7 The future of hospitality | Responding to the challenges, seizing the opportunities Trust will be essential Trust will play a pivotal role in enabling organizations to recover and rebuild in the near term, and thrive in the long term. Allowing businesses to reopen may represent a return to some degree of normality, but Canadian consumers are still worried about COVID-19. They need to be able to trust that organizations are taking sufficient action to protect their health. Every hospitality-sector business will need to actively engage with consumers and communicate the steps they’re taking to keep customers and employees safe—and demonstrate how they’re living up to those commitments at every point of interaction. Companies that adapt their offerings to reflect changing preferences and behaviours demonstrate their desire to listen, understand, and respond to their customers. In the near term, this can help deepen consumer trust in the organization, fostering the kind of bond that can drive future growth and success. Consumers will remember the brands that paid attention and “took care” of them. Maintaining and building trust will be essential for organizations of all sizes, but larger hospitality organizations are likely to have an advantage given their greater capability not only to invest in trust- building improvements but also to ensure consumers know about them. Our economy is built on trust and confidence among businesses and consumers Many countries, including China, New Zealand, and Germany, have noticed a remarkable decline in consumer activity even after lockdown restrictions were eased. These changes in consumer behaviour can be attributed to citizens’ lack of trust that reopened businesses are maintaining safety on a daily basis. Early research evaluating the German economy has also shown that an effective public health response drives better, faster economic recovery. Resilient organizations understand that recovery is a human and multi-dimensional experience that requires trust and confidence.