Hotels, slammed by pandemic, bank on new cleanliness plans as business trickles back
Marriott, Hilton and other big hotel companies are used to competing on price or perks. Now they are competing on cleanliness.
From masked clerks at the front desk to shuttered buffets, hotels are making visible changes because of the pandemic. Signage will tout new cleaning regimens: Red Roof Inns promise “RediClean,” while Hilton boasts of “CleanStay with Lysol.”
Hotels are still mostly empty; in the U.S., occupancy stood at 37% the week ending May 30, down 43% from the same period a year ago, according to STR, a data and consulting firm. But leisure travel is starting to pick up, and hotels see cleaning standards as a way to soothe jittery guests — and possibly win back business from rivals such as home-sharing companies like Airbnb.
“I think, more than ever, customers are going to be looking for that seal of approval,” said Phil Cordell, Hilton’s head of global new brand development, who is leading the group developing the company’s new cleaning standards.
Some hotel brands are more stringent than others, says Larry Yu, a professor of hospitality management at George Washington University. He notes that Accor Hotels, a French company, has developed accreditation standards that its hotels must meet in order to reopen.
But Yu said enhanced cleaning is happening everywhere.
“Everybody is doing it, because it is now expected by consumers,” he said.
Guests are already seeing differences. David Whitesock, the chief innovation officer for Face It Together, an addiction counseling company, moved from Denver to upstate New York over Memorial Day weekend. He stayed at Marriott hotels in Iowa and Ohio along the way.
There were some oddities. Police tape separated him from the front desk in Iowa, and the hotel gave him a key card even though he would have preferred to unlock his room door using Marriott’s app. Whitesock brought his own food, but noticed prepackaged breakfasts laid out where buffets used to be.
But he said his rooms looked, felt and smelled cleaner than they used to. All the guests wore masks and respectfully kept their distance, he said.
“I felt like it was a safe place to be, that they had done the best that they possibly could given the circumstances,” Whitesock said. “A lot of it comes down to, do you trust the hotels and the people who you are going to come into contact with there?”
Despite hotels’ precautions, however, visiting them is still risky, said Dr. Albert Ko, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at the Yale School of Public Health.
Hotels can bring together travelers from states or countries where transmission rates are higher, for example, and many carriers may not be showing symptoms.
“That’s the kind of thing we’re worried about in terms of public health,” he said. “Those settings can be the cause of outbreaks.”
Hilton and other companies have called in experts to develop new standards. Marriott and IHG — the parent company of Holiday Inn — are working with EcoLab, which makes industrial cleaning products. IHG is also getting advice from the Cleveland Clinic. Hilton has partnered with the Mayo Clinic. Hyatt is working with ISSA, a global cleaning industry association.
Hotels walked through the guest experience and made changes at every touch point. Hilton’s hotel shuttles will be disinfected hourly and passengers will have access to wipes. MGM Resorts, which is reopening four Las Vegas hotels on June 4, will ask restaurant guests to view digital menus on their own phones.
Changes vary by hotel. Guests may find lobby furniture moved further apart or hand sanitizer stations next to elevator keys. Shared coffee stations are gone. DoubleTree still offers warm chocolate chip cookies, but only upon request.
Inside the rooms, surfaces like TV remotes and light switches will get an extra cleaning. Best Western is getting rid of decorative pillows, pens and other unnecessary items. Red Roof is telling staff to bag up dirty sheets inside its rooms, to limit spread of disease. Once a room is cleaned and disinfected, Hilton will put a sticker on the door so guests know no one has been inside.
Ko said in addition to disinfecting surfaces, hotels might want to consider moving dining outside, where the risk of transmission is lower, or limiting capacity in tight spaces like elevators. Marriott’s plan includes limiting capacity in restaurants and gyms and ensuring people are distanced in elevator lines.
Cordell said Hilton plans to keep pools and fitness centers open and clean them regularly.
“Fitness and wellness is so fundamental to the guests getting back in their routine,” he said.
Hotels are experimenting with new technology. Marriott and others are using electrostatic sprayers to spritz lobbies with disinfectant. Many hotel brands are also encouraging guests to access their rooms using their mobile phones. Hilton says 4,800 of its 6,100 hotels have that capability so far. Marriott offers keyless check-in in 3,200 hotels.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky thinks guests will prefer separate homes to hotels filled with people. Airbnb — which is also working with EcoLab and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy — will continue to upgrade its cleaning protocols, he said.
“Health and cleanliness are going to be one of our biggest focuses,” he said.
But Yu said hotel chains can ensure franchisees are complying through their normal auditing process. That will be a challenge for Airbnb, he said, which has developed its own cleaning standards but may have more trouble ensuring that hosts comply.
Lewis Rothlein is a yoga instructor and onetime journalist in Asheville, N.C. He teaches a popular course on “The Art of Solving Crosswords” for senior citizens at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Jeff Chen is a writer in Seattle. They exchanged over 100 emails, back and forth, just brainstorming this puzzle’s theme. Lewis has had five previous puzzles in The Times, all Thursdays. Jeff is a regular contributor here. — W.S.
ACROSS
1 … and the rest: Abbr. 4 Small bit 9 Chilled 13 Feng ____ 17 Takes off 19 Word whose rise in popularity coincided with the spread of the telephone 20 It’s shorter on land than at sea 21 Bit of change 22 Traditional Hanukkah gift for kids 23 Computing machine displayed in part at the Smithsonian 24 Beachgoer’s item 25 Instrument heard in ‘‘Eleanor Rigby’’ 26 Bits of regalia 28 ‘‘Git!’’
30 Get hammered 32 Providers of books to remote locations 34 Unlawful activity by a minor 36 Land of the Po (not Poland) 37 Special ____ 38 ____-cone 39 Home of the world’s smallest country: Abbr. 40 Alias letters 41 Demurring words 42 Member of the genus Helix 44 Marcel Duchamp, e.g. 47 Genre for the Spice Girls or Backstreet Boys 49 Passion
51 Bug experts, informally 55 Breathtaking sight in the ocean? 56 Back
58 This and others 59 Downed 62 GPS’s guesses 64 Montezuma, for one 65 Assign new functions to, as keyboard keys 66 Some natural remedies 69 Cabinet position once held by Herbert Hoover 72 Give one’s take 73 Basic knowledge, with ‘‘the’’ 77 Went after, in a way
78 ____ admin 79 Classic brand of candy wafers 80 Magical teen of Archie Comics 82 Give kudos to 84 Pop a wheelie? 86 ‘‘I’ve got that covered’’ 87 Paid to play 91 Work requiring some intelligence? 93 ____ Bahama (clothing label) 95 DNA carrier 96 Word after ‘‘so’’ or ‘‘go’’ 99 Middle of many similes 100 1%-er in D.C.?: Abbr.
102 ’60s war zone 103 Not reflective 104 Untimely time 107 Great depth 109 Myth propagated to promote social harmony, in Plato’s ‘‘Republic’’ 110 Faux cough 112 ‘‘Aw, hell!’’ 113 Shady outdoor area 114 Collection of stock 116 4x100, e.g. 118 Sole
120 Put down 121 Opposite of une adversaire 122 Selfie taker’s concern 123 Liberal arts college in Portland, Ore. 124 Just makes, with ‘‘out’’ 125 Recipe amts. 126 Serious-minded 127 Cavity filler’s deg.
DOWN 1 Mayonnaise ingredient 2 Directly opposed 3 Like a virgin 4 Cut 5 Good thing to have after work 6 QB Manning 7 Number of concern to a teacher 8 Former New York City mayor with the autobiography ‘‘Mayor’’ 9 Tow truck’s destination 10 Org. in ‘‘Argo’’ 11 Jet set 12 Precisely describe
13 It’s made up of lines
14 State capital in Lewis and Clark County 15 Crack
16 2017 hit movie about an Olympic skater 18 Songbird with dark, iridescent plumage 25 What A.P. exams grant incoming freshmen 27 Unit of hope 29 IHOP beverages 31 Supply 32 Make, as money 33 Water-safety org.
35 U.S. broadcasting service 42 Conductor Georg 43 Long river of Siberia 45 Places for hustlers? 46 ‘‘Rent me’’ sign 48 What marriage merely is, to some 50 Cutting tool 52 Catamounts, by another name 53 1960s counterculture figure
54 Play awards 57 Remote-control button
59 A part of 60 Plains structure 61 Order from above 63 Low-hanging clouds 67 Atahualpa’s subjects 68 Bawl 70 Sports Illustrated named him ‘‘Sportsman of the Century’’ in 1999 71 Villain 74 Places for strollers 75 German article 76 Something a crab might be found in 80 Coverage in Africa? 81 Penance 83 Shin guards of old 85 Disinfectant brand
88 Held up 89 Like most haikus 90 Source of zest 92 Fighting Tigers’ sch.
94 Evil: Fr. 96 Pilot’s opposite 97 Heavy winter wear 98 Margot who played the titular role in 16-Down 101 Utmost degree 103 Stage ____ 105 Moves like an elephant 106 Bustles (with) 108 Howled like a wolf 111 Museum sections, perhaps 115 Criticize in no uncertain terms 117 JFK alternative 119 Amts. ‘‘gained’’ or ‘‘lost’’