After months of quarantine, we begin to see the first signs of life returning to 'normal'.
The life we had before changed, and we see a change in the tourism and leisure market.
So we decided to take some time to have a chat with Susana Jorge the LisbonHolidays CEO and learn more about what has changed, and what she implementing so that its customers can have a safe holiday.
Susana thank you so much for taking the time to talk and learn more about what LisbonHolidays has implemented to welcome your guests back.
In the latest announcement on LisbonHolidays social media, we found the following text:
“We are with our customers at all stages for a healthy and safe stay experience! Dear Guests, Our goal is to provide you with a comfortable stay with our "Safe Stay Standards".
And it is with this statement that we start with our first question.
What standards did you prepare to keep your guests safe?
Thanks for the invite. Regarding LisbonHolidays, the standards remain the same, we have always fought to take care of the properties, always thinking about the guest who visits and protecting our employees. Of course, nowadays, wit a new threat, we have to clean up the edges and implement better ways to ensure the well-being of the customer and safe productivity for the employee. So I continue to follow the recommendations of the DGS and participate in the webinars of TP, WHO and others to bring new techniques and standards to our company.
What innovations have been implemented at LisbonHolidays to contain the virus and protect your employees?
We can summarize what we innovate in a short sentence “The visitor and his safety first”. But to better understand what we have changed, I will describe the Cleaning process, Check-in and Check-out. Our Cleaning step by step: before entering the apartment, the employee is equipped with a visor, mask and gloves. Start by removing the linen from the bed, organize the apartment by putting everything in its proper place and take out the trash. Then clean the apartment and when it is done, clean the whole apartment without forgetting the handles, switches, controls, all kinds of things that are touched frequently. Our check-in: Our check-in is in person and as such the employee must wear a mask and gloves. The entire check-in process takes place at the entrance of the apartment, leaving the client aware that we are available for any matter during their stay. Our check-out: carried out by the cleaning employee who is instructed in case the guest has left any belongings to be disinfected and later sent to the guest. As I said earlier, we have 24-hour customer support with lunch, dinner or breakfast delivery options, and support for customers who want to know more about how to visit Greater Lisbon safely. We can call this service a concierge service in times of COVID.
Many companies in Portugal suffered from the economic downturn, at what point was LisbonHolidays most affected?
The economy in Portugal was strongly affected, but although we had a sad time seeing the economy stall, we used that time to reinvent ourselves, and look more at our economic outlook. My background is finance and believe me, there are things that we don't learn at university, and one of them is being resilient in times of crisis. So even though we are going through something inexplicable, for me as CEO, this is the time to remember our company's vision, think about the well-being of employees and inspire our team to believe that the best is yet to come .
When we talk about vacations, we immediately think about the virus and the possibility of contagion. How can LisbonHolidays guarantee the customer a safe and contagion-free stay?
Well… we have to be realistic… this virus came to to be alone we have to learn to live with him. We have to be more transparent with the client so that he feels safe and knows that our apartments are all clean and free from contagion. For that, we changed all of our cleaning procedures to be under the recommendations of the DGS. Also, we have the advantage that the entire cleaning service is performed by our employees who are trained to the highest standards of cleaning and disinfection.
LisbonHolidays works not only on holidays tailored to the guest, but also in the management of Hotel properties such as AL’s, Hostels, Hotels, etc. What measures does LisbonHolidays have today that helps the owner to obtain a property prepared for the “new normal”?
Our work philosophy has always been one of trust and commitment to the owners. This has not changed, on the contrary, it has only reinforced these ties and we always continue with solutions and improvements to all levels.
How do you see the future of tourism and leisure, in Portugal and Europe?
I think they are still highly desirable destinations. But we have to show the international tourist, that Portugal is prepared to receive him, and this is a process that goes from the airlines to the places that the tourist can visit and visit. For this to happen and to have a sense of trust in those who visit us, there must be a union between the companies that work with tourism and the institutions that regulate the sector. I believe that together we can find solutions. For example, Dubai was the first country to open its doors to tourism again. We, LisbonHolidays, are open to join other brands or companies, and together we work to invest in safer tourism and continue to be a country of choice for holidays in Europe.
What do you think we should change to improve the way we receive guests?
Ideas all professionals have and plenty, but no idea will succeed if we don't have local and national support. We can guarantee that the visitor has a more relaxing stay if we guarantee free tests at the entrance of the country, and tourists who have negative test, do not have to quarantine. Concerning places such as museums or historic sites, there should be the creation of an application that allows the visitor to obtain the entrance ticket with the time of their entry. We already have applications that show how populated or not the beaches are. We just have to promote these technologies. As I said there are many ideas and I must not be the only one with ideas, so we need to unite to save tourism in Portugal, to improve our approach abroad and to invest in promoting who we are and what we offer to visitor to ensure a safe and stress-free stay.
We want to know if the vision of LisbonHolidays has changed and what future vision of LisbonHolidays has changed?
Our vision has not changed. We still want to be market leaders in the tourism sector in Portugal, building our reputation on the trust created with our partners and taking customer satisfaction to a level of excellence. Furthermore, this moment that we are going through has led us to envision the future with more certainty, even if we are in the midst of an economic storm. Our mission and vision does not change, but it is bolder. We want to grow and together we help the economy and our local community to grow.
Susana thank you so much for your time and for having received us. We will continue to accompany LisbonHolidays and we hope that tourism in Portugal will open its doors again to those who visit us and to those who are hungry to know our rich culture.
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