NEWS | Service industry staff in Abu Dhabi must have fortnightly COVID-19 tests
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From January 10, 2021, employees working in the sectors outlined above will be required to get tested for COVID-19 every two weeks. Employers are required to cover the costs of testing.
The directions are “in line with the COVID-19 preventive measures in Abu Dhabi and aim to create a safe and healthy environment while limiting the effects of the pandemic”.
All individuals who have been vaccinated are exempt from testing.
The Safest Hotels During The Covid-19 Crisis
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If you're thinking of traveling during the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, you might be wondering: Is there a list of the safest hotels during the COVID-19 crisis?
There is. The Safe Travel Barometer, a startup that ranks travel companies based on their cleaning and sanitation practices, released the list exclusively to FORBES. It's a handy guide for anyone interested in staying somewhere that takes safety seriously.
Why is a list of the safest hotels for coronavirus so important? Because too many hotels have said too little about their sanitation efforts. They've either published a vaguely worded press release, meant to soothe worried guests but short on specifics, or they've said nothing substantive other than, "We'll do better."
But the most alarming result of the Safe Travel Barometer research is that there just isn't a lot of information on hotel safety out there. Many properties have said little or nothing about their cleaning practices. That should be troubling to every guest, but also something worth remembering. It's not the hotels on this list that you should worry about — it's the ones that are not on this list.
A Hilton CleanStay seal at the Canopy by Hilton Scottsdale Old Town in Scottsdale, Ariz.
CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT
How to tell if your hotel is safe during the COVID-19 crisis
Of course, some hotels go above and beyond, which is something else to look for. At the Canopy by Hilton Scottsdale Old Town in Scottsdale, Ariz., each door has a Hilton CleanStay seal, signifying that it’s been sanitized to the hotel chains high standards. The property, Old Town Scottsdale’s first new hotel in over a decade, opened just a month ago, so it its cleaning protocols have been there from the start. (One hotel guest told me that he always travels with sanitizing wipes and cleans surface areas himself. At the Hilton, he says, the wipes remained white. “I was impressed,” he says.)
After the housekeeping staff at the historic Beverly Hilton services a room, they bring in an ultraviolet light to sanitize even more deeply, says hospitality expert Anthony Melchiorri.
"If you have questions or would like to know more about the exact safety measures put in place to protect your health, call the hotel where you plan to stay and ask them what to expect," he says.
To Spend or Not to Spend: What Hoteliers Should Prioritize for a Faster Recovery
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While it may, at first, seem tempting for hoteliers to proceed with extreme fiscal caution right now, hoteliers must also consider the long-term, post-pandemic vision. As the industry braces for recovery, those properties which have invested in platforms and technologies that empower them to pivot and innovate traditional touch-points are positioned to thrive. In many respects, the selective investments that hoteliers make now will help to define their path to recovery.
So, the question becomes, how can hotels reduce operating costs in an intelligent manner, while prioritizing technology that ensures a faster recovery?
Out With the Old
It might surprise you to learn that, oftentimes, outdated technology costs hoteliers more money than it saves. Not only are legacy platforms limited in their infrastructure and functionality, but they also boast a variety of hidden costs. Unlike new-age platforms which are cloud-based. maintenance-free and always updated.
The lack of flexibility associated with legacy systems becomes especially problematic when we consider the current circumstances. In the era of COVID-19, flexibility is paramount. Employees should be able to access critical property data anytime, anywhere, without any tech-specific roadblocks. Fortunately, cloud-based technology provides hoteliers with uninhibited access to the digital infrastructure of their hotel, helping to streamline workflows while ensuring that important processes and procedures are always accessible. Even better, cloud-based solutions are notoriously user-friendly and often extremely affordable when compared to the full picture of legacy systems and their associated costs and dysfunction. These platforms can also integrate seamlessly with the tools you already use, creating an optimized 'stack' of critical hotel systems and applications that work together as a cohesive, revenue-generating unit.
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Full-Featured Platforms
When considering the transition from legacy platform to new-age technology, hoteliers should look for those platforms which offer an impressive portfolio of features. Fortunately, many of the best-in-class sales and catering, PMS and CRM systems on the market today boast 'all-in-on' capabilities.
For hotels looking to maximize occupancy and increase group business through events and meetings, a full-featured sales and catering solution is paramount. With CRM functionality, booking management, streamlined workflows, advanced reporting, and enhanced lead optimization and customer management all within one, user-friendly interface, closing business has never been easier.
Full-featured systems should also offer hoteliers revenue generating insights and capabilities, as hoteliers look to get creative in their bid for guest bookings. Platforms that provide data-backed insights can help hotels pave the way to improved processes and an optimized sales approach.
Focus on Automation and Efficiency
Labor is expensive, but a lack of productivity is even more expensive. Moving forward, hoteliers should focus on platforms which enable increased automation and efficiency across all touch-points. Not only does this help to streamline once tedious and time-consuming operational tasks, but it also empowers hotel staff to focus their attention where it matters most: the guest experience and their safety. This also reveals an opportunity for cross-training staff, which helps to ensure hotel properties have the support they need from staff across all departments.
Of course, in a post-pandemic era, automated technology has become especially valuable to those hotels which are currently operating with reduced staff and resources, while working to maintain brand standards of service. Moreover, as we continue to shift towards a largely 'touchless' future, technology which allows for automated processes and self-service will become the new industry standard. Hotels should look to utilize mobile-first technology, including mobile check-in/out, keyless room entry, mobile chatbots and concierge, mobile payments, and so much more. Not only that, but hoteliers should prioritize those solutions which help to streamline personalization efforts, leveraging guest data to enhance the guest experience both online and offline.
Going Digital
In the wake of COVID-19, hotel properties around the globe have aptly reconsidered and reformatted traditional touch-points and, within guest rooms and lobbies, common high-touch items. Fortunately, from a cost perspective, this is good news. Transitioning printed materials to their digital counterparts can, in the long-term, save hotels money, whilst also reducing their environmental impact.
It's also important to recognize that, in today's day and age (and especially right now), consumers crave a digital experience. Unsurprisingly, hotel guests are no exception. With this in mind, hoteliers should take this time to invest in the virtual experience and resources they offer guests, including website properties, images, virtual tours, mobile booking engines, and more.
NSW announces further easing of restrictions
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Hospitality venues in New South Wales can now accept bookings for groups of up to 30 people from Friday 23 October.
Physical distancing rules continue to apply: venues can have one patron per 4 square metres indoors while those that use electronic entry recording can have one patron per 2 square metres outdoors. Mingling is still prohibited, with guests required to be seated.
Venues are currently limited to a maximum capacity of 300 people. For venues with multiple areas this limit applies to each separate area.
All venues should businesses must implement electronic contact tracing methods, such as QR codes, before taking advantage of the eased restrictions.
With homes still considered high risk environments, Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged the public to consider making bookings at COVID-Safe venues for any festive season celebrations.
“Now this is good news to allow people to prepare for Christmas and the celebrations over summer,” said Ms Berejiklian. “Interestingly, the health experts agree, and have given us advice, that it could be actually be safer to go to a restaurant or hotel or somewhere that’s COVID-Safe for your Christmas lunch… and we want everyone to plan ahead for that.
“These changes will provide a big boost to our hospitality venues. As we ease restrictions and find new ways to get businesses moving it is vital that customers and venues continue to be COVID-Safe.”
Top Hotel Chains Go On Safety & Hygiene Overdrive
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From laundry services to tie-ups with Zomato & Swiggy and launching their own F&B apps, hotels are going for major overhauls following Covid
New Delhi:
Barkha Mehra was missing the annual celebrations and surprises that she looked forward to putting together each year on her mother’s birthday in June. Fearful of going out but still wanting to make the occasion memorable, she decided to order in from a plush five-star hotel in the capital this year.
“I’m not one to splurge so much on dinners but this year has been an exception. I wanted to treat my parents to something special as they have stayed locked indoors for months,” said Mehra.
From offering to do your laundry to getting their signature dishes at your doorstep through tieups with food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy, and also launching their own F&B apps to keeping check-ins and check-outs contactless, hotel chains are undertaking major overhauls following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Besides World Health Organization guidelines, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India protocols and state and central government-mandated standard operating procedures, top hotel chains such as The Oberoi Group, Accor and Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts have worked on their own safety and sanitisation programmes through partnerships with external inspection and certification services providers such as Bureau Veritas to reassure guests.
In June, Hilton announced the global rollout of its CleanStay programme, created in collaboration with Lysol and Dettol maker Reckitt Benckiser and Mayo Clinic.
At ITC Hotels, the WeAssure initiative endeavors to offer stringent, ‘near-clinical’ levels of hygiene through a DNV-GL business assurance certification, chief operating officer Anil Chadha said.
“WeAssure is a holistic programme that addresses all facets of hotel operations — from revised protocols for back of the house activities such as receiving store, back offices and laundry, to the public areas with heightened sanitisation measures for guest luggage, elevators to room service,” he said.
Nikhil Sharma, area director, Eurasia at Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, said the chain implemented its ‘Count on Us’ initiative, which focuses on enhancing its broad range of health and safety protocols across properties in Europe, the Middle East, Eurasia and Africa.
“This includes consistent use of top-of-the-range disinfectants at all hotels, the introduction of robust new training and guidelines, and ongoing access to critical health essentials through trusted suppliers,” said Sharma. He said the chain leveraged its long-standing relationship with Ecolab for disinfectants across EMEA hotels, including rooms and public spaces.
In May, before restrictions were eased in the country, Roseate Hotels & Resorts launched its ‘Care by Roseate’ programme in a bid to minimise physical contact with guests at the chain’s six properties in India and the UK.
MMGY Global Research Shows Perceptions of Travel Safety Rising Steadily in Advance of Holiday Travel Season October, 8 2020MMGY Travel Intelligence
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MMGY Global has been tracking the impact of COVID-19 on U.S. traveler sentiment and behaviors since this past March and it has some encouraging news for the travel industry heading into the holiday season. The latest findings from MMGY Travel Intelligence's Travel Intentions Pulse Survey (TIPS) and MMGY Global’s Travel Safety Barometer show increasing confidence in the safety of domestic and international travel, cruising, dining and entertainment, business travel and lodging.
For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the Domestic Travel Safety Barometer score rose above 50, indicating travelers are increasingly confident about the idea of traveling. The Barometer, which measures perceptions of safety on a scale of 0 (extremely unsafe) to 100 (extremely safe), rose to 52, which is 22 points higher than it was in April. Wave IX of the TIPS survey, conducted in late September, also found that 46% of respondents said they are likely to take a domestic leisure trip in the next six months.
Surprisingly, the International Travel Safety Barometer surged upward as well, increasing 6 points to 38 in October. Twenty-five percent of TIPS respondents said they are likely to take an international leisure trip during the next six months, up from 18% in Wave VIII.
After months of stagnation, the October Business Travel Safety Barometer displayed promising signs of recovery, increasing from 38 to 41, a 12-point increase from the May score. The news is slightly better for conference and convention planners as well. The Travel Safety Barometer score for attending a conference or convention jumped from 30 in September to 35 in October, a 16% spike. As meeting planners and conference organizers debate the future of large group gatherings, this score will be one to watch closely in the months ahead.
Hotels, weekly markets to open in Delhi
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Hotels have been allowed to re-open in Delhi, while weekly markets will be allowed to open on a trial basis in the nation’s capital. The decision was taken in a meeting of Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Wednesday. Gymnasiums though will continue to remain closed.
Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi govt had on 6 August sent a proposal to Lieutenant governor Anil Baijal for the reopening of hotels and re-opening of weekly markets on a trial basis in Delhi.
That was a week after the LG rejected the government’s proposal to allow the opening of hotels, gyms, and weekly markets under unlock-3.
