By Emmanuel Gamson
Takoradi, Aug. 30, GNA – Members of the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) have been urged to leverage technological advancement to enhance operation post COVID-19.
A three-member panel during a discussion on how to sustain the hotel and hospitality industry post COVID-19, said it was imperative for hoteliers to take advantage of emerging opportunities in digitalization to help shape their existing operational strategies for accelerated growth.
The issue of sustaining the hotel industry came up for expert discussions, in Takoradi, at the launch of sixth GHA Awards and hotel business forum, on the theme: “Sustaining the hotel industry in Ghana post COVID-19.”
The forum afforded the panelists and other members of the GHA the platform to brainstorm and devise the necessary approach to ensure effective sustenance of the hotel industry as a way of mitigating the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 on their businesses.
Madam Comfort van den Berg, General Manager of Red Mango Hotel and Apartment and member of the panel, underscored the need for hoteliers to adapt their operations to the current societal trends, including using technology to strategize activities to help increase the inflow of bottom-line revenue.
She also encouraged managers of hotels to periodically organise in-house training for their staff to broaden their expertise on providing quality services to clients.
Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike, President of the GHA, said the COVID-19 pandemic had significant socio-economic effects on their businesses, where some hotels collapsed while majority of employees lost their livelihoods.
He said: “… Some hotels have run out of business, some are struggling, and others are doing well. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted more on customers’ access to our services, and we have had to deal with its ensuing economic challenges.”
He said the situation, therefore, called for the need for the hotel industry players to adjust their working strategies to the current trends to help maintain their businesses.
Dr Eudora Hagan, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Tourism Management at the Takoradi Technical University, underscored the need for hoteliers to prioritize the delivery of quality services to their clients.
She said hotel managers must always seek customers’ feedback on quality-of-service delivery to help them make informed decisions to retain clients’ interest in patronizing their facilities.
That, she added, was one of the ways through which the hoteliers could attract more customers to help boost their revenue.
GNA