Since COVID-19 hit, the hospitality industry has been severely impacted. Travel was restricted in many countries, which affected tourist arrivals, business travel and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) events. However, despite the challenges, new ways have emerged as hotels come up with creative ways to welcome back domestic tourism and returning residents.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) have welcomed back domestic tourists with a slew of new packages, centred around the new campaign “Take Happiness Seriously”, an initiative that aims to encourage guests to prioritise happiness through a curated series of activity-driven packages. Guests can enjoy the high life with a luxurious private yacht experience and a gourmet picnic, together with their staycation.

The hotel industry in Singapore has been among the hardest hit. In the first quarter of 2020, tourism receipts fell 39% as international visitor arrivals plummeted 43.2%, according to a report by the Singapore Tourism Board. For the hotel industry, gazetted hotel room revenue declined 30.9%. While second quarter data is not available yet, harsher impact is expected as travel curbs and lockdown restrictions continue to be commonplace.

Globally, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) reported that international tourist arrivals plunged 65% in the first half of 2020, translating to a loss of about US$460 billion in export revenues and international tourism. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development estimated in July that the global tourism industry’s losses may exceed US$1.3 trillion for the full year.

When Singapore implemented its circuit breaker measures in April, hotels were forced to close, while dining was limited to deliveries and takeaways. However, a silver lining came in the form of dedicated Stay-Home-Notice (SHN) properties. Several hotels in Singapore stepped up to provide their rooms for returning citizens to serve their 14-day SHN, similar to a quarantine. Among these hotels in Singapore are M Hotel, Copthorne King’s, Studio M, and JW Marriott Singapore South Beach.

In New Zealand, M Social Auckland was also a quarantine facility, housing some of the 50,000 returning Kiwis that came home, while in Qatar, Kingsgate Doha and Millennium Plaza Doha were among the properties designated for quarantine purposes.

The hotels also tried to bring some cheer to these guests who had to remain confined in their rooms throughout their 14-day stay. At M Social Auckland, the quarantine, termed managed isolation, was celebrated with guests receiving a certificate when checking out. The hotel also celebrated events both big and small, such as Maori Language Week and Father’s Day. In Singapore, Copthorne King’s partnered ActiveSG, an initiative by statutory board Sport Singapore, to offer workouts that guests could follow from their room balconies.

Many hotels also opened up their restaurants and cafes for takeaways and deliveries, as well as allowing dining-in where possible, depending on national and regional restrictions.

However, the impact on the global hotel industry is still indelible, with even major chains having to implement pay cuts, carry out retrenchment exercises, or shut hotels temporarily or permanently. MHR had implemented salary reductions for senior management executives since April and reduced its global headcount by 8% and furloughed another 30% in its owned-and-managed hotel portfolio in May. In August, it laid off 159 employees from its Singapore workforce. In New Zealand, MHR had also been forced to lay off more than 70% of staff, or 910 employees in May, as COVID-19 resulted in its hotel occupancy taking a nose dive to 1.5% in April this year, from 83.7% in April 2019.

Despite the disheartening numbers, UNWTO highlights potential domestic tourism as a driving force for economic recovery, as it is expected to return faster and stronger than international tourism.

In the recent Golden Week in China (1-7 October), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism reported that more than 425 million people travelled domestically. Data from travel booking site Qunar.com Inc showed that reservations for hotels began rising towards end-August, with prices soaring to 20% more compared with last year. The UK has also seen a staycation boom in the summer, which has led to a surge in bookings for hotels and rentals, despite the continued restrictions and local lockdowns.

Singapore re-allowed staycations in July and Orchard Hotel, M Social Singapore, The St. Regis Singapore and W Singapore – Sentosa Cove soon started welcoming guests back. The government will also be giving Singaporeans S$100 tourism vouchers to spend on local attractions, including staycations, at the end of the year. To attract more residents, MHR has introduced a series of new curated staycation packages that are activity-driven.

The newest is the Yacht-cation Escape, which allows guests to enjoy a luxury yacht ride and explore Singapore’s Southern Islands during their staycation at Orchard Hotel or M Social Singapore.

MHR Vice President Operations, South East Asia Mr Lee Richards said, “Travel restrictions have been hard on Singaporeans who are fond of travelling and many are faced with spending the December holidays at home with nowhere to go. We wanted to create a special experience for Singaporeans to escape the doldrums by feeling like royalty for a day.”

“2020 has been a challenging year for everyone. Travellers are starved of adventure and wish to explore again. We want to encourage people to cherish happy moments in their lives and create lasting memories with us,” added Mr Richards.

In an interview with Marketing Interactive, Mr Richards said that the Group received lots of interest for this staycation package before it was officially launched. Speaking with Channel NewsAsia, he also shared that overall, the hotels have sold over 3,000 room nights for the year-end holidays and expects more to come in when the tourism vouchers are given out.

In August, MHR also partnered with Wildlife Reserves Singapore to offer guests personalised experiences at its wildlife parks. Guests staying at either Orchard Hotel or M Social Singapore can also add-on wild experiences with orangutans or pandas, to learn more about the animals from the animal care team and go behind-the-scenes for up-close encounters. Other add-ons such as private tours and tram rides can also be tagged onto the package.

M Social Singapore also has two staycation packages where guests can have their pick of hands-on activity – cocktail making with Mixologist Mr Vladyslav Yesepiv at Beast & Butterflies, or a personal scent workshop with artisanal perfumery Maison 21G.

In Hong Kong, New World Millennium Hong Kong has also curated activities that guests can enjoy with their summer staycation, such as cocktail making and latte art. The hotel has also introduced special perks such as bonus room nights and ‘eat-cation’ promotions where room value is converted to dining credits that can be used at the property’s dining outlets.

JW Marriott Hong Kong released a package that offered pre-registered tickets to Ocean Park theme park, and Grand Millennium Dubai’s summer staycation promotion also gave the added perk of giving guests additional value with F&B vouchers valued at the room rate.

Other hotels around the world have also embarked on specially-curated packages, such as family staycations at Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur and The St. Regis Singapore, or pet staycations at Millennium Seoul Hilton.