The global hospitality business has been in a mixed (as distinct from mixed-up) mind. African economies have been harmed by the consequences of COVID-19-induced economic restrictions on the hospitality industry leading to what economists have increasingly referred to as 'economic scarring'.

Economic scarring refers to the breaking of traditional links in economic relationships such as between borrowers and lenders, between suppliers and buyers, and between hotels and their customers. High contact service sectors were the hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and have been victims of high levels of operating uncertainty. This has meant that airlines, transportation companies, air travel agencies, restaurants, and hotels have suffered downward spiraling revenues and profits since Q1 2020.

It has also required that for sustainability service sector companies need to plug into new corporate realities as COVID-19 fears and actions begin to wane. As consumers ran up savings in the heat of the pandemic, a rebound of global and national economies may likely involve the unleashing of pent-up demand and an increase in local spending.

 However, the new spending realities will differ somewhat from the pre-COVID-19 era as the nature, size, and timing of demand begins to shift. The demand for hospitality services would require more than short-stay real estate, it would require a whole new service delivery experience that sits within the new lifestyle habits of a hotel, restaurant, and airline patrons. For example, hotels should envisage a future of more flexible short stay pricing. Patrons of hotel rooms between Monday and Thursday may pay between 10% to 15% less per room than those booking rooms between Friday and Sunday.