By Nicole Torres, Senior Event Manager
As the world reopens, we’ve been closely observing best practices for our hotel and meeting venue partners.
Here at Key, we work diligently and excitedly with leading hoteliers to ensure that together we’re raising the bar for meetings and conferences in the “new normal” – starting with this summer’s travelers.
Speaking of travelers, guests will likely notice changes from the moment they book the room and step through the lobby doors. How will your hotel experience differ? The most noticeable and common changes among most hotel brands include:
- High touch at a safe distance. Though hotel staff may be physically distanced for safety, this won’t stop high touch communication. Increased communication about health and safety standards from the property and reminders about hygiene and safe distancing best practices will be clear throughout the hotel property and reiterated via email(s).
- Solo sanitization. Expect individual hand-sanitizer wipes and touchless sanitizers stationed in shared areas such as the lobby or restaurant.
- Frequent, visible disinfection. Expect to see frequent cleanings of high-touch points (elevator buttons, handles), in guest view.
- Mask up. Hotel employees will be wearing masks or standing behind clear partitions.
- Modified common space. Physical layouts of common areas will be modified to ensure guests can maintain a safe distance.
- Health and safety practices. Temperature checks and contactless check-in will be commonplace.
There may also be changes in guest rooms:
- Limited housekeeping. Limited or no housekeeping during your hotel stay to limit exposure of guests and staff
- Essentials only. Non-essential items removed from hotel rooms [decorative pillows, magazines, etc.]
- Single-use is standard. Food and beverage items and collateral will be changed to single-use items
- Sealed for safety. Seals placed over hotel room doors to assure guests that rooms have not been entered since being cleaned
- Planned vacancy. Rooms may be vacant for 36 – 48 hours between stays, depending on the hotel and region. This may also cause some check-in times to be later than normal to ensure rooms have been successfully vacant for the guaranteed duration.
Keep in mind that while each property will prioritize cleaning, their process may look different and will continue to evolve.
For those that are ready to vacation, we’re excited for you to escape to your favorite hotel. For those that will walk through lobbies and check-in to rooms for your next business meeting, we can’t wait to see you. You can be assured that hotels are thoughtfully prepared for the return to a new and even safer normal, as are we at Key.
Key Considerations is our ongoing take on pivoted meeting and event practices to exceed new industry standards for our clients and our team. To learn more about how events are making safe shifts, please email hello@keyevents.com.
