Now that the lockdown has been eased, city hotels are gearing up to open gates for public. From elaborate sanitisation of properties to following guidelines of social distancing between staff and the guests, hotel officials are taking extra care before they start functioning in a safe and secured environment. They are also keeping in mind all the guidelines to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Hotels adopt different safety measure drives
JW Marriot Kolkata has come up with a ‘We Care’ programme, where they have listed their plans of sanitisation and how they will take care of the guests. Talking about the initiatives, Gaurav Singh, multi property vice-president east India and Bangladesh & general manager, JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata, said “The changing world has brought with it a new set of challenges for the hospitality industry, but our hotels in eastern India are certain to take on the obstacles. Every aspect of our “We Care – The New Normal” campaign is conceptualised from all the exhaustive standpoints of a hotel experience in our new reality. We will make an all-encompassing attempt to build and reinvent ourselves with the advice of health and hygiene experts. We will continue with “Namaste” as the standardised way of greeting like always, we will have provisions for digital ordering, mobile check-ins and the regular sanitisation of luggage, hotel spaces and hotel transport.”
Focusing on the safety and well-being of colleagues and guests during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, Hyatt’s chain of hotels too are prepping up by adopting a set of care and cleanliness norms. They have announced a Global Care & Cleanliness Commitment to enhance its operational guidance and resources around colleague and guest safety. Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO, Hyatt, said, “The world as we knew it has been fundamentally changed by COVID-19 and when we are all ready to travel again, we want to make sure that every colleague and guest feels confident that each aspect of our commitment is designed with their safety in mind, and that we’re putting their well-being first.”
The Park Hotels, Kolkata, too has taken measures of sanitation and altered their methods of booking. It has launched its hygiene, cleanliness and sanitisation drive called S.H.I.E.L.D., across brands, including Flurys. “Our existing workforce is undergoing mandatory online and offline training sessions to ensure hygiene, sanitisation, social distancing and safe operations,” said Vijay Dewan, managing director of the hotel.
Another city-based hotel, The Stadel, is planning different staycation deals for their customers, apart from prepping for an elaborate sanitisation of their hotel. Anil Bhutoria, managing director of the hotel, said, “Safety and hygiene of our guests is our priority in this “new normal’ world. Our managerial team has undergone several awareness programmes and will conduct continuous internal training to enable strict adherence to best practices in hygiene and sanitisation.”
The ITC Royal Bengal and ITC Sonar have also come up with a unique programme, ‘WeAssure’, designed in collaboration with medical professionals and disinfection experts to enhance the existing hygiene and cleaning protocols of the hotels. “It is a holistic programme that addresses all facets of hotel operations. From revised protocols for back offices, laundry to the public areas with heightened sanitisation measures,” said Tejinder Singh, area manager east & cluster general manager ITC Royal Bengal & ITC Sonar.
Staycation deals for customers
Even though there are restrictions on travelling during this time, several city hotels are still planning various staycation deals for their customers. Gaurav, from JW Marriott Kolkata, informed, “We have announced the launch of a staycation deals for our guests with effect from June 1. It is a limited offer curated specially for our hotels across South Asia. Guests can avail discounts while making their bookings till June 30, 2020.
On the other hand, Vijay Dewan from The Park Hotels, anticipates that though national or international travel will be stopped for some months now, there might be a lot of staycations within the city or state. “We do anticipate a lot of staycations within the city, also people travelling via roads to places like Serampur or close destinations,” he added. Anil Bhutoria from The Stadel also said that in due course of time, people will start travelling and thus, coming up with exciting booking deals is a must.
Source: Times of India
