he Hotel Industry, which was one of the most affected sectors during the COVID 19 pandemic is still facing unprecedented economic impacts. The Myanmar Hotel Industry had a double strike on their economy as the military coup came after the end of the COVID second wave. The current political situation impacts the livelihoods of the Myanmar people, especially for hotel staff, women, and youth.
For the sustainable success of Myanmar hotels, My Local Passion is trying to give insights of them. I have checked the conditions of hotels in big cities like Yangon and Naypyidaw by interviewing their staff. It is evident that some staff were waiting the Chinese guests from the relief flights, while other hotels are opening as quarantine centers. Many hotels are now focussing on Events for their survival.
A staff member of one popular hotel in Nay Pyi Taw said: I am currently assisting our hotel’s marketing and public relations activities. With the impact of COVID-19, as you know, around the world, the tourism industry has faced cancellations, a decline in bookings and fewer visitors. During the local lock down the dine-in services were not allowed in the restaurant, our hotel had no guests at all except a few long stay guests.
During these challenging and changing times, we introduced flexible cancellation for our guests and we are trying to give very reasonable offers. This includes affordable room rates, food and beverage discounts and creating attractive takeaway menus as the government recommended staying home and people did not want to go outside. We always follow the Ministry of Health and Sports instructions to ensure our guests’ safety and comfort.
Due to the COVID-19 and the unstable political situation, the international airports are not opened yet and people are afraid to travel, the hotel business is still decreasing till now and only has few walk-in guests.
As a permanent staff member, I am always looking for what I can do to assist my hotel to get benefits. Now I am mainly assisting to promote our hotel’s seasonal promotion for rooms and F&B e.g- I hope we can pass this situation successfully and get more income.
We have to know what the guests need during this situation and what we can return back to the guest. And keep flexibility and create a luxurious & fun atmosphere to have a relaxing stay with us.
Another hotel staff member in Yangon says; I am a Sales Executive and my responsibility is to sell rooms, to promote the hotel and increase revenue. There are 296 rooms in my hotel. During the Covid -19 pandemic , we had to face a lot of difficulties, especially when the tourism industry collapsed. We had a lot of room cancellations, event cancellations, and restaurants also had to be closed. But we remain flexible and are always prepared to negotiate with our guests for cancellation fees.
Currently, we have a few stay-cations for Yangon people and sometimes we get the guests from relief flights. At the moment, a few local guests and relief flight guests are my key customers. As my hotel type is specifically for leisure guests, I am taking the responsibility to negotiate between hotel and travel agents. I hope the current bad situations like covid and military will end soon so that my career is able to improve and I can receive more income. And for my hotel, I wish to get more guests, revenue and to be in a normal situation.
Service people like me are always ready to give better service to our guests every single time.
The conclusion of the writer : As the tourism business can get the benefit from the top to the grass-root level, thousands of hotel employees' livelihoods depend so much on the hotel where they work. You can see all service persons are solving the problem with good communication and services to the guests.
You don’t need to doubt Myanmar Hospitality. All hotels and their staff are ready to welcome their guests with kind hearts and warm hospitality.
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