While we are all sitting at home, we are daydreaming of trips we took in the past and adding to our bucket lists of where we can go in the non-coronavirus future. Although it seems many are planning on pushing back travel plans for several months, now is a great time for hotels and restaurants to get onto those bucket lists! 

Recently, the New York Times released their annual 52 Places to Visit list, but with a twist. They are all virtual destinations. 

Now is a great time for hotels and restaurants to get creative while using social media to create more personalized and free advertising for themselves. Especially since everyone has extra time to be scrolling through their social media platforms. 

Here are some ideas to go virtual: 

• Give everyone a virtual first-person perspective of an experience at your hotel. Especially for all-inclusive resorts, now is the time to showcase all of the services your property has. Have one of your staff members film themselves walking around the property, explaining each room or area they are walking through in detail, such as, if you have a spa what packages are offered and what products you use. 

• Reach out to social media influencers for opportunities on collaboration. Although they may not be able to create content immediately, as soon as society reopens, they may be able to come and stay at the hotel. Social media influencers will take pictures and videos of their experience at the hotel and post it on their channels and blogs reaching a potentially newer and larger audience than the hotels social channels. Most influencers reach Millennials and Gen Z audiences, who are more likely to travel once the shelter-at-home orders are lifted. 

• Have some employees video quick interviews talking about some lesser known facts or quirks that can reach more niche travelers. Are there hidden spots on the property grounds? Did/does a famous person stay at the hotel in a specific room or have a specific table at the restaurant? Was a movie or tv show filmed on site? Some of these are facts that can attract new clientele that never thought to stay in your hotel or eat in your restaurant before. 

• Have your kitchen staff do a cooking video of some of your famous dishes. Most travelers or foodies decide to visit a hotel or restaurant for the experience they will have during their visit. Having seen a video on how their meal was prepared just adds an extra layer to that experience making it feel even more personal. It can also help ease some weary minds having seen how the food gets handled or prepared. Knowing that everyone will be even more concerned about the measures used to stop the spread of the virus, you can also take this as an opportunity to ensure guests your kitchen staff is taking every precaution.  

• Have your kitchen staff give an explanation of how you source ingredients, how your farm to table process works, or how they create the menus. More and more, people are interested in knowing where their food is coming from, what impact it is having on the environment, and how it is being used in their meals. Having a few videos that explains how your hotel or restaurant is taking this into consideration can once again bring in a new type of guest. Now more than ever, people are supporting businesses that they feel are helping causes they care about, including local farmers, climate change and so forth, or show that they have their guests best interest in mind.

As life changing as this pandemic has been for every aspect of our lives and the economy, it is also a great time for businesses to become creative and try new tactics to still have an impact. The hospitality industry is based on providing experiences for their guests, and there are so many ways hotels and restaurants can continue giving those experiences to guests while socially distancing. This can even help create new job duties for staff, or a need for a new position.