisure guest. But tomorrow, we're going to have a blur between those two segments."
Tarr said staying relevant to guests and "over-delivering on the things that matter to them" remains the core of Hyatt's business model.
"It's no longer about what's the next thing we have to put in the hotels to differentiate," he said. "It's more about understanding what that guest wants when they travel. And more often than not when you're traveling, you want to feel immersed in the location."
He said this particularly applies to smaller hotels, and their modus operandi should be to act as "a springboard to the local community," which has the dual benefit of boosting guest satisfaction while cutting down on my costly on-property amenities.
Tarr said that when companies do cut back on amenities, such as not offering daily housekeeping, it's vital to communicate those changes to guests to "make sure they know what's happening."
"You have to tell your guests when they check in that you have an option here," Tarr said. "We're happy to service your room every day, but we need you to tell us that's what you want."
Part of the reason hotels have cut back on those services, along with the cost savings, is ongoing labor shortages globally, a challenge Dubaere said hotel companies must address by being as concerned about their employees as they are about guests.
He said using technology to supplement the work of employees can help significantly by taking some of the burden off and making hotel jobs more attractive. Moving mundane activities like check-in and check-out online helps, he added.
"So what we're doing is those people who used to do all these administrative services, they're not going anywhere," he said. "We're using these people to regenerate even more revenue in our food and beverage or in entertainment."
Both executives stressed putting more of a focus on the needs of owners and investors in the industry to make sure they still see it as an asset class worthy of their attention.
That comes down to individualized attention and communication, which was particularly vital during the pandemic, Tarr said.
"We needed to be sure to recognize what each owner was going through and what each hotel was going through to be able to preemptively address how to optimize performance during that period of time," he said.