Way back, before Covid struck, travellers would ask themselves these
questions before booking a hotel. How comfy are the beds? What’s the
breakfast buffet like? Is there free wifi?
Today there is just one question asked by those booking a hotel. How safe will I be?
The need for cleanliness is being addressed by all the major hotel
chains as they work 24/7 to ensure their guests can rest, eat and play
in a pristine environment.
Clean is the new cool for hotels.
Marriott, which manages 7,300 properties globally, in April last year
introduced its Commitment to Clean campaign, which included a Global
Cleanliness Council to rework Marriott's best practices, drawing help
from experts in food microbiology, public health, and epidemiology.
Among its areas of focus are those high-touch surface areas, which
are now treated with hospital-grade disinfectants with greater
frequency. Marriott is also offering disinfecting wipes in each room for
guests' use.
Hilton called in the help of the Mayo Clinic to help with staff
training protocols and introduced health and safety measures that
included room door seals to prove that no one had entered a guest’s room
after housekeeping. Hilton also sanctioned extra sanitation of
high-touch features in public and private spaces.
Four Seasons called in the experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine
International on its Lead with Care programme for cleanliness and
safety.
"In this environment, the notion of care has a whole new dimension,
and travel must be grounded in trust,” said Christian Clerc, president
of global operations at Four Seasons.
ARVE, a Swiss start-up, uses data-driven intelligence to offer hotels
a cleanliness certificate to verify the proper execution of cleaning
protocols. The start-up says simply promising guests a room has been
cleaned is not enough.
“Hotel guests want proof of trustworthy hygiene protocols being followed,” ARVE says.