< PreviousF&B 30 | MAY 2021 | HOTELIER INDIA www.hotelierindia.com Kitchen said, “There were several overnight chefs and unorgan- ised cloud kitchens who dished out mediocre food with poor packaging during the pandemic. However, many realised that the restaurant business is a tough game and they have gradually dis- appeared.” This has left the serious players around, who are in for the long haul. HOTELS JOIN THE BRIGADE Following the lockdown, most hotels shut down a significant part of their portfolios temporarily. Hospitality companies were staring at huge F&B losses, a sector that typically contributes 30% to a property’s revenue. While some hotels scaled down their kitchen facilities temporar- ily, others permanently shut their specialty F&B operations during the pandemic. IHG was one of them. Talking about it, Sudeep Jain, MD-SWA, IHG said, “In some of our hotels, we shut down all our specialty outlets and only operated all-day dining restaurants, while in others we operated additional restaurants in the evening hours, as per guest demand. In some hotels, we operated all F&B outlets, particularly during weekends when the hotel occupancy was high.” Nishanth Duvoor, F&B Director of Sheraton Grand Palace stated that the hotel, too, reduced its kitchen facilities by offering only takeaways during the pandemic. “During that time, we were dependent on a cloud kitchen, which helped us to increase our F&B outlet sales. Our delivery service, Marriott on Wheels, enabled us to deliver food to our guests at their doorsteps in a safe and hygienic manner,” he added. Elaborating about this initiative, Himanshu Taneja, Culinary Direc- tor, South Asia at Marriott International said that ‘Marriott on Wheels’ offers a range of food choices available across menus. “We chose to take forward deliveries through our own distribution channel and through food aggregators. Currently, we are available across 22 cities and ensure sustainable packaging that can curate experiences that are customised,” he stated. He added that kitchens were minimally functional during the lockdown phase and Marriott International, too, scaled down its kitchen facilities on a temporary basis for steady functioning of the business. However, it is now witnessing a good spike with consumption as the industry is opening for experiential. Interestingly, properties like the Oakwood Premier Prestige Bangalore had decent occupancy during the pandemic, with most of the guests comprising expat nationals. While the hotel stopped buffet services and locked up two F&B outlets temporarily, it continued a la carte operations and operated the coffee shop. Reminiscing about the days, Chef Altamsh Patel, Executive Chef of Oakwood Premier Prestige Bangalore recalled, “There were times when we cooked some special dishes that the guests requested or liked from their country or region. Moreover, certain patrons living within a kilometre or two in radius frequented our restaurants pre- COVID. We encouraged them to order over the phone and personally delivered the food using our own vehicles. Since we did not have our own food delivery platform, we partnered with the existing food aggregators.” As compared to other global markets, labour-intensive countries like India are ahead of the evolu- tion curve for food delivery models. The pandemic and its after-effects notwithstanding, the cloud kitchen space is likely to grow at a non-lin- ear pace, as legacy dine-in restau- rants and F&B retail brands get into the food delivery space. What is re- quired is dedication and processes to maintain the quality and consist- ency of food across a number of lo- cations. The cloud kitchen and food delivery business is disrupting the food business ecosystem for three reasons – convenience, choices and cost. Chef Altamsh Patel, Executive Chef, Oakwood Premier Prestige Bangalore. Karan Tanna, Founder & CEO, Ghost Kitchens.INDUSTRY REPORT www.hotelierindia.com HOTELIER INDIA | MAY 2021 | 31 A GlobalData survey found that growing awareness around this topic will increase pressure on companies operating in the hospitality, travel and tourism sector FOOD WASTAGE REQUIRES GREATER ATTENTION IN TRAVEL AND TOURISM POST-PANDEMIC Just over half of global respondents to a recent survey by GlobalData have stated that reducing or recycling food waste is a priority to them because of the COVID-19 pan- demic. This increase in awareness around food wastage will increase pressure on companies operating in the travel and tourism sector. Ralph Hollister, Travel and Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, com- mented, “When it comes to environmental policies, there are plen- ty of initiatives to address climate change and reducing carbon footprint, but the same level of attention is not given to the in- creasingly pressing issue of food wastage. This increases operating expenses for the likes of hotels and weakens green credentials.” According to him, the initiatives currently in place to combat food wastage in the hospitality, travel and tourism segments are just not enough. This is especially when one looks at the lodging industry specifically. He pointed out that as one of many examples, Hilton has pledged to reduce food waste by 50%, but not until 2030, which is quite a lengthy timescale. What is required is aggressive action plans with shorter delivery times. CARING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT With COVID-19 shattering occupancy rates for many major players in the hospitality industry, environmental targets should be exceeded and brought forward. Removing large-scale buf- fets in hotels, for example, would go a long way to completely Up to 40% of the food produced in India and about 21 million tonnes of wheat is wasted an- nually in the country, according to the United Nations Develop- ment Programme. STOP THE WASTE eradicating food waste. However, with industries becoming more fragmented, newer challenges around food wastage are emerging. For example, the emergence of the sharing economy in the hospitality industry has placed greater respon- sibility on the shoulders of guests when it comes to food wastage. Wastage in private accommoda- tion cannot be regulated as thor- oughly as it could be in hotels, as it would negatively impact the guest experience. However, a step in this direction is definitely the need of the hour. HI LOST EFFORTS A government study found that around 67 million tonnes of food is wasted in India every year, which is valued at around INR 92,000 crore. INDUSTRY REPORTPERSPECTIVE 32 | MAY 2021 | HOTELIER INDIA www.hotelierindia.com A zero-trust IT policy can help hotels mitigate their technological vulnerability, while augmenting overall protection and enabling smart segmentation of data BY PRANITA BHONSALE VERIFY FIRST, TRUST LATER As if the blow dealt from the pandemic was not hard enough, hotels are dealing with a growing threat from cybercriminals. This data leakage could damage their reputation in addition to causing serious financial dam- age. Guests would hesitate re-visiting hotels that failed to protect sensitive information including their names, surnames, ID num- bers, credit card information and addresses. According to a recent Akamai report, the hospitality, travel and retail sectors are being bombarded with malicious cyber attacks. 63 billion credential stuffing and four billion web application at- tacks took place in these industries in the past two years. Cyber criminals especially tap loyalty programmes, which are a potential goldmine for them. “Some top loyalty programmes targeted require nothing more than a mobile number and a numeric password, while others rely on eas- ily obtained information as a means of authentication. There is an urgent need for better identity controls and countermeasures to prevent attacks against APIs and server resources,” said Steve Ragan, Akamai Security Researcher and report’s author.TECHNOLOGY www.hotelierindia.com HOTELIER INDIA | MAY 2021 | 33 This April, the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar crime unit busted a pan-India online racket, involving booking of suites in five-star hotels. The criminals used stolen data of credit cards, which they sourced from the dark net. According to Munish Pande, IT Head, Roseate Hotels & Re- sorts, the pandemic has presented unscrupulous cybercriminals and state actors with a new and topical leverage to increase the profitability of successfully exploiting their targets through fear and misinformation. “Thousands of new potentially suspicious do- mains are created daily and there has been a large shift towards phishing campaigns exploiting the public’s thirst for information related to the pandemic,” he noted. Furthermore, as many hospitality organisations switched to re- mote working last year, employees were forced to use personal computers and mobile devices over poorly secured home net- works. These devices and networks often lack the same levels of security that corporately managed devices have, which opens up a new attack surface for cybercriminals. With the rising use of personal devices, a hotel’s IT team had to shift gears quickly to protect critical internal business data. Gaurav Varshney, Assistant IT Manager at Crowne Plaza New Delhi Mayur Vihar Noida recommends using a combination of Smart Access Man- agement and multi-factor authenti- cation solutions such as Biometric, Smart Single sign on (SSO), Grid and One-Time-Password (OTP). This guarantees that applications and re- sources are accessed only from de- vices issued by the organisation. “Currently, we use only those remote applications that are pre- scribed by IHG i.e. IHG Bomgar and Cisco Webex. Both these remote applications are secure and require multifactor authentication to install and gain access to another person,” he added. GOING WITH THE FLOW The recent curfews and lockdowns have highlighted that remote working is here to stay, even in the hospitality sector. This extends to their internal staff as well as guests who check into hotels for workations, staycations or even during quarantine. Every company has its own poli- cies and guidelines to restrict users from operating personal devices for organisational work. However, if guests need to use personal devices Organisations should look at securing SSL keys inside Hardware Security Modules. “Moving to cloud is another solution and implementing Z-scaler cloud security and gateway is a must.” - Munish Pande, IT Head, Roseate Hotels & Resorts. Cyber attackers use various uses ruses including including the following for their nefarious activities: Ransomware: A form of malware, it encrypts a victim's files. The attacker then demands a ransom to restore access to the data through a decryption key. The ransom can range from a few hundred to thousands of dollars, often payable in Bitcoins, which is difficult to trace. Social engineering: Cybercriminals disguise themselves as representatives of bank or government departments while seeking personal information. They share links via messages or emails to hack a user’s accounts and systems. Phishing: This technique deceives users into leaking important information, especially payment and bank details. The most popular phishing techniques include fake web pages, phone calls, text messages and e-mails. Data poisoning: This occurs when cybercriminals inject bad data into a company’s training pool and get the machine learning systems to learn something it is not supposed to. This change in algorithms impacts data integrity leading to four to five times data inaccuracy. TYPES OF CYBER THREATS Hotels should educate employees about identifying phishing emails by scrutinising email addresses, look for incorrect spellings, grammatical errors and typing mistakes in the email body.TECHNOLOGY 34 | MAY 2021 | HOTELIER INDIA www.hotelierindia.com files are updated regularly in brand specific IT tools. Rajan Pandey, IT Manager at Hyatt Regency Chennai added that only licensed and author- ised software should be used, as it will help plug any security loopholes used by hackers. “It is also impor- tant to install antivirus across all the systems including servers, laptops, desktops and POS workstations. We should review running services on the servers as well as on user’s sys- tems. On discovering any discrepan- cy, the management should certainly be briefed and then further share it with cyber security experts for re- view,” he recommended. KEEPING THE VIRTUAL EYES PEELED While the IT team keeps user sys- tems updated with the latest se- curity patches, they should avoid sharing administrative passwords or permissions. Pandey recommended that hotels should be Payment Card Industry (PCI) and Data Security Standard (DSS) compliant across all card readers, networks, routers and servers. They should monitor all PCI and DSS points regularly; for instance, conduct monthly audits of all EDC card machine with Finance Account receivable. “The IT team should co- ordinate with the hotel’s cyber secu- Hotels should be PCI & DSS compliant across all card readers, networks, routers and servers. They should monitor all PCI and DSS points regularly; for instance, conduct monthly audits of all EDC card machine with Finance Account receivable.” - Rajan Pandey, IT Manager at Hyatt Regency Chennai. While the IT team keeps user systems updated with the latest security patches, they should avoid sharing administrative passwords or permissions. under certain circumstances, the company’s IT department should seek assistance from a hotel’s cyber security expert to create a security layer and secure their system and data. Pande suggests that organisations look at securing Secure Sock- ets Layer (SSL) keys inside Hardware Security Modules (HSM). “Moving to cloud is another solution and implementing Z-scaler cloud security and gateway is a must these days. The messaging platform, too, should have robust security features, which strike a balance between convenience and protection along with a built-in encryption system,” he pointed out. They can include other basic, but critical, cybersecurity prac- tices. These include updating systems regularly with security patches, avoiding connecting unsafe external USB devices, disal- lowing access of personal social media on business devices and turning off the network discovery function, webcam and micro- phone when not in use. SELF HELP IS BEST HELP Varshney suggested that hotels should also educate their employ- ees about identifying phishing emails by scrutinising email ad- dresses, look for incorrect spellings, grammatical errors and typing mistakes in the email body or id. To avoid phishing problems, Hy- att Regency Chennai uses software like BrandShield Anti-Phishing and Microsoft Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection. Moreover, staffers should be trained on the pitfalls of disclosing any sensitive personal or business information over unauthorised apps or browsers. “It is the IT team’s responsibility to ensure that employees use updated antivirus, browsers and operating systems that have the latest patches. This will close any security loopholes that hackers could use,” Varshney advised. While employees do their bit, the onus is equally on the IT team. They need to configure firewalls and routers to reject bad traffic and update these with the latest security patches to thwart mali- cious IPs. Moreover, they need to review and upgrade inbound and outbound firewall rules. It is just as imperative to ensure all the business data backup TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY www.hotelierindia.com HOTELIER INDIA | MAY 2021 | 35 rity team to explore vulnerabilities in the network and resolve this every week,” he advocated. For a while now, cybersecurity experts have been urging com- panies to employ a 'Zero Trust Security' policy. This requires all users, even inside the organisation’s enterprise, to go through au- thorisation and authentication before getting any access. It lever- ages technologies including multifactor authentication as well as identity and access management. According to experts, given that 80% of attacks occur from internal sources, this modus operandi can bring down its incidence. Pande rooted for this approach, since it has reduces a hotel’s vulnerability, strengthens their data protection with a good secu- rity composition along with smart segmentation of data by adopt- ing a strong policy for user identification and access. Varshney seconded his opinion. Elaborating on it, Pandey stated that hotel employees have lim- ited technical knowledge or information regarding cybercrimes. A zero-trust security policy is, therefore, required, highlighting the dos and don’ts. “This should be part of process a new recruit’s ori- entation, while the IT head should initiate and conduct a training of Data Security and PCI & DSS for employees to gain knowledge about it,” he stated. He added that external devices like laptops and storage devices should not have authorisation within the net- work and the IT and finance department should conduct a surprise audits every month. While this looks like a utopian virtual environment, there are reasons why many companies have not embraced it openly. For starters, it takes lots of time and effort to setup with increased involvement of various users and their devices. Moreover, it can spiral into complicated application management with deepdiving into careful data security. Varshney explained, “It will be strenuous for users to perform daily technical tasks when we restrict the network. However, with regular training we can help comprehend the use of trusted process. Organisations are encouraged to contract with trusted paid services such as, Microsoft-One Drive to save backup data.” WISE UP TO VPN As remote working becomes the de facto business standard, IT experts recommend deployment of next-generation identity and access controls. However, are hotels willing to invest on these in current times when business prospects are tremulous at best? Pandey agreed that the current situation is not favourable for most hotels to spend heavily. However, some investments are non- avoidable like investment towards data security. Else, at the end of the day, the organisation can lose a higher amount as that what the investment entailed. Varshney also pointed out that next-gen identity and access control are good investments as they improve security while re- ducing IT costs. “In current time, when hotel business is just pick- ing up, they need to invest in necessary solutions that ensure ease of operation and reduce cost.” Citing an example, he explained how Crowne Plaza New Delhi Mayur Vihar Noida has integrated Rapid 7 management console to its network to monitor all systems and servers patches on the network. “This solution gives notifications to uninstall all obsolete version of software like Adobe Flash Player or Adobe Reader and to update the latest version of software i.e. Java JDK or Google Chrome versions. Also, our hotel has updated Malicious IP’s on its firewall configuration, so that unnecessary traffic is blocked,” he stated. Pande suggested that hotels can get their framework and pre-deploy- ment strategies to place and review processes and procedures reviewed to fill any gaps. This could include the live kitchen camera, contact- less and online ordering or review of ISO27001 and PCI DSS standards in systems. Cyberattacks are a serious con- cern for the hospitality industry, es- pecially when business is limping back to normal. However, with a little help from their IT experts, they can devise a proper plan that can plug all security holes to protect their guests and their internal assets. HI Here’s what the IT checklist should include: • Encourage users to format new machines and install company approved operating system before putting the system in domain • Install antivirus and block USB ports to prevent data leakage • Update the latest security, antivirus and OS patches • Check end of life systems that could be a cyber risk • Determine the access rights for specific software and tools and maintain change management logs • Keep company-owned technology in a safe and secure location with password-protected access • Equip a user’s home computers with reputable firewall software to properly monitor and filter network traffic, including blocking malware • Provide teleconference participants with a password before entering a virtual event. Set up a waiting room where participants must gain access from an appointed host • Elect end-to-end encryption to ensure encrypted communication between all meeting participants using cryptographic keys known only to devices of those participants OPTING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEMS REHAUL? HR FOCUS 36 | MAY 2021 | HOTELIER INDIA www.hotelierindia.com Offering upskilling and reskilling opportunities to retrenched employees, or those on furlough, helps increase their chances in securing a new job during an economic slowdown BY VINITA BHATIA GOING THE EXTRA MILE TThere is no doubt that hospitality was amongst the most affected sectors by the pandemic. Following months of uncertainty and lockdowns, many companies were forced to down their shutters temporarily, and some even permanently. This had a ripple effect on their workforce, as the industry saw massive layoffs and furloughs. However, some companies went beyond the call of duty to help their workforce. When OYO Hotels laid off about almost 15% of its workforce last year, it did its best to support the re- Organisations should offer solutions to employees who seek redressal for any grievance, irrespective if it is personal or professional. trenched staff. It tied up with agen- cies to offer a three-month out- placement service that would help the affected employees get new jobs. As they work with a leaner work- force, Joel Paul, MD, Randstad Ris- eSmart IMEA tells Vinita Bhatia that most companies will increasingly HR FOCUS www.hotelierindia.com HOTELIER INDIA | MAY 2021 | 37 Reskilling has become a necessity today amidst the takeover of technology in operations and the dynamic needs of the business environment.” — Joel Paul, MD, Randstad RiseSmart IMEA According to a study by the Institute of Management Ac- countants, professionals hit hardest by the pandemic be- longed to the tourism, travel and hospitality industry, with 13% furloughed while 58% received pay cuts. THE HARDEST BLOW OF ALL focus on their team members’ mental health, considering that they are functioning under stressful circumstances. This is the time for organisations to foster goodwill amongst their teams and even help their employees make successful career transi- tions, wherever possible. After witnessing massive layoffs and furloughs last year due to lockdowns, the hospitality industry is battling restrictions again. What are the long-term effects on people who suffered its brunt, as well as on those who continue to remain in the business? Amidst the economic uncertainty, one of the immediate effects was on the workforce’s mental health. Not knowing what lay ahead is a stressful situation to be in, which was also felt by re- tained employees too. Seeing how well or badly a company has handled the impact can make all the difference to existing employees in terms of their approach towards the management. The long-term need is to alleviate stress and provide a wholesome environment for growth as companies recover from the pandemic and reverse the negative effects felt during the last year. How can outplacement drive solutions within the hospitality- sector? As a best practice, offering outplacement solutions to impact- ed employees can greatly mitigate the reputational damages caused due to layoffs. Outplacement providers work with the organisation to first identify opportunities for redeployment wherever possible. The next step is to work out an outplacement programme along with the company to offer impacted employees access to career coaches. These experts can guide them through the avail- able options, recognise areas that they can explore in addition to reskilling and upskilling opportunities. They can also assist them in identifying and working towards their next career move. Has your company worked with any hospitality companies to offer outplacement services? Recently, we worked with some of the world’s largest hospitality brands to offer outplacement services to their employees who were being laid off. While the news broke about the impact this layoff would have on the retrenched staff, the company also earned goodwill among stakeholders for handling the situation well by offering their impacted employees respite during tough times. Ultimately, that is really what hospitality is about. It is about how you take care of your stakeholders, including your staff, and ensure they have a pleasant experience at every step of the jour- ney, even at the end. As hospitality companies turn to outplacement as a solution, please shed some light on the importance of reskilling of employees in such a scenario. Offering upskilling and reskilling op- portunities to impacted employees is a great solution to help them in- crease their probability in securing a new job, especially amidst an eco- nomic slowdown. Additionally, this helps create value to their profiles, which act as a confidence booster for them to face the job market. Reskilling has become a neces- sity today amidst the takeover of technology in operations and the dynamic needs of the business en- vironment. As the saying goes, ne- cessity breeds innovation. These words hold true today, especially when talking about the importance of reskilling as a means of career development and progression. How can hotel companies create a supportive working environment that promotes positive wellbeing, without it being reduced to a pa- per exercise? There has been a tendency across organisations to consider wellness as two-dimensional with a focus on mental and physical health. In the new normal, there is a need to con- sider career wellness as an impor- tant third dimension. This third dimension plays a criti- cal role in its relationship to the other two. It can be initiated through pro- grammes that are designed to help employees proactively manage their careers and corresponding skill sets. Additionally, organisations should offer solutions to employees who seek redressal for any grievances, ir- respective if it is personal or profes- sional. When all three dimensions are properly aligned, companies can ex- pect their employees to be more pos- itive in their approach towards work. This will go a long way in help- ing the organisation meet its busi- ness goals. After all, when compa- nies take care of their employees, the employees take care of the rest, which is a fundamental need in the hospitality business. HIMARKETING MANTRA 38 | MAY 2021 | HOTELIER INDIA www.hotelierindia.com All advertising strategies technically fall under content marketing, but it is rarely the other way round BY VINITA BHATIA SELLING THE EXPERIENCE Remember the last time you picked up a flyer or a travel brochure to plan a trip? Does it seem like a distant memo- ry? Let’s face it – these outdated ways for holiday planning or even booking a meal at a city hotel have few takers. Contemporary guests prefer going online to discover their travel, stay, entertainment or dining inspiration and recommenda- tions. Hotel companies are, therefore, doing everything they can to stand out from the crowded milieu and engage users throughout their online journey. This is where user-generated content or UGC becomes a game changer. Here, people create text, videos, images and reviews about the brand and its offering, rather than the other way around. The latter can then share this content on their social media ac- counts, website and other marketing channels. It has higher per- ceived trust value, since this is generated by users who have en- joyed the services. SPEAKING THE GUESTS’ LINGO Guests today expect more than just a good nights’ sleep or meal at a hotel; they seek an experience. Hospitality brands are progressively marketing their ability to provide an enlivened and heightened experience in addi- tion to factors like price, and conven- ience, using content as the lynchpin. The right content marketing strat- egies can help hotel companies build long-term relationships with their guests and communities, generate leads and boost sales. According to Megha Garg, Marketing and Com- munications Manager at DoubleTree MARKETING MANTRA www.hotelierindia.com HOTELIER INDIA | MAY 2021 | 39 Most hotels fail to understand that good content should be light on the sales pitch. An occasional outreach to promote new offerings or amenities is better appreciated,” – Megha Garg, Marketing and Communications Manager, DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore. Suites by Hilton Bangalore, successful content marketing depends on providing valuable assets, like blogs, posts, videos or reviews, which informs and entertains. Secondly, it is important to deliver it consistently across various marketing channels to attract and retain customers. This estab- lishes reliability and fosters engagement. While on the face of it, it might look like an easy task, many hotel brands have failed in their visibility management attempts. A recent Semrush survey of 1,500 organisations found that while 85% had a content marketing strategy, just over 10% rated it as excellent. Garg blamed this letdown on excessive promotional messag- ing. “Unfortunately, most hotels fail to understand that good con- tent should be light on the sales pitch. An occasional outreach to promote new offerings or amenities is better appreciated,” she pointed out. Effective content marketing can increase marketing leads, both in quantity and quality, yielding six times more results than sponsored ads or other paid digital media methods. However, its value is often misplaced or viewed as of secondary importance. According to Garg, brands should refrain from leveraging as a sales platform. This concept should be applied to all types of content, es- pecially in the early stages of the customer journey. She advised that a sales pitch should come much later when a customer’s trust is gained and a positive brand reputation is established with them. This strategy also helps grow audience and reach new leads. THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS Over the past few years, tourist trav- el behaviour and expectation has tremendously changed. In the midst of fierce competition, there are dif- ferent mediums to deliver content and hotels may want to rethink how to get the most out of it. Many companies presume that since content marketing strategies often have positive fallout, it will result in increased responses. They often reshuffle their marketing mix, positioning this above traditional ac- tivities. When they do not get the desired RoI, the blame falls squarely on this concept, which Garg stated is most unfortunate. Instead, she believed that they should evaluate the best option keeping prevailing market situations in perspective. “The purpose of marketing has al- ways been to generate revenue by influencing consumers to take ac- tion. Until now, marketers would go for an omnichannel approach that enabled a brand to leverage the unique benefits of content and tra- ditional marketing. However, follow- ing the pandemic, the former has become the frontrunner, since it is more effective, easier to accomplish and more reasonably priced,” she ex- plained. In short, content marketing has to be distinctive from content advertis- The right content marketing strategies can help hotels build long-term relationships with guests and communities, generate leads and boost sales.Next >