Ancient legends recount the tale of the immortal phoenix, a marvellous bird that rises from the ashes of its own funeral pyre.

According to these legends, when the bird senses that it is close to death it builds a bonfire from scented woods and myrrh and takes its place amidst the flames. After its body is consumed, a new phoenix emerges from the ashes of the old one.

Now that we seem to be done and dusted with the severity of the pandemic, it is time to rise like a ‘phoenix from the ashes.’

For this, we have to understand and accept ‘Felix Culpa’ with pragmatism, both from an individual and organisational perspective.

Felix Culpa is defined as an apparent error or disaster with happy consequences. Colloquially this may be condensed to a ‘Happy Fault.’ This is the Yin and Yang of Tao. The principle of Yin and Yang is that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites. The pairs of equal opposites attract and complement each other.

While I am loathe to crown the pandemic as ‘happy,’ it most certainly has been an aberration (aka fault) in our lives over the past two years

Can the pandemic, having wreaked its havoc, now open our minds to see the world differently? It already has!

From AI (artificial intelligence) to ML (machine learning), from IoT (internet of things) to VR (virtual reality), from digital wallets & payments to cryptocurrencies, from working formats to holiday formats, and from the value of life to the meaning of life itself, Felix Culpa is revealing its hand in the fastest-changing era ever seen in the history of this world.

Many of these terms may be paradoxical and even borderline oxymoronic… AI, VR, ML, working holiday. These have been in existence pre-covid19, yet they have all been accelerated by the pandemic.

Consider this ludicrous, whimsical, and oxymoronic statement: “The ‘tragic comedy’ is that the last couple of years has been ‘pretty ugly’, a ‘fine mess,’ and in fact ‘clearly confusing’ as to whether working in my ‘unpaid job’ was better than ‘doing nothing,’ and instead, existing as the ‘living dead;’ ‘silently screaming’ away while we were ‘social distancing’ ‘alone together’ and ‘peacefully battling’ Covid-19.”

Oxymorons may seem illogical at first, but in context they usually make sense.

• The oxymoronic phrase of ‘working from home’ has opened a new vista of business for hotels. While leisure hotels benefit largely, this phenomenon is no stranger to city hotels either.
• ‘Business-leisure,’ another oxymoron, more popularly known as ‘Bleisure,’ is another oxymoronic trend, heightened now, thanks to the pandemic.
• VR (Virtual Reality) has opened doors to more distanced, or even hybrid events… a new business segment birthed by Covid-19

What this tells us is that the newer oxymoronic-named business segments birthed and home-grown by the pandemic are not just ‘definitely possible;’ they may actually be paving us a ‘near-future’ path. That’s Felix Culpa working overtime!

In the hospitality industry, the last two years have enlightened and prodded many stakeholders to the potential and need for change.

• For 5-star hotels, no longer is 1:2-2.5 the gold standard for employee to room ratios. Closer to home, in India, hoteliers have realised that they can work with far less… the bets are high that acceptable ratios will range between 1:1.5-2.0 once business kicks in. Even uber-luxe hotels will drop from 1:3.5 to 1:2.8. Felix Culpa at work!
• Decreasing touchpoints with the customer for their comfort and ease has changed processes in most departments. Simpler and uncomplicated processes, often using technology, provide for fewer windows of interaction. The challenge here for hoteliers, of course, is how to keep the human element still contemporaneous for guests to enjoy the nuances of luxury service, while adequately ensuring non-invasive privacy and social distancing.
• Guest needs and segmentation have changed. While certain segments have been hived into hibernation for the nonce, new potential business trends arising from this Felix Culpa are significant. Thus, for example, hybrid versions of weddings and MICE will keep business ticking, while hotels continue to innovate with the other new segments.

Ferrucio was a successful tractor manufacturer of humble origins in Northern Italy.

He was constantly irked by the poor clutch of his expensive 250GT Ferrari car, and tired of having to travel to Maranello to have it constantly replaced. He pursued his complaint to the point of meeting Enzo Ferrari – the founder of Ferrari. Here is where the story differs. Some say that Enzo never really respected any of his customers and dismissed Ferrucio’s complaint lightly. Others argue that it was Ferrucio’s agricultural background that offended Ferrari who couldn’t accept the idea that the tractor manufacturer knew more about cars than him. A third version of the story suggests that Ferrari simply didn’t see the problem with his car and insisted that the problem was in his thinking rather than in the 250 GT.

In every version of the story, Ferrucio Lamborghini was affronted, and this Felix Culpa led to him deciding to create a superior product that addressed all the flaws that Enzo Ferrari wouldn’t acknowledge.

And, just like that, Lamborghini was birthed from this ‘happy fault!’

Whilst we have had a tough 2020-21, and we may still need another year to recover, the phoenix is ready to rise from the ashes, and we can be optimistic of better days ahead.

Let this Felix Culpa give birth to a new age-hospitality phoenix, with enhanced and professional hospitality standards, systems, and processes!

This article has appeared in ET HOSPITALITY WORLD.COM February 2022