Ready 4 Re-start, Hungary? - Reflections on the Hungarian opening in tourism and hospitality

Many people have fallen into the painful comfort that this will always be the case: closed doors, delivery, masquerade, depressed prices, lower revenues, staff kept to the bare minimum, shops, restaurants and hotels empty and unoccupied. Frustrating thoughts, lack of vision.

And there has also been an exodus: cooks have become bricklayers, receptionists have become IT customer service agents, tour guides have become conductors, and chambermaids have become shop assistants. And foreign language speakers have already started to emerge in neighbouring countries that are consciously opening up and communicating their schedules well: in addition to the traditional Austrian, German and Swiss options, Hungarian hospitality and hotel professionals can also find their place in the Greek, Croatian and Slovenian markets.

The opening was a shock to the industry on the last weekend of April, even if (or because) only terraces were allowed to open for the first time, with a strange and contradictory dichotomy: while wearing a mask is compulsory on the street, on the terrace the guest is no longer obliged to wear one, but the staff must cover their faces. There was also uncertainty and unfortunate solutions. The phones were ringing off the hook: whether the vaccinated waiter had to wear a mask, whether the kitchen had to wear a mask and so on, even though the indoor areas had not even opened yet, it was the next storm. And yet the MTÜ manuals were updated, almost up to date, but the authors had not thought to make the essentials, broken down by department, available in separate files, or to make the most essentials, even in the form of check-lists, available for immediate use, thinking in the user's head. But the effort to provide a clear and professionally useful tool for those working in the hospitality, tourism and attractions sectors is also to be appreciated.

I think that the re-start, the reopening, is the watershed: those who were bold and daring, who were able to react and open quickly (essentially in two days), who were able to staff the opening and who had the capital to restock, can almost feel like winners.

The customers have repaid us, the terraces are full and we've become more lenient with the s chatter-bot staff in exchange for a sense of freedom.

Those who have been left behind, late and delayed are in a tougher position, with only the iconic, unique, cult places standing a chance of catching up.

Hotels are not in an easy position either, in all likelihood, as we have written before, it will be the domestic, rural accommodation that will be the winners again.

Our previous articles on the subject:

• Talking domestically?

• Hello, Hungary...

• Domestic tourism could be on the winning side in Hungary?

• How about you, Hotels? What will happen to you, Tourism?

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About the author:

Tamás Pakuts has been actively involved in aviation and tourism for almost 35 years, and in the hotel and catering industry for nearly 20 years.

As a manager and consultant, he has had an insight into the operations of several airlines, as well as hotels, hotel chains and cruise lines, successfully taking part in their operational management, crisis management and development.

He and his colleagues are now present in many countries around the world as experts, consultants and trainers in the hotel and air transport industries, and are working with colleagues to develop a number of new projects of international note.

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