Throughout the course of the lockdown, several hotels across the country were forced to pivot their traditional business models. After all, necessity remains the mother of invention. So, they forayed into delivery of their culinary creations to cater to the growing trend of at-home dining.
While this added a much-needed point of sales, they were still delighted with the relaxations that allowed hotels to reopen their F&B outlets in October. Tempting customers back meant going the extra mile and Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai did this by offering attractive dining promotions.
“We reintroduced our popular sundowners at AER – Bar and Lounge that shines a light on our team’s craftsmanship and seasonal produce,” informed Sunil Narang, Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai’s General Manager. Few could resist the appeal of getting a bird’s eye view of Mumbai from the luxe open-air rooftop lounge. The hotel also threw open the doors to its pan-Asian restaurant, San:Qi, but halved the seating capacity to 90 covers.
In addition to adhering to social distancing norms, both F&B destinations follow various safeguards. These include contactless dining, digitised menus, individual food portions and sanitising stations. These measures are necessary because like Narang stated, “The primary goal for the hospitality industry and hotels all around today is to alleviate concern for guests and employees while providing them with the confidence that their health and safety will be given the top priority.”
IN LOCKSTEP WITH GUESTS
As a brand, Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai has always emphasised on experiences, be it with their F&B or accommodation offerings. Now, it wants to adhere to these ethos while layering on some value-addition keeping its customer segment in perspective.
“With regards to stays, the domestic leisure market is a key focus for us at present and will continue to remain so in the near future. Industry experts expect that the first round of leisure travellers will be inclined to drive rather than fly. This brings us to getaways and staycations in the city; a trend that is on the rise for the past couple of months,” explained Narang.
Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai, therefore, rolled out a diverse set of experiences as a part of its staycation and daycation packages. This included luxurious BMW transfers, meals and dining experiences curated by its culinary experts, masterclasses with chefs and mixologists, in-suite fitness, and wellness experiences driven byvindustry experts. It wanted to leave no stone unturned to allow guests to slip away and hit the recharge button with lucratively priced packages.
Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai threw open the doors to its pan-Asian restaurant, San:Qi, but halved the
seating capacity to 90 covers.
BUILDING A FUTURE OF TRUST
Hotels across India are planning for a COVID-19 informed future, with health and safety decisions at the front and center of their business operations. Four Seasons Hotels Mumbai, too, has been trying to adhere to local regulations and its corporate policy, guided by the brand’s health and safety program, Lead With Care.
This operational guidance includes incorporating technology for a contactless guest experience, temperature checks, mandatory use of masks and gloves, practicing physical distancing, crowd management and staying updated on guests’ travel history.
Narang admitted that the investments around implementing these new operational procedures need to be managed as a part of existing budgets. “Our goal is to build a sustainable future of confidence among our guests and employees. To that effect, we perceive these costs as an essential investment – to remain focused on doing what we do best that is demonstrating genuine, intuitive service and creating the very best experience for all,” he added.
This move embraces enhanced employee training so that they can look after guests, while looking after themselves. Globally, each Four Seasons property has appointed a Hygiene Officer focused on implementing improvements to its stringent procedures.
“Grounded in emotional intelligence, our employees are undergoing behavioural training. This ensures that empathetic, personalised care and connection are not lost in the absence of close contact and limited face-to-face interaction,” Narang claimed.
Four Seasons’ global COVID-19 Advisory Board has provided sound advice to the global training program for all employees. This includes ensuring that employees have a well-informed understanding of the disease and its transmission. Moreover, they are provided guidance on appropriate physical distancing and use of personal protective equipment, as well as physical and mental health monitoring and support.
UBIQUITOUS PRESENCE OF TECHNOLOGY
The pandemic has made contactless experiences an all-pervasive reality. While face-to-face interactions with guests might have become more limited, technology and innovation has helped hoteliers remain well connected with their guests.
Interestingly, contactless technology solutions have been around for quite some time now. But it required a pandemic to accelerate its adoption and make it more of a ‘must-have’ necessity rather than a ‘nice to have’ luxury.
Narang informed that the hotel group is globally leveraging technology in the form of an app and chat to offer contactless services to its guests. “Solutions like the Four Seasons App and Four Seasons Chat are an important part of this new reality. They provide a contactless experience that doesn’t compromise signature service elements. It lets guests control how they engage with others, limiting face-to-face interactions, while maintaining the highest levels of personal service,” he said.
“Providing guests with real-time, contactless interactions with employees on nine global platforms, translating 100+ different languages in real-time, guests can make and manage reservations, request airport transfers, room service, restaurant and spa reservations, etc.”
In the next phase of its digital journey, Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai will roll out its own takeaway and delivery platform. This will allow its patrons to enjoy the cuisine from its restaurants in the comforts of their home. And this will be backed with the assurance that the hotel has conformed to all safety guidelines laid down by the government and its corporate policies.
This all-encompassing strategy has a single objective. To swivel the adversity wrought by the pandemic into an opportunity and build from the trust that the brand commands amongst guests and employees. Narang emphasised that while the Four Seasons experience may look different in this new environment, it will feel the same.
“Ultimately, it will still be our people delivering the same attention to detail, intuitive service, and personalised care for which the brand is known and trusted the world over,” he reiterated.
