Companies 
have no choice but to reimagine the 
customer experience for the realities  
of this new normal. Make the physical environment as 
clean and stress-free as possible
As the hospitality sector reopens for 
business, organizations must do all they 
can to not only provide a clean space for 
customers but also one that alleviates 
their health-related worries. Authorities 
will continue to require businesses to 
adhere to certain guidelines, but it’s 
incumbent on the organizations to 
implement those rules in a way that  
both fits their business and takes  
away as little as possible from the 
customer experience. All hospitality organizations will want to 
adopt rigorous, frequent cleaning and 
sanitation protocols and require the use 
of masks in public areas. Research by 
OpenTable found that 72 percent of US 
respondents said it’s extremely important 
to see strict cleaning policies in place 
at the establishments they visit, and 
60 percent said it’s extremely important 
to visit places that aren’t crowded with 
other people. 8
Businesses welcoming especially large 
numbers of people will likely want to 
introduce temperature checks at entry 
or before service, and possibly track-and-
trace measures. Other actions may vary 
depending on the nature of the business. Rather than simply remove seating, for 
example, some restaurants are opting 
to use black and white tablecloths to 
identify seating and non-seating areas, 
or installing plexiglass screens to protect 
diners from each other. Others are 
establishing separate spaces for take-
out and dine-in service, or designating 
one-way routes around dining rooms 
to minimize contact between staff and 
customers. Some restaurants are creating 
touchless end-to-end service, including 
digital menus. Others are moving 
outside— in Vancouver, authorities have 
approved dozens of applications that will 
see restaurants set up patio areas on 
sidewalks, street, parking lots, and other 
public spaces. 9