“Since our founding 92 years ago, Marriott International has always placed an emphasis on health and safety for our guests and associates. Our founder, J.W. Marriott, used to personally inspect kitchens and guest rooms for cleanliness during his hotel visits. A high standard of cleanliness is in our DNA,” starts a letter from Marriott President and CEO, Arne Sorenson describing changes the Hotel chain is making in response to the Covid-19 Coronavirus.
Some of the changes the company is making are as follows:
- Marriott Global Cleanliness Council: Consisting of in-house and outside experts in food and water safety, hygiene and infection prevention, and hotel operations, the council will work to develop a new generation of global hospitality cleanliness standards, norms and behaviors for our more than 7,300 properties around the globe.
- New Cleaning Technologies: While our council develops its work, we have initiated plans to roll out enhanced technologies at our properties over the next few months, including electrostatic sprayers and the highest classification of disinfectants recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization to sanitize surfaces throughout hotels.
- Cleaning Regimen Changes: When guests check into our hotels over the next few months, they will notice a number of additions to our cleaning regimen designed to set an even higher standard of cleanliness for the hotels as well as modifications to associate-guest protocols developed to be consistent with recommended social distancing guidelines.
- Public Spaces: Starting with our public spaces and high-traffic areas, we are going above and beyond our normal protocols. We are cleaning surfaces with increased frequency, dedicated staff, and recommended cleaning agents.
- Hand Sanitizer: Hand sanitizing stations are being installed at hotel entrances, at our front desks, our elevator banks, and meeting spaces.
- Social Distancing: Signage in public spaces will remind our guests to maintain social distancing. We will be adding partitions at check-in to provide an extra level of precaution for our guests and our associates.
- Mobile App: Mobile technologies provide reassurance and distancing options for our guests. In over 3,200 hotels, your phone can be used to check in, access your room, and order room service.
This is a good start but there is a lot more to do like air sanitizing via new or upgraded filtration or HVAC systems. Sneeze guards at check-in, changes at shared bathrooms and more.
In our opinion, they can learn some great best practices from our recent posts:
