The hotel industry plans to return from coronavirus shutdowns with heightened cleaning practices and lower capacity levels in public spaces. But it isn’t quite clear if guests will readily accept hospitality’s new normal.
The American Hotel & Lodging Association launched late last month “Stay Safe,” a new cleaning and workplace protocol for the hotel industry in light of coronavirus. The initiative, backed by global hotel companies like Hilton, IHG, and Marriott, calls for enhanced cleaning standards in rooms and public areas. New cleaning products and social distancing are key measures. The move comes as individual brands have launched their own heightened cleaning standard, like Hilton’s partnership with the maker of Lysol and the Mayo Clinic.
“Hotels have always had rigorous standards for cleaning and safety,” AHLA President and CEO Chip Rogers said in a statement. “With Safe Stay we are enhancing these standards to help create peace of mind. When travel resumes, hotels will be ready to safely welcome back the traveling public.”
Along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on coronavirus self-protection like wearing a mask and gloves, the AHLA calls on hotel operators to use cleaning products with a greater concentration of bacteria-killing ingredients. Public areas and high-touch areas like check-in desks and elevators should be cleaned frequently, and the industry group advises housekeeping staff to avoid entering a guest room during a stay unless requested by the guest.
Interactions at check-in, food and beverage, and other venues should practice social distancing guidelines. Seating should be arranged to enable at least six feet of separation between guests, according to the AHLA. But the capacity reductions are likely to eat into already fragile profit margins of normally high-touch divisions within a hotel’s operation.
