Coronavirus & The Effect on Hospitality

Photo courtesy of Riad

We’re still waiting for the “wakeup! It’s not real!” but as of right now, that doesn’t seem to be happening. Everyone has taken a hit, whether you’re in marketing, finance, hospitality, or engineering. Living in a period of uncertainty and uneasiness, it is especially difficult to obtain some sort of normalcy. Now it has become even harder to see the future of coronavirus and what this means for various businesses, in particular, hospitality.

Restaurants and bars all across the country, especially in major cities such as NYC, SF and LA have been forced to close in order to practice social distancing and reducing contact between individuals. Not only have their doors closed, but restaurants and bars still have a tremendous amount of uneaten food and ingredients. These business owners now have to find ways to get rid of these items and are aiming to donate them to those in need. The livelihood of food-service workers is in jeopardy as many are paid on an hourly basis. This means that line cooks, servers, bartenders, and hosts are all losing their jobs. Although some businesses are offering pay wages and health care coverage for the month, these restaurants cannot stay afloat without the influx of cash.

You’re probably asking yourself “ok what can I do to help?” This breaks our hearts as restaurants and bars hold so many of our favorite memories and are our way of connecting with one another. Many restaurants are still offering take-out and delivery (view a complete list for Los Angeles restaurants HERE) as well as buying merchandise from your favorite go-to spots. Why wouldn’t you want to sport a cute t-shirt from your trusty neighborhood spot while you’re hanging out at home in your PJs? In addition to this, there are various relief funds for restaurants, bars and service workers (view the complete list HERE).

There has also been a severe economic impact on hotels. Due to significant drops in occupancy and a mass amount of travel cancellations, a large percentage of hotel jobs have been eliminated or will be eliminated soon. Many people who have had international trips planned for months, couples who had planned for weddings and bachelor/bachelorette parties, and various music festivals, work conferences, and expos have been canceled, therefore eliminating the need for a place to stay.

As the virus has spread, event planning companies have lost countless contracts with no solid postponement dates. This creates an immense sense of anxiety, uncertainty, and uneasiness. This doesn’t just affect major event planning and production companies but even more so the freelancers and contractors who consistently book gigs with these companies. Without any weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs, fundraisers, music festivals, conferences, speaker series, and birthday parties, there is little that these individuals can do to help save their revenue. Many companies hope that come summer 2020, things will get back on track, but for now, with the loss of an average of 8 or 10 events per month, these individuals will be put in a tough spot.

Now, more than ever, we need to remember to practice kindness and to be patient with one another during this time. We can take this as a chance to reset, restore balance, and come out on the other side stronger. Here at Riad, we will continue to keep our hospitality blog up and running as we are committed to our community sticking together. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions, feedback, or future requests and until then, stay safe and healthy.

Xx, Your Riad Family