Brands
Guest Column: Hospitality brands repositioning themselves in the market post-pandemic
Mumbai: The pandemic has affected a substantial amount of businesses globally and has severely impacted the travel and the hospitality sector. The Indian hotel industry has suffered losses of Rs 620 crore. The hotel chain and standalone hotel segments are expected to lose more than Rs 130-155 crore, while the alternate accommodation category is expected to lose more than Rs 420-470 crore. This has changed the way hospitality brands used to engage and position themselves in the market.
During the pandemic as the restrictions were imposed, the restaurants and F&B services of the hospitality brands managed to survive through home delivery of food, which was possible through service partners like Zomato, Swiggy, Uber eats, etc. The experience of fine dining, the ambience, ordering through a menu card, and the special hospitality services that customers used to gain were completely lost. Now that the pandemic restrictions have been lifted, they will expect more from these hospitality brands, as people no longer circumspect about the food they eat but it is about the services that they experience. This emerges the need for brands to invest in strong marketing and consumer engagement plans which will help them to stand out from their competitors.
With the help of an effective PR strategy, these hospitality brands can once again gain visibility among their stakeholders and consumers, using announcement campaigns or a simple consumer engagement campaign. This can help in announcing their return to business with newer offerings and covid appropriate services, etc. thereby engaging with and reassuring their customers.
Here are some of the benefits that the hospitality brands can obtain with a strong PR campaign to win back visibility and business opportunities:
Brand positioning
With a strong marketing and consumer engagement plan, the hospitality brand will be able to create a top of mind recall among the customers. With the change in the market scenario, most businesses have to innovate and create covid appropriate solutions and services, while also focusing on their existing products. A well-planned PR campaign can help hospitality brands to be relevant and effective in the new market.
Long term customer loyalty
An effective PR campaign can help in building the lost touch and renew customer relationships that were present before the pandemic. Through effective media engagement, brands can build transparency, trust, and credibility for the brand and in turn create visibility and rebuild a set of loyal customers.
Helps build a narrative for the business
A PR specialist can help in forming a strong narrative for the company, be it talking about the sanitized and safe environment, special menus, newer innovations in services and focused customer service. This helps in building an appropriate solution based on the scenario. With a better understanding of the problem, a PR specialist can accurately offer solutions by using the right phrases to help build the image of the brand.
Ease of doing business
PR campaigns that are developed around spokesperson profiling through interviews, industry story participation, opinion pieces and authored content, etc. can help in the building thought leadership and help in targeting the relevant customers. This in return gives the brand better support in the market among the stakeholders, resulting in ease of doing business.
More engaging campaigns
With the help of a PR specialist, hospitality brands can connect with their target customers with more engaging programs, which in return will increase brand engagement. These programs can be centered through experiences, which is possible by optimizing the product offering, complementary events, gigs/ live music, special celebrity appearances, etc. which is a great way to promote the brand, engage with the target audience and ultimately boost sales.
With the help of an effective PR campaign, hospitality brands can reposition themselves with a strong PR narrative which can help them garner visibility and build the right image of themselves post-pandemic. Partnering with a good PR agency will help you combat these difficulties and provide solutions that will give you a strong head start to successful growth in the hospitality sector.
The author is Anindita Gupta, Co-Founder, Scenic Communication
Brands
FSS names Anand Krishnamurthi head of global digital delivery
Tech veteran to drive AI-first, cloud-led transformation in payments globally
CHENNAI: Financial Software and Systems (FSS), an AI-first payment infrastructure company, has appointed Anand Krishnamurthi as head of global digital delivery.
In his new role, Anand Krishnamurthi will lead FSS’s global digital delivery capabilities, focusing on AI-first and cloud-led transformation while ensuring predictable, high-quality outcomes for customers worldwide. He will be based in Chennai and report to V. Balasubramanian, CEO of FSS.
Bringing 28 years of experience in technology and digital transformation across banking, capital markets, financial services, and insurance, Anand has held senior leadership positions at Cognizant and NuSummit. He is recognised for scaling multi-geography delivery teams, leading mission-critical platforms, and embedding AI-driven automation in complex, regulated environments.
“What drew me to FSS is its deep payments expertise, strong product DNA, and the scale at which its platforms power real-world financial ecosystems,” said Anand Krishnamurthi. “I aim to strengthen delivery predictability, execution rigor, and engineering quality, building empowered teams that deliver measurable customer outcomes. FSS has a unique opportunity to create real-time, AI-infused payments infrastructure that is resilient, secure, and globally scalable.”
V. Balasubramanian added, “Anand’s track record in leading multi-geography delivery programs and AI-first operating models makes him the ideal leader for FSS as we accelerate our AI-driven digital payments business. His leadership will help us raise the bar for outcomes globally.”
This appointment is part of FSS’s broader push to build an AI-powered, cloud-native delivery organisation capable of meeting the evolving needs of banks, fintechs, and financial institutions worldwide.
