BUSINESS OUTCOMES – CASE STUDY
Resilience in Crisis: Ryan Urzada at The Atlas Hotel on achieving 90% high morale among staff
The Company
Ryan Urzada, Chief Experience Officer of The Atlas° Hotel, said the first few days of the COVID-19 crisis quickly became a stark realization of what the future held. “About $1 Million worth of bookings evaporated almost instantly,” said Urzada. The crisis was a sad twist of fate for one of Regina’s newest hotels. Officially opening in November of 2019, The Atlas° was dedicated to guest-experiences and a corporate culture of caring. As their website puts it, “a team of people who have ‘hospitality’ flowing in their veins.”
CHALLENGES
Arguably one of the hardest-hit sectors by the pandemic, global hospitality companies have had to reduce staff and nearly shut down operations. “Within one to two days we realized we had to make layoffs,” said Urzada, “this was tough, you have to earn people’s trust, its not something we took for granted.” The Atlas° Hotel had to lay off 87% of its staff to deal with the sudden loss of bookings.
SOLUTIONS
Although 87% of the staff was laid off, the family didn’t disband. Chefs volunteered to come in, cooking the entirety of food on hand, and bottled the remaining kegs. “We had a drive-through at the hotel where our staff came and picked up all the food and beer to take home.” said Urzada, “it was pretty amazing.” For The Atlas° Hotel, their company culture reflects their brand. The Predictive Index System®, delivered by Certified Elite Partner Predictive Success, is the #1 tool the hotel uses and has become foundational to the development of their teams, managers, and culture.
Urzada admits his strategy is “incomplete.” He and his team have refocused to ask themselves a question every business should be pondering “how do we adapt our business model to work in the brave new world?” For The Atlas°, that means adapting their hotel to offer a safe space for families to take a quick getaway over the 2020 summer. Proximity to Regina, and the SOAKED! Water Park inside the hotel means families can get away for a fun vacation without leaving the city. “This will eventually end,” says Urzada, “I’m looking forward to the day when we can go back to giving our guests great experiences.” Resilience and culture create elite action.