Shuchi Vyas embarked to New York City in mid-March to attend a conference organized by entrepreneur Tory Burch, and to speak with investors, as she has done in March of previous years.
The impact of coronavirus had just begun to creep in to the United States: The conference, while held in New York City, was also broadcast for those who were more comfortable attending remotely.
Flying high from a successful Q4, Vyas was focused on raising an undisclosed amount of funds that she planned to use to continue customer acquisition.
"With all that exciting stuff happening, I had committed to staying here [in New York] for the month of March and then I would take it by a case-by-case basis, with traveling up until the summer. That was the plan," she said, followed by a long pause.
For Tampa-based GuestBox — and almost every operating business in the world — things did not go according to plan in late March. Looking to avoid overcrowded airports and a 17-hour drive back to Tampa, she soon realized she would need to stay in New York. She then had another reason to stay put: She got coronavirus.
"I thought I had worked out too much — now that we were confined to our rooms, I thought 'I need to work out' and went a little crazy," Vyas said. "Then I started feeling heaviness in my chest and shortness of breath. By the third day it felt like my entire body was being pulled. So I called my doctor and did my virtual visit, which was the most unsettling thing, to not be able to see your doctor in person."
As she fought the virus the next two weeks, the hospitality industry was hemorrhaging. Virtually every major hotel chain announced closures and layoffs. Vyas, whose welcome boxes are often included in hotel rooms, began to offer more wellness-focused boxes that included hand sanitizer and masks.
"I was in disbelief, like obviously this is temporary."
"I was in disbelief, like obviously this is temporary," she said. "Because of coronavirus and my symptoms, I stopped reading the news and all I listened to was hospitality executives [speaking on conference calls and meetings]. I think everyone in the industry's go-to is to be positive, so I was able to ride that wave by feeding off that energy. Then it was, 'Oh my God, this is doomsday.'"
However, once May 1 hit, the tide began to shift.
"All of a sudden the entire industry that had been sitting on sidelines watching began to change," she said. "And I think it's just a symbolic date, with southern markets opening, New York [was] slated to open on the 15th. Because of the shifted energy, everyone is waking up. The last two months, people were planning internally, understanding research trends. On May 1, people decided to start implementing."
Vyas is now looking at a variety of directions she could take her startup. There's vacation rentals, which may see a comeback quicker than its hotel counterparts. There are cruise ships, which experts have projected may also have a loyal customer base return whenever possible. But the most immediate increase she has seen is individuals simply buying her boxes online.
"People finding us and ordering is telling us something that we need to focus on," she said. "So, we're really honing in on that and looking to reach vacation rentals and contacts in the cruise industry. We aren’t hearing much from hotels at all. Everyone is still very focused on hiring back employees — we're not top of mind."
But Vyas has deployed the same positive outlook as her hospitality counterparts.
"You're using your time to gear up, or pivoting, or connecting with networks on a regular basis," she said. "So when investors are having conversations with startups, it's not, 'Oh, we didn’t do anything the last two months.' And it's not just for them: We're a startup which needs to grow and figure things out to survive."
