AS hotels scramble to prepare for the “new normal,” many establishments are tweaking their health and sanitation protocols to encourage travelers to start booking their stays again, post-Covid 19.
In a now viral video, Hotel Sogo seems to be showing the way for the industry to keep their hotels, “so clean, so good…and so safe.” On its Facebook page, the hotel group trumpeted its “New Normal Playbook,” which it said was developed in partnership with medical frontliners who had stayed with them during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). For instance, they redesigned their uniforms to incorporate personal protective equipment or gear (PPE). “Proven to kill viruses in hospitals, we adopted the use of UVC disinfection lights for rooms, contact points, cash, utensils and food,” said the hotel group.
Their lobby layout has also been redesigned to conform to physical distancing requirements, with clear markers indicating where people can stand or sit, and glass dividers between the guests and reception area. “No contact disinfection will now be the new normal, from lobby doors [e.g., foot door opener] and toilet fixtures. Even giveaways include a no-contact key.”
Operated by the Global Comfort Group, Hotel Sogo now has 41 branches all over the country, and prior to the Covid-19 health crisis, had announced an expansion to 50 branches by this year. The Global Comfort Group also operates Icon Hotel and Eurotel.
For its part, the Henann Group of Resorts underscored the need to educate its staff on how to deal with the guests who will eventually arrive at its properties, once travel restrictions are lifted. In a recent tourism webinar hosted by Go Negosyo, Henry Chusuey, founder and chairman of the resort group said,
“We need to educate everybody. How? what is coronavirus? how not to get infected and not infect others?”
If we can do this, guests will be much safer, for example, [we have to implement] social distancing, wearing of masks, and frequent washing, before and after touching the face, sanitizing the hotel and public areas.”
He said his properties are now using “hospital-grade cleaning” with the adoption of UVC light equipment. “Anything in the public area, with human touch should always be cleaned. Door knobs, which are now handles, tables are sanitized before and after guests sit to dine. Arrangement of furniture will be different, with restaurants to operate at half or 60-percent capacity with table space at 2 meters apart.”
Famous for its extensive breakfast buffet service, Henann waitstaff will now be handing out a “checklist” of buffet food choices to guests, and the staff will retrieve the food from the kitchen. “We will minimize people in the swimming pool, at 50 percent of capacity for guests to keep a safe distance. We will also check chlorine levels regularly, and ensure it is enough to kill the virus,” said Chusuey. Its vans which pick up guests from the airport to bring to the resort will now just seat about 6 instead of 10 persons. Guests will also be given the option to bring their own luggage to their room.
“With these [measures], guests will feel safe. If not, guests will not go to your resort.… There will be no contact as much as possible [between staff and guests],” he stressed. The Henann Group has six resorts in Boracay, and one resort in Panglao Island, Bohol, totaling over 1,500 rooms.
Manila Marriott Hotel, which has remained open as it services frontliners, employees from the business-process outsourcing industry, and other essential staff, will continue to implement touchless services to attract new visitors as Metro Manila and other parts of the country move into the less stringent quarantine regulations.
Bruce Winton, cluster general manager of Marriott International, said in a recent Asia CEO Forum titled Post-Covid 19: Is Normal Realistic?, “We’re definitely accelerating the use of technology from mobile, you know, guests can make digital payments. He’s using [his] cellphone to enter his room.”
He added, “We’re just preparing our facilities to restart and open to the general public and you know, you can expect the highest levels of attention to detail—on safety, sanitation, and personalization—with perhaps a few less touch points along the way.”
He noted that compared to other countries which rely heavily on international tourists, the Philippine hotel industry has domestic travelers who can help lift their establishments. “We are blessed with a robust domestic tourism market so you know…despite the double-digit growth over the last 10 years, almost 85 percent of the tourists and the economy is domestically driven. So the sooner we can start domestic travel and give people that sense of confidence…I think we’ll see the traction start to take place.”
In 2018 Filipinos took 110 million domestic trips, contributing P3.2 trillion in expenditures to the local economy.
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