The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the hotel industry. The major hotel chains, while initially facing weaknesses due to their size and crowded spaces, are best positioned to leverage their resources and expertise to establish new health and safety standards through technology solutions. By proactively partnering with startups and innovating quickly, the large chains can become the gold standard for hygiene and establish customer trust in a post-COVID world. Meanwhile, independent hotels, hostels, and alternative accommodations face challenges in implementing new standards with limited resources, but some may find opportunities through agility and adapting to changing customer needs.

1. Can the major hotel chains be the big winner of the COVID19 crisis?

2. What will we cover in this session…
• The structure of the hotel industry
• Why the hotel franchise model is broken
• COVID-19’s impact on the lodging industry and the opportunity
• Technology at the core of the solution
• Questions

3. The hotel industry is based on three pillars
1. The asset owner

4. The Hotel industry is based on three pillars
2. The brand

5. The Hotel industry is based on three pillars
3. The management company
• Sometimes there are 3 different entities, and sometimes one

6. The benefit of the hotel franchise model
Fast growth
No capital
Low risk

7. Let’s talk about brands…
A brand is a promise
Hotel brands provided:
1. Strong distribution
2. Quality assurance, reputation, know-how
3. High returns to the asset owners

8. In return it requires from the asset owner
1. A large capital investment (in order to meet the brand standards)
2. Long contract (20-30 years)
3. Strict standards
4. Complicated operating cost structure
5. High fees

9. Over the past 20 years, three main technologies had massive impact
on the hotel industry

10. Number 1:
Distribution – Online Travel Agencies (1996)

11. Number 2:
Brand – Customer reviews (2000)

12. Number 3:
Supply elasticity - The sharing economy (2008)

13. The hotel Brand value was left with…
• Global loyalty program
• Groups and convention booking
• Advance technology tool kit for their hotels
• Service standards

14. And then COVID-19 arrived

15. The impact of COVID-19
• No international travel
• Hotels are shut down
• If open low occupancy, or become a Corona hotel
• Customers fear being in crowded places
• Food preparation hygiene concerns
• General sanitations concerns (pool, SPA, restaurants …)
• Few readily available solution within the industry

16. Technology as a solution
• Health and safety COVID-19 related solutions
• Cost reduction and automation
• Incremental revenues

17. The Opportunity
• Proactively look at startups with emerging technology inside and
outside the travel industry
• In Israel there are more than 7000 startups, less than 300 are pure
Traveltech
• The crisis sparked interest from startups that in the past were not
willing to work with the travel industry

19. Dealing with
the crisis:
Independent hotels
and small chains:
Weaknesses:
Limited resources
Limited know how
Strengths:
Agile
Proximity to guests

20. Dealing with
the crisis:
Hostels:
Weaknesses:
Limited resources
Shared bedroom space and public space
Crowded
Strength:
Cheap
Young target audience
Agile

21. Dealing with the
crisis:
Alternative accommodation :
Weaknesses:
No standards for cleaning
Limited knowhow
Strengths:
Stand alone
kitchen
Not crowded
cheap

22. Dealing with the crisis:
Big and medium hotel chains:
Weaknesses:
Slow to move
Crowded
Guest concerns of cleanliness
Strengths:
Resources
Strong know how
Can become the gold standard of health and safety

23. The winner will have:
• Strong innovation infrastructure
• No layoffs in their innovation teams
• Agile teams, that can adjust its priorities to the new
world
• Strong connections and network with the startup
ecosystem in key technology hotbeds around the
world – not just where one operates
• Ability to act fast and start testing and piloting ASAP

24. To summarize…
• The big hotel chains are best positioned to become the gold standard
in hygiene and safety
• The OTAs will have to start ranking hotels not just by stars but also by
safety and hygiene
• Everybody need to think outside the box, embrace innovation and
rethink how they purchase new technologies

25. Thank you very much
Any questions???
Hope to see you at:
www.traveltechisrael.com