Is There Room for Patience in the Business of Travel and Hospitality?
For travel businesses to survive the pandemic, their leaders should adopt a patient stance and embrace patience as an asset.
Patience is defined as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious. By definition this is in itself a challenge which all who are currently making commercial efforts in travel and hospitality can relate.
Whether there is room for patience in the commerce of travel and hospitality is a most appropriate question to consider during the Covid-19 pandemic.
There are delays – The lifting of travel restrictions are constantly being delayed in may travel destinations.
There are problems – The lack of travel sales have created problems for many businesses, business owners and employees.
There is suffering – Many have been ill, or affected with bereavement, while most are suffering financially.
How can business leaders not be annoyed and anxious?
Despite all this (or more appropriately because of all this), there is room for patience in the business of travel and hospitality. It is however very difficult to be patient, but here are three ways to maintain patience in these times.
1. Listen appropriately. The news contains so much information related to Covid-19, and sometimes it seems conflicting and confusing. Listening appropriately means paying attention to what can potentially impact your business, your clients and the travel industry. Glean the information most useful for your decision making.
2. Resist impatient actions. Impatient actions are usually bad decisions taken not because they are best, but because the decision maker caved to the pressure. Resist doing this.
3. Wait actively. Active waiting means busying yourself with activities which will contribute to business success in the future. These include, creating a business plan, building important relationships, and acquiring new skills which can help you to expand your business offerings.
The pandemic has gone on much longer than first anticipated, and no doubt patience is running out, but the future is yet to come. Have patience and make it an asset.
