Just inside the sliding doors of the Delta Hotel Marriott in downtown Richmond, Virginia, front desk staff welcome guests safely though clear plexiglass barriers. A placard set on an easel in the lobby, signed by staff, spells out the hotel’s commitment to hospitality with new, stringent Covid-19 hygiene protocols.
Since May 2019, the overall occupancy rate in American hotels is down 13.5 %, according to STR, a compagny that provides data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for global hospitality sectors. Yet as maskless travelers checked in to the Marriott in Richmond on a Thursday in early June, they brought in the cool breezes of a perfect afternoon.
As summer begins, 50% of Americans have been completely vaccinated, and many are resuming long-deferred hotel stays for pleasure as well as business.
However, hotels in major cities across the United States are seeing more guests from their local areas who just want a quiet, clean place to work away from home, according to a CNN report. Some are continuing to ask their employees to work remotely.
At the Microtel Hotel in Lynchburg, Virginia, a hotel with modern, laptop-friendly desks that allow for storage of the myriad devices and chargers business travelers bring, General Manager Delores Irving feels confident in her hotel’s ability to preserve a safe environment.
She also told MAP that the rigorous cleaning schedule put into place during the worst days of the pandemic will continue. On a recent day, the Microtel’s careful staff were scouring the hotel lobby’s white countertops shiny and spotless, as they offered guests breakfast in a take-out bag. The staff is continuing their extra covid cleanings throughout the day. But they avoid entering occupied guest rooms until after the guest has left.
It is no surprise that extra cleaning measures have been good for business. Frances Kiradjian of Hospitalitynet.org reports that room cleaning is the #1-rated action that hotels may take to protect their guests, as determined by a McKinsey survey.
As of June 2021, hotels are again bustling with unmasked guests happy to go about their business without fear. Still, Irving does not foresee the removal of Microtel’s Covid-19 procedures.
“We’re continuing to not go into guests’ rooms while they’re here, and doing extra cleanings, especially now that a new [strain of the coronavirus] has come out,” she said.
Given the unpredictability of global pandemics, continuing the safety measures seems prudent.
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