Case study: Hygiene matters in the UAE

Richard Stolz, associate director of strategy and transformation at KPMG Lower Gulf Limited, examines effective hygiene management in UAE hotels.

The pandemic had a sweeping effect on just about every aspect of life: the way we work, play, travel and socialize might never go back to what we saw as normal. Covid-19 has forced us to find healthier and safer ways to navigate the world and interact with each other.

The speed of post-pandemic economic recovery ultimately depends on how quickly the hospitality industry can instill trust and confidence in consumers.

Industry experts say that health, hygiene and well-being are now at the forefront of consumer consideration, surpassing luxury and value for money. Hospitality establishments have had a normative and regulative requirement to be nimble, adopting innovation to meet those needs. The industry was forced to explore changing consumer behavior and question what the critical success factors would now be.

The UAE’s response

To assure visitors that hospitality establishments were adhering to international health and safety standards and protocols, the World Travel & Tourism Council established the Safe Travels global protocols and stamp in March/April 2020. According to a recent KPMG report, more than three-quarters (77 percent) of UAE residents planning to stay in Dubai would consider whether the property received a Dubai-assured stamp certifying its sanitization protocols. The report revealed that there was still a considerable degree of concern among consumers over Covid-19related safety measures. The majority feel that appropriate monitoring, high standards of cleanliness and effective handling of shared spaces are critical for improving customer experience and creating a sense of safety. Now, as prospective visitors tentatively book their stays, hospitality industry leaders are implementing strategies to gain consumer confidence and, hopefully, bolster the entire hospitality and tourism industry. Guests and employees being screened for Covid-19 symptoms is now quite common, as is maintaining some level of social distancing. Hotel brands are leveraging remote service and contact-free technology and services where applicable. They are also minimizing physical contact as much as possible, mainly through the digitalization of information and menus. And to prepare for a worst-case scenario, hotels have devised an action plan for event response procedures when alerted of a Covid-19 case. hotel occupancy rates were around 63 percent across the country. The UAE’s fast rebounding hospitality sector, which stood out as the world’s second-busiest after China in 2020, posted a 27.6 percent increase in the average length of stay in hotels, to 4.3 nights, compared with March 2020 – with UAE nationals accounting for 25.6 percent of total guests during the reference period.

Industry experts say that health, hygiene and well-being are now at the forefront of consumer consideration.

Bouncing back

According to the Pandemic Resilience Index, the UAE was the second most resilient country globally for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, Dubai, in recognition of the emirate’s successful citywide management of the pandemic, was awarded the Safe Travels stamp in July 2020. This serves to consolidate the emirate’s position as one of the world’s safest destinations.

Dubai’s hotel occupancy rates, having nosedived to less than 25 percent in April 2020, have steadily improved due to these hygiene and safety measures. And December 2020 marked a 12-month high of 69 percent. According to hospitality data and analytics specialist STR ,there has been a rebound in the UAE, particularly in Dubai, which recorded the highest occupancy levels in the world in March 2021. The report showed the emirate’s occupancy rates rose to more than 60 percent in Q1 2021, making Dubai one of the strongest performing markets in the world. Average Staycations are vital

The hospitality industry’s recovery has been primarily driven by local demand. The popularity of domestic travel, or “staycations,” has been supported by the government-issued health and hygiene mandates.

The swift development and implementation of hygiene protocols as a response to the pandemic meant that the UAE was one of the fastest tourism destinations to fully open up its hotels and restaurants, giving the country a competitive advantage over hotel players in other regions. The interconnected nature of the hospitality and the UAE’s aviation industry means they depend on each other to thrive. The agility of the aviation industry in the UAE was pivotal in supporting the hospitality industry during the recovery phase. In the future, it will remain important for players in the hospitality industry to differentiate themselves from the competition by offering safer and unique experiences. The influx of visitors during Expo 2020 is set to play a pivotal role in accelerating some of these changes and the UAE’s hospitality sector has proven it can weather the storm when it comes to receiving substantial volumes of travelers in in times made challenging due to the effects of Covid-19. The outlook is promising: travel and hospitality will likely thrive again. Covid-19 acted as a catalyst for industry transformation. The last 18 months have provided the sector with an opportunity to reinvent itself and improve its service offerings for a better and safer postpandemic world.