It’s not enough to implement physical 
distancing measures and adopt stringent 
new cleaning protocols. Companies will 
need to connect actively with customers 
new and old to communicate how they’re 
protecting their customers’ health. From 
signage to emails, social media posts 
to YouTube videos, they should take 
the initiative to explain and show what 
they’re doing to keep everyone safe as 
business slowly reopens. Clear, consistent, 
hype-free messaging is vital to ensuring 
customers understand what they’re doing 
and to building their trust. Beyond this important step, companies 
should be searching for any opportunity 
to use incentives and special offers 
to welcome existing customers back 
or attract new ones. Discounts, extra 
privileges, two-for-one ticket offers, and 
more can all help bring customers back 
while recognizing the difficult economic 
circumstances so many find themselves 
in. Loyalty programs should be capitalized 
on as much as possible: companies can 
aim to drive customer traffic by lowering 
point redemption requirements, or target 
members with special reopening offers 
tailored to different program tiers. Ultra-
flexible change and refund policies can 
also be powerful customer incentives, 
particularly given ongoing COVID-19-
related uncertainties. Using price as a means to drive customer 
traffic, on the other hand, should be 
considered carefully. This approach risks 
sparking a price war that could all too 
quickly become a race to the bottom, and 
risks leaving money on the table when 
higher demand does start to rebound. It’s 
especially important for those operating 
in the luxury space to weigh the option; 
price concessions may have stimulated 
demand in the aftermath of previous 
major events (SARS, hurricanes) and 
recessions, but it took longer for revenues 
to return to historic, pre-event/pre-
recession levels.13
Move customer touchpoints online 
and expand the experience
Across the hospitality sector, companies 
will need to take every opportunity to 
move touchpoints online as part of a 
broader effort to protect the health and 
safety of customers and employees alike. Restaurants are doing away with the 
need to pay the delivery driver. Gambling 
service providers may look to partner with 
food delivery companies and online or 
click-and-collect grocers through which 
to distribute lottery tickets and other 
products. Casinos may consider moving 
the gambling table experience online 
to bring their core customers together 
without subjecting them to intrusive 
physical distancing measures, or invest 
in increasing the penetration of existing 
online offerings. Hotels had already 
begun to use smartphone apps to bypass 
the front desk with mobile check-ins 
and keys, though this was mostly done 
to reduce costs; COVID-19 has turned 
these cost savings into a revenue driver, 
and we should expect to see much 
more investment in similar no-contact 
technologies.