Hygiene Protocols for Hotels to Win Guest’s Trusts And Lure Them Back Post Pandemic

As travel begins to pick up, the primary concerns in the minds of guests are about sanitization and hygiene. It is an indisputable fact that guests will demand a lot more hygiene and cleanliness. Hotels may lose their long-time guests if they are careless in this regard.

So hotels have to take this thing seriously. They not only have to make sure that everything is neat and clean, they also need to soothe the worries of the guest and win over their trust regarding hygiene.

How to build the guest’s trust:

• Many hotel groups like Hilton and Four Seasons have publicly declared their allegiance to hotel hygiene in hope of reassuring guest apprehensions.
• As reported by a survey, one way to build trust of guests and emotional attachment is transparent communication. Hotels can repeatedly reassure guests about the hotel’s commitment to hygiene. They need to communicate the same right after a guest books a room, and again a few days before check-in, by sending them emails as well as messages on their mobile phone.
• Guest should be able to look at all the safety measures and procedures being taken by a hotel, on their website. Hotels need to publish these entire details on the website for everyone to see.

Hotels can also start implementing various other strategies for the assurance of guests:

 Contactless sheck-in and check out: As guests prefer to avoid unnecessary human-to human interaction, hotels may need to start implementing contactless check-in and check-out through app or kiosks, replace key cards with mobile keys, have contactless payments options, and place sanitization stations.

Maintain safety protocols and hygiene: Hotels may need to strictly follow social distancing while receiving the guest, have hand sanitization station at entrance and in the lobby, have disinfected mats and masks available for the guests.

Proper cleaning: Regular deep cleaning of surfaces, equipment and floor to avoid cross-contamination of guests and employees is a must. Face masks need to be worn by all the guests and employees.

Sanitized rooms: Every room should have a clearly visible ‘Last cleaned chart’. Medical- grade sanitization and disinfectant products should be used. Hotels may also consider providing arriving guests with complimentary kits which include face mask, hand sanitizer, disinfected wipes, etc.

Hotel Amenities Hygiene: The public areas in hotels need special monitoring. Maintain social distancing at swimming pool, gym, spa or lounge areas. Keep track of people attending at a time.

Room Service and Dining: Allow guests to order food or place any request through mobile app. The seating capacity at the restaurants may be reduced to allow for proper social distancing.

No Long ago the two main aspects in a guest’s mind were location and price. While these still feature among the main considerations, the top priority nowadays is for hygiene and safety protocols. For the hotels, the key during this time is to remain alert and agile, putting the guest’s safety concerns and needs before everything else.