Hotels, Restaurants & Cafes gear up for reopening 

New Delhi: The hospitality sector has been among the hardest hit during the pandemic. Lockdowns, government restrictions and concerns of infection caused massive disruption, reduction in travel. And since a very small percentage of revenues come through takeaways/ delivery, restaurants also suffered large losses. With restrictions slowly lifting, the industry however is still figuring strategies to give customers the confidence to return safely. A few industry experts, veterans including a leading hotelier, restaurauteur, and Shycocan Corporation, the manufacturer & supplier of the breakthrough viral defence technology – the Shycocan Virus Attenuation Device – hosted a webinar themed ‘The Post Pandemic Reset’ in association with DDP Group – a leading business information and solutions provider in the Travel, Hospitality and Cargo sectors. The objective of the session was to discuss strategies to revive the Indian hospitality sector.  
 
Moderated by Mr SanJeet, Founder & Managing Director of DDP Group, the session saw participation from industry stalwarts like Mr Alok Sharma, CEO, Shycocan Corporation, Mr Abinash Manghani, CEO, Welcome Heritage, and Mr Vineet Wadhwa, Chairman & Managing Director, Fio Restaurants.  
 
Vineet Wadhwa, Chairman & Managing Director, Fio Restaurants, led the webinar stating, “New challenges are coming post-second wave. Healthy and fresh foods with no preservatives have become the preference, digitization is also helping hotels in the form of QR Menu as only 2-3 out of 10 people like to hold the physical menu. Devices like Shycocan are doing a brilliant job as new tech ideas are the way forward for the industry.” 
 
Commenting on the impact of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry, Abinash Manghani, CEO, Welcome Heritage, said, “COVID-19 has changed the entire outlook of the industry. Survival became a primary focus of the hotels and restaurants in the last two COVID waves. Cash flows are what now hotels and restaurants are looking at post-second wave in India with increased technology adoption by the hotel industry along with the rise of unexplored destinations to travel.” 
 
Alok Sharma, CEO, Shycocan Corporation, said, “Viruses like COVID-19, Influenza, Swine Flu etc. are there and virologists predict several such breakouts with higher and deadlier frequency in the future. Viral defence devices need to become the basic amenity for the hospitality industry along with the adoption of standard protocols like vaccination, temperature checks, QR menus, continuous sanitizations etc. The industry needs to future-proof itself by adopting technology to create a safe space. And to give consumers the confidence to return, and get things back to normal.”  
 
He also showcased the world’s first virus attenuation device Shycocan that neutralizes up to 99.9 per cent of the entire family of Coronavirus and brings back the businesses to normal. Given the technology, it is also effective against future mutations and variants of the virus.  
 
The webinar concluded with a poll in which 83% of viewers said they would be interested in learning more about the Shycocan device to protect and continue their businesses. The mutual closing statement was the growth around digitization and technology as the key driver. 
 
The webinar saw over 800 registrations and active participation from the industry with a rich Q&A session with attendees from all over the world including the Middle East, South East Asia, Sri Lanka and more.