The Chambers Dictionary defines hospitality as ‘(friendly welcome and) entertainment of guests … a room or a suite where guests, delegates, etc are welcomed and entertained’. We are social creatures; for many of us, hospitality settings are the backdrop to our lives. Generation after generation has gathered to share key life milestones in restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, and every other kind of hospitality setting. The global pandemic challenged the hospitality sector to its core, so let’s take a look at how hospitality can learn to live with Covid-19

Image Credit

Adapting to a socially-distanced world

Hospitality was crippled when lockdown began in March 2020. Businesses closed with no idea when or if they would re-open. Many entered lockdown after a tough first financial quarter, adding hardship to an already brutal change in circumstance.

Businesses of all shapes and sizes rose to the challenge and adapted with ingenuity and grit, with takeaway and delivery services keeping businesses and communities afloat during a time of deep uncertainty. Experts warn that it is essential for hospitality to create medium- and long-term solutions for living with Covid-19, starting with solid communication.

Communication is key

UK Hospitality, the country’s top trade association, forecast that one million jobs would be at risk and one-third of the hospitality industry could be permanently shut down. Furthermore, the hospitality sector is likely to be the last to emerge from the financial fallout from the pandemic. As a result, hospitality faces a defining communications challenge.

Image Credit

During lockdown, communication strategies focussed on logistics, such as how delivery and takeaway services would operate and keeping customers updated on radically different opening hours. Industry-specific experts, such as food PR agency staff, say that the focus must now shift to operations.

Businesses must address how they will operate and pivot their communications strategy to include their new operating models. Solid communications strategies showcasing new operating models, perhaps with the help of a food PR agency, will reassure staff and customers nervous of social interaction. Industry experts warn that without a clear operations narrative in their communications strategy, businesses will struggle to stay afloat.

Will hospitality survive?

The world is transitioning to a new way of living. Anyone who has worked in hospitality knows that part of the job is smiling through chaos and uncertainty. If any sector can reinvent itself and thrive, it is the hospitality industry.

Working from home for some means you will be able to set your own hours, set your own pace and take control of the hours that work best for your personal needs. It will be easy to manage your own working hours and work at your own pace as you will have a flexible schedule. Although for those forced to work from home due to the current pandemic, it’s not always easy juggling 9 to 5 responsibilities whilst looking after the family!

One of the biggest problems most people have when they are working from home is finding a space where they can work, having enough room as well as minimal disruptions. Some people have thrived without the stress of the workplace and the long commutes, whilst others can’t wait to get back to the buzz of the office.

What this pandemic has shown us though, is that working from home is likely to become much more commonplace in the future than it has been. However, with this comes the challenge of internet connectivity and power supply. Large businesses and office buildings have contingency plans and back-up generators, for example, when power cuts occur. What does the home worker do when the electricity goes off? Find out more about Diesel Generators at a site like Gener-g diesel generators

It is a good idea for those who plan to work from home long-term to consider a back-up plan to ensure they have the support and infrastructure they will need in the event of a power outage, for example.

Electronic door locks use a variety of technology to replace the old-fashioned keys and locks. Some models use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) whilst others use keypads, Bluetooth or biometric technology.

Image Credit

The first electronic locks were essentially a keypad and all you had to do was enter a numerical code of four or six numbers to open the door. Keypads are still widely used in electronic entry systems but these days they use touchscreen panels. It has also been necessary to introduce extra security features to make sure that criminals do not discover your personal code.

RFID transmits a radio signal to the lock using a key fob or card. Bluetooth uses a similar method using a smartphone’s Bluetooth ID. Biometric entry can use fingerprint, iris or facial recognition to open locks. According to Drs. Nathaniel J. Short, Benjamin S. Riggan, and Shuowen “Sean” Hu, from the US Army Research Laboratory, it is now even possible for face recognition technology to work in the dark using thermal imaging.

Here are six popular electronic locking systems that you may want to select for your home. Of course it is always best to consult with Locksmith in Dublin before changing any of your locks to ensure that they are suitable for your doors and windows.

Image Credit

August smart key lock

This provides secure access via an iOS or Android device. It works independently through a Bluetooth connection but can also work through Wi-Fi. You can let anyone have a virtual key and limit when they can use it.

Kwikset Kevo

A combination of conventional keyed locks with advanced technology, namely Bluetooth and RFID. Doors can be opened using a smartphone or a key fob.

SoHoMiLL YL 99

A cheap and simple starter electronic door lock using a programmable passcode. Easy to understand and simple to install.

Yale Touch Screen Deadbolt

This is a high-end Yale lock combined with a push button keypad or touchscreen. It is compatible with Zigbee and Z-Wave independent mesh networks amongst others.

Schlage Camelot Touchscreen Deadbolt

A classic touchscreen door entry offering excellent security. It includes an audible alarm sensor and fingerprint-resistant touchscreen.

Samsung Digital Door Lock

The lock can be used as part of a smart home system and will integrate with video cameras and security sensors.

Where would we be without the company Microsoft? It has risen to be the most powerful and influential computer technological firm in the world. It has given us one of the first computer language system, MS-DOS, ever to be used on a global stage and giving rise to the  universal system of Windows and its many versions of updates. When it comes to the management of your systems, an IT Support Cheltenham based team like https://reformit.co.uk/ provide IT Support in Cheltenham can certainly provide the support needed. But where did Microsoft come from?

The company gets its name from one half of its creator Bill Gates. He sent a letter to Paul Allen, the other founder, with the words Micro-soft. It’s thought that this is an amalgamation of words microcomputer and software. They started the company in 1976 and it was soon to grow into the large company that it is today. Back then it was customary to produce both the hardware and the operating system but with the invention and coding of MS-DOS Gates and his team had finally found a formula that the general public could get on board with using the simple icons to link to programs and call it Windows. Although it was a rough and basic system, a constant criticism at the time, it was user friendly and meant that for the first time the general public to use and follow a computer without having to have to learn a whole new computer language.

Soon the company began to gain traction. Hardware makers began to have Windows installed into the machine so that it was ready to use the moment it was switched on. IBM and Hewlett Packard were some of the first and it was not long before Microsoft began to attract other interests to work with them. Foremost of this was legendary early Roxy Music member Brian Eno. With the company at the the height of its powers he wrote the famous start up tune to Windows 95 describing the experience as amazing and cementing his own career.

Working for them is one of the strangest experiences to be had by an employee carrying on the quirkiness of the founders. For example drinks are free with Milk and Orange Juice being the most popular plus there are lots of sweeties to be had. With the considerable amount of employees to feed there are thirty five restaurants and  the most favoured food of choice at lunchtime is Pizza

62% of users include geolocation when publishing their updates on social networks. This data has been extracted from the second wave of the year of the Mobile Audience Insights Report, carried out by JiWire among a sample of around 1,400 consumers in the United States. The study includes the actions carried out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google+. Continue reading Mobile and Geolocation: I am here and now, what do you offer me? →

All excesses are bad, and excessive use of social networks also, in fact, a study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in collaboration with the University of Milan found that Facebook and Twitter can become more addictive than tobacco or alcohol. Continue reading Do you know if you are a true social media addict? →

Online videos have undoubtedly become one of the biggest phenomena of the last decade of the internet. Specialized sites and portals like YouTube have completely revolutionized this new support and some data make it clear. During the past year 2011 broke the record of daily reproductions, surpassing the 4,000 million. At present, 72 hours of video per minute are uploaded worldwide, which has led YouTube to become the third most visited page in the world. Continue reading Pre-Roll Videos: When Advertising Overcomes Information and Becomes an Interruption →

It is expected that during this year online traffic registered via mobile will be equivalent to that of the computer, which implies that companies must have a web ready to be displayed correctly on smart devices. 

During the past year 2012, the volume of mcommerce registered only in the United States exceeded 11 billion dollars. This figure is expected to double sharply in 3 years, to reach $ 31 billion by 2015. However, only 10% of websites are mobile optimized. In the latest Google Research study, special emphasis was placed on the fact that brands that do not have a mobile site could lose up to 40% of profits. Continue reading Only 10% of websites are mobile-optimized →

Although for years I left the stormy world of website creation, by my daily activity still I have great relationship with him and I realize that there are many organizations who can not hire a web for the same or does as he who will a butcher shop to buy a kilo of fillets, without realizing that the web in most cases is their main escape and in some cases the only one. Continue reading Some charge a web like a kilo of fillets →