What is eviivo doing to help?

First of all, it is important to remember that eviivo is, itself, a small business dedicated to the independent accommodation sector. Like you, we are trying to survive this difficult period while looking after our employees and their families.  Like you, we are trying to apply for relief where possible, as indicated in the previous sections.

While bookings are your livelihood, your subscription is our livelihood.

When our customers hurt, we hurt. So your survival is key to our survival.

We are in this together. And we will do whatever we can to help within the limits of our own capabilities!  We have therefore taken the following measures:

• First, we have created these dedicated coronavirus pages to share information faster with you. This is NOT meant to be a substitute for official government information sites, but we hope it will help you navigate through the current situation. We are constantly monitoring new developments as they relate to the hospitality industry.
• We are starting a series of online exchanges where, together, we can share ideas on the best coping strategies through this difficult period. We welcome any ideas and suggestions you would like to share with your hosts. Click here to participate.
• We have offered an extended free period to new customers to encourage them to sign up with eviivo – new sales are as critical to eviivo’s survival as new bookings are critical to your business. We are not trying to ignore existing customers, but we need to encourage new ones, in order to ensure we continue to be able to support you through this period.
• We have temporarily enabled free access to Promo Manager and Guest Manager software for all existing customers, to help you communicate more effectively with guests, or, if possible, provide incentives for new bookings as long as these comply with the safety measures listed below to fight the spread of coronavirus, just as we do ourselves at eviivo. Click here to find out how to use My Promo Manager, and click here to find out how to use My Guest Manager.
• We have developed “model” emails, including confirmations, cancellations and payment requests to help you find the words to communicate with your guests in these unprecedented circumstances. We also show you how you can modify your booking pages to find out where the guest is coming from and show potential guests the measures you are taking to protect against coronavirus. Our activation team can help you implement these.
• We have released a new set of reports to help you 1) see into the future more clearly how your business is being affected and 2) apply for relief as it may help you justify your needs to your local authority.
• For accommodation providers who can and want to remain open, we have come up with sample promotional incentives to help you convert as many bookings as possible in these hard times. And we will continue to advertise your offers on toprooms and on the National B&B site free of charge. We will be releasing these shortly.
• We have set toprooms, our community website, at ZERO % commission.
• Finally, we have collated – and will continue to collate – suggestions from everywhere on what accommodation providers can do during this crisis.  For example:
  • Offer daytime low-cost home-working capabilities with good wifi to people who are not easily able to work from home.
  • Rent your cottage or apartment to people who need to self-isolate but cannot do so in their own home – including possibly other accommodation providers who wish to keep their own business open, but have one member of the family who needs to self-isolate.
  • Address alternative accommodation needs in your community – paid by local authorities. For example, accommodate health-workers, police or military, and other critical workers who need to stay near their place of work, provide shelters to the homeless or families who are waiting for council accommodation to help stop the spread of Corona, if you are near a hospital,  as well as your usual accommodation offerings.
  • Provide day-time accommodation for adolescents or children out of school (under 10, not large groups) to relieve parents who need to work.

Whatever we can do, we will do.  But we are unable to cancel subscriptions. If we did this, it would jeopardize our ability to support you, our employees and their families. We will, nevertheless, be compassionate and give priority to customers who are not able to get government relief, are in the greatest need and have always been staunch loyal supporters of eviivo.

We believe that we will all come through this stronger, together. But in the meantime, we need to be patient. We hope that the ideas we share on our coronavirus pages and in our podcasts will give you some inspiration as we continue to do all we can.

COVID-19 has hit the hospitality industry more than any other sector. Yet, despite the challenges ahead, this is a good time to rethink your strategy so you can make the most of this difficult period for the well-being of your business. Following the recent travel ban, locals are turning to local accommodation providers.  And maybe now is the time to do all these things you have had the time to worry about earlier:  prepare a new look for your business – online or offline – learn new technologies or put in place new things that will help you restart in pole position once the COVID crisis has passed.

If you want to discuss this further, feel free to get in touch with one of our experts.