Covid-19 and the Hospitality Logistics Industry

The Hospitality Logistics Industry has been hit particularly hard by the Covid pandemic. In March 2020, we were confronted with three main challenges: 

1. Active Projects

There was enormous pressure to get active projects completed, but with so much manufacturing coming out of China (the epicenter at the time), production ground to a halt when their factories were shut down. 

As production eventually came back online in China, the pandemic was beginning to spread in the US resulting in projects stalling again. This caused a backlog of imported product arriving with no final destination once it arrived in the US.

2. Pending Projects

Pending Projects were put on hold and the future of those project remain uncertain. There will eventually be a re-evaluation and that will almost certainly result in new opportunities and amendments to existing plans

3. Open Properties

The impact on open properties has been enormous. With cancellations and an inability for business customers and tourists to travel, open properties have seen a huge decrease in business.

In turn, this has resulted in extensive down sizing on the service and logistics side of the Hospitality industry.  There have been huge staff reductions across the board – in hotels, design, purchasing, construction and installation.

However, it has not been an entirely negative experience. AW2 was able to provide warehousing solutions where available to clients in need and as we were categorized as an “Essential Businesses” we did not close.  We used that opportunity to establish Covid-19 policies that have allowed us to stay open and remain operational. 

The hope for the Hospitality Logistics Industry is that the comprehensive rollout of vaccines will allow for a return of the business and tourist traveller. However, there are some new challenges that the post-pandemic world will bring; for example people who are now comfortable working at home which will likely impact the recovery of business travel.  On the other hand, we expect enormous demand when the population is once again able to travel and vacation freely. 

We are also hopeful about the future of Transportation Logistics and we are committed to working alongside partners and customers to navigate the aforementioned challenges. We have also made considerable investments in technology and in developing talent to take full advantage of the opportunities that will inevitably arise in the years to come.

For more information please contact Dean Steiner, VP of Sales & Strategy, at 1-877-223-0605 or email info@aw2logistics.com