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Robots that remove viruses arrive to disinfect hotels 0:54
(CNN) - Goodbye to buffet breakfasts and bellboy service. Welcome temperature detection and keyless registration.
While pandemic-era policies are still being developed at hotels around the world and will certainly vary widely, it's safe to say that guests will see big changes the next time they check in anywhere.
In the foreseeable future, until a vaccine, widely effective treatment, or instant tests for coronavirus are available, hotel stays are likely to be a stark affair, particularly in high-end hotels where personalized service and amenities have been It is part of the charm for a long time, says Christopher Anderson, a business professor at the Cornell University School of Hotels in Ithaca, New York.
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There will be less community access in hotels, "so there will be no buffets, no minibars," and many of the "high-touch luxury items," such as spa treatments and bell and valet service, may be suspended, Anderson predicts.
Guests will want keyless and contactless check-in and checkout and few personalized interactions.
“We are going to want to remove them and basically go into the hotel, go up the elevator by themselves, enter the room without having to touch anything with the comfort that the service provider has completely disinfected that space before my arrival,” he says. the expert.
In the United States, there are faint glimpses of a return in demand for hotel rooms, according to Jan Freitag, senior vice president of Lodging Insights for services analysis firm STR.
Hotel occupancy for the week ending May 2 was 28.6% in the United States, which gave STR its first "solid evidence" of a return to leisure demand, led by states that had eased restrictions.
Occupancy still decreased 58% compared to the same week last year.
As demand increases, the hotel industry is trying to reassure potential guests that they have implemented additional measures to protect them against coronavirus transmission as states and countries begin to reopen their economies.
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Socially distant and cleaner than ever
Hygiene, of course, is a top concern, and the American Hotel and Lodging Association released the industry-standard Stay Safe Monday. Many major hotel groups have also outlined new policies.
The Hilton hotel giant is developing policies with the help of the Infection Prevention and Control team at the Mayo Clinic. Hilton is exploring the use of electrostatic sprayers, which uniformly spray disinfectant over wide areas, and ultraviolet light to disinfect surfaces and objects.
Marriott has already announced that it will use electrostatic sprayers to clean rooms and public areas and is testing ultraviolet light technology. Marriott and other brands will also recall furniture and reconfigure many areas to facilitate the two-meter social distance space prescribed by health officials. The brand is considering plexiglass barriers on desks to separate guests and hotel staff.
These new measures will certainly affect the out-of-pocket costs of hotel owners, Freitag says, but it's unclear whether guests will see those costs in room rates.
"Perhaps the cleaning fees are the new resort fees," says Freitag. In any case, staying in a hotel in 2020 will be "absolutely" cheaper than last year.
Guests at more than 3,200 Marriott hotels can use their phones to register, access their rooms, and request specially packaged room service delivered to their door without contact.
Masks and gloves for staff will be ubiquitous in many hotels, and disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizers will be the latest additions to public spaces and kits for personal hygiene items.
The Venetian in Las Vegas is among many properties that underscore the two-meter rule of social distance with markings to indicate adequate space in front desks, elevator lobbies, coffee shops, entertainment venues, and more.
Venetian front desk employees will use any other workstation for proper spacing, and slot machines, restaurant tables, pool loungers and more have been separated to comply with the rule.
The resort suggests no more than four guests in an elevator. The Hamilton Hotel in Washington, DC urges guests to limit that number to two.
The properties also describe specific policies for suspected or confirmed covid-19 cases on-site. Those measures often include intensive third-party disinfection measures for rooms occupied by guests who become ill.
Will guests be tested?
Temperature detection for guests and employees is a line of defense for detecting potential infections, but it is unclear how widely it will be implemented in hotels.
At The Venetian in Las Vegas, which has not yet reopened, thermal scanners will be used at each entry point "allowing discreet, non-invasive temperature controls" for staff and guests, in accordance with new Venetian complex policies Clean.
In Singapore, a national campaign called SG Clean has been implemented in all industries and includes a set of standards for hotels, including temperature controls for guests, "where feasible and applicable."
The Four Seasons in New York has been following an incredibly austere set of temporary protocols since it began welcoming healthcare workers in early April.
Those policies, developed by travel risk management company International SOS, include a single point of entry for everyone where each person's temperature is verified and nurses ask questions 24 hours a day, according to the plan's architect, the Dr. Robert Quigley, Senior Vice President of International SOS and Regional Medical Director for the Americas.
But asymptomatic transmission means strict social distancing is also required, and Quigley predicts that best detection practices in hotels could evolve with the availability of rapid diagnostic tests.
The Four Seasons plan was International SOS 'first set of coronavirus hygiene standards for a hotel and has been adapted for other hotels that house medical workers, but Quigley said in recent weeks that properties began contacting the company about practices that could be used for traditional tourists and business travelers.
But the level of evaluation implemented at the Four Seasons in New York during this period is probably not feasible for all properties, Quigley acknowledges.
"It will not be realistic for hotels across the spectrum to have these extreme mitigation measures that I am talking about," he said. “And so these hotels that don't have those capabilities or resources have to say, 'What is our appetite for risk? What is our duty to care for our employees and our guests? '”
What does it take to keep guests safe?
Rudy Tauscher, general manager of the Four Seasons New York, has been at the forefront of welcoming that chain's healthcare workers. You have been reflecting on how the traditional guest experience will change.
“Is there a different time, for example, between check-in and check-out? Very often hotels have a change at the time of check out in the morning and in the afternoon, the room is occupied again. Will there be an extended period of say, 24 hours? ”Tauscher wondered, noting that he was acting without thinking about possible modifications.
Cost structures and operating models would have to be considered, he said.
Since Four Seasons New York began receiving medical workers at the coronavirus epicenter, a cleaning protocol designed by International SOS has involved leaving rooms empty for long periods between a series of cleanings to ensure any contamination is removed.
But that protocol was adapted to a very specific situation. Luxury brand Four Seasons is working on exactly the new steps guests will find at its hotels around the world and on the property on 57th Street in New York when it reopens for non-health worker guests.
Social distancing measures, the reduction of the capacity of public spaces and the redesign of restaurants, bars and fitness facilities will be among the changes.
“Once business levels resume, we recognize that the expectations and needs of hotel guests will have changed, and Four Seasons is well positioned to emerge from this crisis with a new perspective on what luxury means to this new world. : Adopt technology, improve tools and training, and strengthen our already stringent health, safety and cleanliness protocols, ”Christian Clerc, president of global operations for Four Seasons, said in a statement.
The future of high contact spaces and services
Many of the public spaces and amenities of a hotel will need overhaul for the coronavirus era.
For example, room service could be preserved as there is more control over who touches what, says Anderson of Cornell's Hotel School, but buffets are unlikely to work.
And you're not sure if services like buffets - be it breakfast bars or over-the-top Las Vegas-style buffets - are coming back.
"I think that only our awareness of transmission will now increase and, therefore, while it is safe and there is no pandemic scare, it may not be attractive psychologically," he said.
Pre-cooked or ready-to-eat meals are likely to be the solution in the near future, Anderson said.
High-contact public areas, such as spas and gyms, where social distance is also difficult, present a "very, very high risk of transmission," Quigley said, with many handles and doorknobs that would require very careful cleaning.
But not all hotels have given up on these services.
Anantara Hotels, Resorts & Spas, based in Bangkok, said in describing its new policies that "holistic and training classes will be tailored for the optimal well-being of guests," referring to private personal training sessions.
And Mandarin Oriental also hopes to offer many of its personalized services. The details are still being worked out, but the luxury brand's spa director doesn't want to further deprive guests who craved human contact even before the pandemic occurred.
"If social contact becomes even rarer after the coronavirus, spas can provide a unique haven where people can experience contact in a clean and safe environment," said Jeremy McCarthy, director of spa and wellness for the hotel group.
It will require inspiring customer trust, he said.
Totally.
Hotels around the world will do their best to reassure guests. It remains to be seen how quickly that confidence returns.
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