Hotels Are Rising Up To The Covid-19 Challenge
Making It Safe For Guests
With the Corona virus pandemic hitting planet earth; almost every industry has had to change its ways of doing things. The norm that we are all accustomed to has been destroyed by this micro foe that is only visible through a microscope, yet deadly enough to drop giants. A number of businesses has closed including some big ones while many have downsized and employed cost cutting measures, to stay afloat.
One of the industries on the receiving end of this “wrestling match” between the Corona virus and the world is the travel or tourism industry. It is one of the hardest hit since many countries have locked their borders, allowing only those with legitimate reasons to enter or exit. Even domestic travel has been halted until it is safe to travel again. Hotels and many in the travel industry need to embrace a new norm. This is to ensure that visitors or guests don’t just feel safe but are safe when staying at hotels.
Hotels create new Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to take on the COVID-19.
Anthony Melchiorri, hospitality expert and television Personality, known to most people as the host of Hotel Impossible; mentioned in an interview that hotels will have to adopt certain new standards which are very different from what the standards were before. An example is the way cleaning is done. Many hotels especially those from big franchises and brands do cleaning of public areas or high traffic areas at night; when guests movements are at its lowest. This is because guests prefer not to see such activities going on.
However, with the pandemic roaming about; seeing cleaning work being done can be a confident booster to guests. This gives them some peace of mind when it comes to safety. Also gone are the days of speedy room turnovers; until some speedy way in killing the virus is invented (or a vaccine).
Some of the tools used in the fight against the COVID-19..
Being somewhat nosy, we interviewed hotel General Managers and bosses in the hotel industry (hospitality industry) to see what they have done, what new standard operating procedures have been put in place, etc. to ensure that their hotel(s) are ready to receive guests, and more importantly; safe for guests who have decided to stay with them. Below are some of the hotels and resorts that we have interviewed (remotely). Click tabs below to read the interviews.
