Business Traveler, July/August 2020

J U LY A U G U S T 2 0 2 0 b u s i n e s s t r a v e l e r u s a c o m 5 1 C O V E R S T O R Y consider downloading hotel apps and syncing your phones Bluetooth capability to unlock the room door instead of using a physical key Hyatt has announced that by September each of its hotels worldwide will have a Hygiene and Wellbeing Leader on staff This new responsibility will oversee onsite sanitation protocols Other hotel companies are partnering with well known brands in their COVID 19 response programs Hiltons CleanStay with Lysol Protection rolled out in June across North America Hilton also consulted with Mayo Clinic Infection Prevention and Control teams in launching the initiative Hilton will place a CleanStay room seal on doors to indicate that it has not been accessed following its latest cleaning The hotel company is also reducing in room touch points like pens note pads and directories where possible or at least supplying alternatives Anantara Hotels Resorts is conducting temperature checks for arriving guests and sanitizing guest luggage All Anantara properties now have a Guest Guardian position whose role is to focus on the companys additional cleaning efforts and safety compliance for all guest touchpoints The company has also invested in UV light sterilization and disinfection equipment Like airports hotel robots are having their moment too The Westin Houston Medical Center actually sends the LightStrike Germ Zapping Robot into each room to destroy viruses bacteria and fungi using intense pulsed xenon UV light This is the same type of equipment used in healthcare facilities and each visit takes only a few minutes to fully sanitize the room Accor is targeting meeting planners by extending its ALL Stay Well cleanliness protocols to its conference areas Its ALL Meet Well program looks specifically at the nearly two dozen touch points that conference attendees encounter when traveling for events The initiative places special importance on areas like the business center and function rooms Banquets will no longer have pre set items on the tables instead these will be delivered once attendees are seated Other catering changes include individual use condiments and bottled water Signage will indicate one way travel in the aisles of meeting rooms and chairs will be spaced apart in addition to leaving wider aisles for people to pass Like many hotels with flexible reservation policies Accors ALL Meet Well program extends the same opportunities for events scheduled this year Lets face it Staying in a super sterile hotel can feel rather well sterile To keep all the new cleaning and sanitation programs from making their hotels seem too much like a hospital Kempinskis new protocols dubbed Kempinski White Glove Service take a nuanced approach by blending precaution with luxury Staffers don designer white gloves with the Kempinski flower print when interacting with guests each employee has several pairs so they can be changed and washed regularly In rooms guests will find hand sanitizer and masks and pillow protectors provide an additional lining between the pillow and the standard pillow cover Yes the way forward will certainly be different but it cannot shake the overall purpose and spirit of travel Neither masks nor Plexiglass can deter us from our capacity to explore to connect and to build bridges of cultural understanding wherever we go BT Making a list of all the things we dislike about the new normal is certainly a recipe for disappointment BELOW Hilton defining a new standard of hotel cleanliness