![\"A](\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/2021_1261_004-819x1024.jpg\")
A senior lecturer emerita in the Nolan School, Stephani Robson \u201988, MS \u201999, PhD \u201910, is a longtime expert on the hospitality industry, with experience in both academia and consulting. She\u2019s an undergrad and a doctoral Hotelie\u2014she wrote her dissertation on consumer behavior in restaurants\u2014and holds a master\u2019s in design and environmental analysis from Human Ecology. <\/em>Cornellians asked Robson to put her finger on the pulse of the industry at this late-pandemic moment\u2014speaking with her on the very day (November 8) that the U.S. finally reopened its borders to international travelers.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Is it safe to say that in hospitality and tourism, the COVID-19 lockdown was unprecedented?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t even have words for it; it was off the charts. The economy goes up and down, but this took an entire industry based on people going from one location to another and interacting with other humans, and just about completely removed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\u2019s the current state of things?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sales are climbing back out of a hole. Restaurants are getting more foot traffic. We\u2019re seeing travel pick up. Allowing international visitors is going to be very happy-making for hotels in many markets. So we\u2019re seeing improvements. Is it where it needs to be? No. There\u2019s a lot of debate on the hotel side about when business travel will kick back in, which may not be until the second or third quarter of 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We keep seeing headlines about labor shortages, particularly for restaurants. How serious a problem is it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s the biggest challenge. And it\u2019s extremely difficult, because a lot of people who lost their jobs in hotels and restaurants in 2020 decided they didn\u2019t want to work in hospitality anymore. The industry has been trying hard to improve wages and working conditions, but it\u2019s tough to get places staffed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Besides raising wages or offering flexible schedules, what can restaurants do?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Try to create a welcoming and supportive environment, where the staff knows that management has their back. In many markets, restaurant guests behaved very badly, and there\u2019s a long road back to where people feel comfortable working directly with the public. I\u2019ve heard horror stories like, \u201cI can\u2019t get staff at any wages, because they don\u2019t want to get yelled at by people who won\u2019t show their vaccine passport or wear a mask.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How can customers help?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Be a good citizen about COVID rules\u2014and tip like you\u2019ve never tipped in your life. For servers in many restaurants, it\u2019s not the wages; it\u2019s the tips. So tip like crazy, because that\u2019s going to encourage people to stay in the industry. Tip like it\u2019s going out of style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How can a restaurant try to keep guests happy even if it lacks workers?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I like to go to restaurants where, when I walk in the door, I\u2019m greeted by the owner or manager; that makes me feel fantastic and I want to go back. So managers having more of a presence is a good strategy. One simple thing is putting a carafe of water on the table; guests like it and it\u2019s one less thing a server has to do. Overall, though, it\u2019s tough, and I don\u2019t have a magic bullet. The places that seem to be coming out of the hole better are ones that acknowledge there\u2019s a challenge and ask patrons to be partners with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For servers in many restaurants, it\u2019s not the wages; it\u2019s the tips. So tip like crazy, because that\u2019s going to encourage people to stay in the industry. Tip like it\u2019s going out of style.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Do you mean like the signs that have been posted in short-staffed places saying, \u201cPlease be patient with the people who showed up\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n No, that\u2019s not how you do it; that\u2019s like you\u2019re making excuses or saying, \u201cBe prepared for a lousy experience.\u201d Instead, you welcome the guests and say, \u201cWe\u2019re so glad you\u2019re here; we\u2019re a bit short tonight, but we\u2019re going to make sure you have a great time. I\u2019m going to send out something for you to nibble on. And if you need anything, let me know.\u201d And suddenly, it\u2019s okay. People will be much more forgiving of that than of a sign on the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Can technology help?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of restaurants have gone to a QR code menu; it reduces the number of table-touches by a server, so if you\u2019re short staffed, it takes a little pressure off. But you lose the opportunity to upsell\u2014to say, \u201cWould you like fries with that?\u201d or describe that night\u2019s special\u2014and those things can really push up the check average. But one place where restaurants might want to investigate technology is at the end of the meal. When guests are ready to leave, they want to pay and go\u2014and if you\u2019ve got people waiting, you want to turn that table and get the next customers in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s talk about hotels. Will services like daily room cleaning return?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n High-end hotels will go back to that, because they can afford to. Lower-end hotels, no. It\u2019s the same as with airlines; in economy, you\u2019re going to pay baggage fees\u2014unless you have status like being a frequent flyer. Many hotels are going to say, \u201cEverything is \u00e0 la carte unless you\u2019re a loyalty member with a certain status.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In terms of tourist traffic, what markets will be the first to revive fully?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The ones with strong international tourism. There\u2019s pent-up demand in Europe, Asia, and South America to come to the U.S., and the big markets for those have traditionally been New York, Orlando, Miami, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. They\u2019re going to bounce back and do very well. The cities that will have a slower time are the secondary conference markets\u2014places like Minneapolis or Denver\u2014because it\u2019s going to be a while before big conventions get going again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve heard a lot about the scarcity and high prices of rental cars. How is that affecting travel?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s a huge issue in some markets, like Orlando, where everything\u2019s spread out and there\u2019s little public transit. And because of supply chain problems, it\u2019s going to be a while before it goes away; rental car companies got rid of inventory at the start of the pandemic and now can\u2019t get it back. Also, they\u2019re going to keep prices as high as they can, so you\u2019re not going to see cheap deals within the next two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Do travelers need to book their car even before the airline and hotel?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not a bad idea. And always book directly rather than through a third party. Rental car companies\u2014like airlines, hotels, and popular restaurants\u2014overbook and gamble on the fact that some people aren\u2019t going to make good on the reservation. If you book directly, your chances are better that your car will actually be there when you arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, how optimistic are you about the hospitality industry\u2019s future?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n People love to travel and go out to eat; that isn\u2019t going to change. And if we can make sure that our employees are treated well and show them they\u2019re valued, and we\u2019re transparent with our customer base, the industry is going to find its feet fairly quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Top image: Illustration by Cornell University.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Published November 19, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stephani Robson \u201988, MS \u201999, PhD \u201910, shares her insights on topics from the restaurant labor crunch to the demise of daily room cleanings<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":4219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[225],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-4068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ask-the-expert"],"yoast_head":"\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"