TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Innovation and digital transformation are key if the Silks Hotel Group is to stay resilient amid the coronavirus outbreak in Taiwan.

The hotel giant’s room sales took a hit last year as COVID-19 hammered the hospitality industry, but it managed to weather the storm through the thriving domestic restaurant business. It posted a net profit of NT$730 million (US$26 million) for 2020, though this was a 47-percent drop from 2019, reported Business Weekly.

This year, however, proves to be a greater challenge, as the whole nation is under a dine-in ban as part of the Level 3 restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. The ban has dealt a blow to the hotel’s lifeline, the dining service, leading to a 85 percent slump in restaurant sales.

The fresh cash bailout pledged by the government has allowed Silks Hotel to avoid implementing furloughs, but it needs more to survive. A cross-departmental task force formed last year in the spirit of project management has led to 80 projects being rolled out in one year to boost business, according to Steven Pan (潘思亮), chairman of Silks Hotel Group.

Meanwhile, the hotel fast-tracked the launch of an optimized online ordering platform, drive-through service, and a delivery squad. Regent Taipei, a five-star hotel owned by the group, has made delicacies from eight of its restaurants available on the Take Regent Home platform, with a host of hot deals catering to those tired of homemade meals and craving refined cuisine, wrote the China Times.