Will Telemedicine Be Hospitality’s New Silver Bullet?
The world is traveling again, but consumers still have many concerns about health and safety. As a result, they are looking to hotels to elevate their services to answer the question, “What happens if I get sick?” The solution is providing guests with virtual urgent care 24-7. Discussing how his company is enabling this, Founder and CEO of Hospitality Wellness Group spoke with B2B Today host Daniel Litwin.
Telehealth access has been on the table for hospitality employees for some time, but Lightfoot noted it was underutilized until the pandemic. Now, telemedicine has become a convenient alternative, so why not provide it to guests, as well?
“What we’ve put together hasn’t been done before for guests. It’s unique, innovative, and a win for hospitality and guests.” – Donald Lightfoot
“I met with the president of the American Hotel & Lodging Association about a survey of guests and what they’re looking for post-pandemic. Overwhelming, they wanted services to help protect their health,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot asked some major players about their current protocol was if a guest is sick. “They either do nothing or call a local doctor, both of which are bad choices and lead to liability. With a telehealth program, there’s no liability.”
Lightfoot also noted that the hospitality market is more competitive than ever and that offering virtual urgent care could be a differentiator. “It can help bring back guests and capture others from other properties.”
It also helps solve another issue—backlash over resort fees. “Guests are upset about these, and so are governments about the lack of transparency. By adding this as part of the resort fee, you don’t have to reduce it because it creates new value,” Lightfoot shared.
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