As the world continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and adapt to these unprecedented times, HD is checking in with members of the hospitality industry around the globe to find out how their businesses are being impacted and what they anticipate will change down the line.
Gabriele Chiave, Creative Director, Marcel Wanders
What are the biggest challenges you’re facing?
The hardest thing about this crisis is that it’s an enemy we cannot see. It makes believing that it will happen to us more difficult. People look fine on the outside, of course. Sadly, it is creating an unfounded, yet understandable, distrust of those around us.
What also makes it difficult is change itself. We love our routines, our travel, our freedoms. When those are challenged, we have to reset ourselves. Personally, not seeing my friends and family is the worst part of all this. What a testament to the need for human connection and meaningful experiences. I hope the result of this is a greater appreciation for every moment together.
What is your current work situation?
We closed the studio and made sure that each designer was able to establish their work station at home. Using online conferencing technology, we’re connecting throughout the day. I am finding that I am more efficient, but still busy. We are not making any hard decisions at the moment, and we’re continuing to work with current and longterm clients.
What are some of the positive effects of working in these new ways?
Because there is a need to focus on connection and not take it for granted, we are more diligent in how we communicate, collaborate, and champion each other’s designs. With less travel—or no travel—people are available more often and for greater amounts of time. That is true both internally and with our clients, as we present work and ideate with them.
What is your pulse on the industry?
After this crisis, there will be an understanding that you are very vulnerable, and we need to produce things in a more respectful way. As hospitality and leisure pick up again, we will find ways to design in the new reality—a more cautious and evolved one. All of our partners are thinking about what they will do in the aftermath of all this. We are pressing forward and letting them know that we are here for them, to help and support them in any way we can.
What does this mean for the future of hospitality?
Guests will expect higher levels of cleanliness as the demand for healthy living spaces will not return to where it once was. People will want to go to places like spas where wellness is the main focus. But in the end, people will continue to travel, and creating destinations that offer a sense of place and more meaningful experiences will be more important than ever.
Lastly, share some good news! Have you done anything to stay busy in these crazy times?
This virus isolates us, of course. Certainly, during these times, any place where we can unplug is a happier place for all of us. Now more than ever we are reminded of the power of being in the moment and giving ourselves the time to slow down, learn something new, and to read and write. Truly making the time and space to pause and think. People are rediscovering the things we forgot or just took for granted.
Joyce Wang, Founder, Joyce Wang Studio
What are the biggest challenges you’re facing?
Not being able to charrette with the team in person. I’ve come to appreciate a quick doodle goes a long way.
What is your current work situation?
I am currently on day 10 of my 14-day home quarantine, having returned to Hong Kong from London last week. Between FaceTime, WhatsApp video calls, and Zoom meetings, I find myself quite busy catching up with the teams in London and Hong Kong throughout the day. We’ve been fortunate so far and not had to make drastic changes to our teams.
What are some of the positive effects of working in these new ways?
I’ve been surviving home quarantine through lots of baking—it’s become a means to communicate with the outside world. Sending love to those who are working in the studio in the form of baked goods delivered by Uber. I’m amazed by how quickly the teams have adapted to work from home, but of course, days are not without technical issues. Server access problems throw a wrench in things, but we have learned to stay positive and support each other through these challenges.
What is your pulse on the industry?
We specialize in high-end hospitality projects with a mainstay in F&B, and our clients have been hit by the closure measures and a couple of them have sadly had to let go of the majority of their teams and placed the project on hold indefinitely. Hotel work has been relatively more stable as timelines are further out so there’s not been an immediate impact.
What does this mean for the future of hospitality?
Just this week, we’ve had new business enquiries come through from clients who want to take advantage of the more favorable rental terms, availability of prime sites, and the general lull in order to kickstart their new restaurant visions, so I am feeling positive.
Lastly, share some good news! Have you done anything to stay busy in these crazy times?
I’ve been enjoying the Equinox and Variis workouts offered daily online. The workouts are programmed for no equipment, so just body weight and a mat. Being mobile and experiencing a range of motion through the day keeps me feeling balanced.
Josh Wyatt, CEO, NeueHouse
What are the biggest challenges you’re facing?
We have always been people driven first, with our staff and members as our foundation and anchor both strategically and emotionally. So with our business currently closed, not being able to be physically there for both of these groups is our biggest challenge.
We also made the decision to freeze membership dues to help out our members, all of whom are in the creative community, which has been a hard hit. By freezing membership dues, this means we have zero revenue, and it places great strain on our ability to support our staff and the needs of members during this most difficult of times. We hurt, indeed ache, for the fact that we cannot run NeueHouse right now for all these important people in our lives.
What is your current work situation?
We took the voluntary decision to close on March 16th, well ahead of government mandates. We were the first in our space to take the decision to close and the first to freeze membership dues. This was the right thing to do, but as a result we had to furlough 95 percent of our employees at the end of March. This was the hardest moment in my 20-plus year career. However, we made the decision to do so in order to allow us to survive, and we aim to reopen when it is safe to do so, hopefully at the end of May.
In terms of connection with my team, I make sure we do a daily Zoom call at 9 a.m. as I believe that ritual is important—especially in times of stress. Seeing everyone’s face at least once a day has a powerful anchoring effect during these stormy times.
What are some of the positive effects of working in these new ways?
This new world has forced time to slow down for movement and thought, and I do welcome this new considerate way of assessing strategy and challenges. We all have more time to think now, and this time, in a way, reminds me of how people used to interact 40 years ago. More deliberate conversation, interaction, and thought. That is one of the positives to come out of this forced reset.
What is your pulse on the industry?
NeueHouse sits within the confluence of hospitality, workspace, events, and creative programming. So we have an intimate understanding of how much disruption is happening to our friends and colleagues in the space. Make no mistake, this virus absolutely will change how hospitality businesses and teams deliver on service and experience. Any project that is in process from a design perspective needs to be deeply assessed. We are in touch with select members, as well as the design community, to start a discussion on how people will use spaces going forward. It will be impossible to reopen or launch new sites with these new changes, but by late 2020 and early 2021 we will see the innovators roll out new design and processes that make customers more secure, relaxed, and comfortable in the post-COVID-19 world.
What does this mean for the future of hospitality?
Service changes can happen quickly in hospitality, and we intend to be at the forefront of that evolution. How people are greeted when they arrive, what does dining and bar service look like, how is staff managed, how do people sit across from one another—all of this is in play for evolution post-COVID-19.
Hospitality post-pandemic will be much more personal, in essence, a return to knowing, intimately, how to correctly serve a customer and make them feel safe. This will be achieved through a combination of technology, new design, and refined service operations.
Lastly, share some good news! Have you done anything to stay busy in these crazy times?
Dogs are now officially tired of us! I walk my French Bulldog, Montauk, daily. He has seen more of me these past weeks than ever before. I also am thrilled to revisit some of the literary classics that I read or have wanted to read. It sort of feels like we are all living in the pre-internet 1980s again, where board games, puzzles, and record players have replaced our screens—I kind of love it.
Related stories:
3 Design Duos on Making the Most of Trying Times
6 Designers, Architects, and Entrepreneurs on Staying Connected
For more COVID-19-related news and stories from HD, click here.
