Beautiful moments brought you buy Outrigger. Remembering when we could be silly in the sea. Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort 

by Floyd Cowan 

Locked down at home we cannot travel as we once did, and as we will do in the future. Those in the travel industry are now urging you to travel virtually. While it is not a bad idea, of course it is not as satisfying as actually being there – wherever that might be. Looking at a picture of a sunset is nice, but not as nice as actually feeling the sand beneath your feet and having a sundowner at hand. 

Not only do you not help the hotelier, the vendor selling the local beer, you don’t help the average person. The people who clean the hotels, taxi drivers, the souvenir sellers, spa staff – and the deeper spin off. Especially in a place like Bali where transport is so important for seeing the temples, the rice paddies, and getting about in general. It affects the service stations, the mechanics, people selling parts and tires. It is not just the tourism industry being affected it ripples all the way through the economy. 

For those who still have an income but can’t travel there are ways of giving back. In a newsletter, President & CEO, Outrigger Hospitality Group, Jeff Wagoner (right) wrote: As we navigate through this unprecedented time, our energy is focused in two connected spheres: giving back and looking forward. We recently launched #OutriggerCARES as a global platform to provide support for our internal team as well as offer resources and aid to the communities in which the brand operates. Localized care ranges from housing healthcare heroes in Hawaii to delivering meals in Mauritius and donating personal protective equipment to a hospital in Phuket.”

You may not have any affinity with Outrigger, but there are many ways of helping those whose lives have been devastated by the pandemic. I get a daily influx of media releases from travel industry companies that are patting themselves on the back for the good work they are doing. This is great and should be encouraged. Many in the industry have been doing good work throughout their history and if this spreads to more companies than the world is a better place for it. I doubt that all will institute it as a part of their daily operations after the pandemic is over.

Outrigger Mauritius Beach Resort

Looking forward CEO Wagoner writes, “The wellbeing of our guests and hosts is a top priority, so we’re using this time to calibrate even higher cleanliness standards that are aligned with the new needs of COVID-19. Incorporating best practices for sanitisation and hygiene, Outrigger’s Clean Commitment will be rolled out company-wide to offer additional peace of mind for our guests.” 

Airlines, cruise companies and hotel chains have been sending out media releases about how they have stepped up cleaning and sanitation in these Covid-19 times. People often speculate what life will be like after the pandemic ends. One thing I know for sure, it is going to be a cleaner world – for awhile. The air and water is fresher because being confined at home we can’t pollute it with the alacrity we have done up until now.

Outrigger Mauritius Beach Resort

Frankly, it makes me a little angry that everyone is saying, ‘Look how clean we are. We care about you so we are making sure everything is spic and span.’ This should have always been the standard – especially for hotels, airlines, buses and cruise ships that bring people into close contact – we sleep in the same room that someone else occupied just hours before.

Outrigger Konotta Beach Resort

In case anyone has forgotten there are other diseases out there that can make you ill and kill you. Such as influenza. The flu kills thousands every year. Thankfully not as efficiently as Covid-19, but it doesn’t go away. It comes back every year. Cleanliness to the highest standards should be the norm. This will be a cleaner world for the coming months, but will slowly return to the old lower standards as businesses cut costs, as they focus on a different challenge as the old mindset returns that okay is good enough. 

Okay is never good enough, which is why the next pandemic will not be as far away as we would hope.

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