The economies in different parts of the world are slowly opening up, albeit with cautious optimism. After a full quarter spent in lockdown, populations are desperate for a break. This is reflected in the rise of the search traffic for hotel accommodations. While people are being bold enough to plan getaways when COVID19 levels are still high, the fear of infection is still real. Everyone wants to avoid it rather than worry about treatment and their statistical chances of surviving the infection. The risks/chances of infection are now part of the emotional influence affecting the customer’s decision-making process. Businesses that have opened up understand this and have taken measures to align with it, convincing customers that it is safe to do business with them. Hoteliers need to follow suit.

Consider retail stores. The sight of store workers wearing masks, and implementing a new cleanliness protocol that is apropos for this pandemic instills confidence in the consumers to continue shopping in peace. Notices put up by the retailers to enforce masks/face-covers, appropriate distancing, etc. tell the consumers that the store prioritizes the health and safety of its customers. This has been effective for retailers where the customer visit lasts for an hour or two. But in the case of hotels, guests are on the premises for multiple nights. As such the level of cleanliness protocols have much higher standards to meet.

Read this article to understand how hotels are creating new protocols that go above and beyond standards provided by USEPA, other governing bodies, and trade organizations. More importantly, these measures need to be communicated to the travel agencies and travelers on all distribution channels, to remove any barriers in the booking process for hotel accommodations.