Pandemi membuat banyak hal menjadi tak pasti. Ketika kegiatan pertemuan mulai mengisi meeting room hotel, kasus COVID-19 justru melonjak. Untungnya, mereka tak kehabisan akal untuk bertahan.
Prita Gero, Assistant Manager Marketing Communications PT Grahawita Santika, induk Santika Indonesia Hotels & Resorts, mengungkapkan, sebenarnya dalam beberapa bulan terakhir ruang-ruang meeting sudah mulai terisi. Namun, kasus COVID kembali meninggi, dan meeting room kembali sepi.
Kendati begitu, Prita menjelaskan, pihaknya bisa bertahan di masa pandemi berkat sejumlah strategi.
Pertama dengan membuat video tentang protokol kesehatan (prokes) dan menyebarluaskannya. Cara ini, menurut Prita, cukup efektif untuk meyakinkan klien yang ingin mengadakan meeting di hotel.
Strategi kedua, dengan memastikan seluruh properti hotel tersertifikasi CHSE (Cleanliness, Health, Safety, dan Environment). “Terkait kewajiban swab antigen sebelum menghadiri meeting, kami serahkan ke pihak penyelenggara. Namun, untuk tamu hotel kami tidak mewajibkan swab antigen terlebih dulu,” imbuh Prita.
Ketiga, hotel-hotel di bawah jaringan Santika Group tidak dijadikan tempat isolasi mandiri atau repatriasi sehingga klien merasa aman untuk menyelenggarakan kegiatan di hotel.
Prita menegaskan, yang paling penting di masa adaptasi ialah membangun kepercayaan klien dan tamu. Itu kenapa pihaknya terus mengedukasi karyawan untuk memberi pelayanan lebih pada saat seperti ini.
“Investasi memang besar, dalam sebulan setiap properti mesti mengeluarkan Rp30 juta untuk penambahan layanan seperti membungkus handuk dengan plastik, menyediakan hand sanitizer, dan disinfektan. Sampai urusan pembayaran, bagi tamu yang membayar secara tunai uangnya harus kami simpan dalam plastik, kalau ada kembalian kami gunakan uang baru. Jadi kami sangat berhati-hati,” kata Prita.
English
Hotels’ Strategies for Meeting Rooms amidst the Pandemic
The pandemic has rendered everything unpredictable. When hotel meeting rooms started to accommodate meetings, the number of COVID-19 cases skyrocketed. Luckily, they don’t run out of ideas to sustain the business.
Prita Gero, the assistant manager of marketing communications at PT Grahawita Santika, the parent company of Santika Indonesia Hotels & Resorts mentioned that for the past few months, the meeting rooms have started to become occupied. However, since there has been an increase in COVID cases, the meeting rooms are empty again.
Despite that, Prita explained that the business is still running thanks to several strategies.
First, her team created a video on health protocols and broadcast it. This way, according to Prita, is effective enough to convince clients to rent the meeting rooms at her hotel.
The second strategy is by ensuring that all hotel properties are CHSE (Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environment) certified. “It is the meeting organizers’ responsibility to mandate taking the antigen-based swab test before the meeting, but we do not oblige our hotel visitors to take the test before their stay,” said Prita.
Third, the hotels under Sartika Group’s management do not accommodate quarantine or repatriation, so clients feel safe to hold their events there.
Prita mentioned that the most important thing to do during the adaptation phase is by building the trust of clients and visitors. That is why her team always educates the employees to give more intensive service during this trying time.
“The investment is huge. In a month, every property has to spend Rp 30 million on efforts to enhance the service, like wrapping the towels in a plastic as well as providing hand sanitizers and disinfectants. On top of that, the management has to keep the money from cash payments in a plastic container and give changes using newly printed cash. So we are very careful,” said Prita.
