Sentiment Survey: Australian Hotel Industry and the Impact of Covid-19 - By Damien Little

This sentiment survey was conducted by Horwath HTL Singapore, in partnership with AHS Advisory, to gauge the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hotels across Australia. 

Key findings of the report include:

• The majority of hotels in the survey (67%) are planning to remain open. This is a higher ratio than had initially been expected heading into the survey. A greater proportion of Hotels located in Regional markets (69%) are planning to stay open compared to their State Capital counterparts (65%) despite the fact that a greater proportion of participating Regional hotels have already closed.

• The majority of survey participants expect the impact of COVID-19 to be long-term, thus, occupancy performance is expected to start rebounding only in Q4 2020. There is no noticeable difference in the trend of occupancy expectations among properties, regardless of location, although hotels in Melbourne expect Q3 2020 to record lower performance than Q2 2020. This could be due to the looming amount of new supply to enter the market.

• Unsurprisingly, domestic-sourced demand segments are expected to recover faster, since there is more uncertainty surrounding the return of international travel. This strongly aligns with Australia being a predominant domestic hotel market.

Mandarin Orchard Singapore to Rebrand As Hilton Singapore Orchard

OUE Limited and OUE Commercial REIT Management Pte. Ltd. have collaborated to rebrand the landmark Mandarin Orchard Singapore to Hilton Singapore Orchard, following a comprehensive and strategic review.

OUE, which is the master lessee of Mandarin Orchard Singapore, has entered into a Branding and Management Agreement with Conrad International Management Services (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. to rebrand Mandarin Orchard Singapore into Hilton's flagship in Singapore.

Asset enhancement works to add new meeting facilities as well as refreshed food and beverage offerings to cater to the growing demand for regional and global meetings, incentives, conference and exhibition ("MICE") events have also been planned. The planned refurbishment will be conducted in phases and will commence in 2Q 2020 to capitalise on the current challenges facing the hospitality industry due to COVID-19. The refurbishment is scheduled to be completed by end-2021.

Upon its relaunch in 2022, the hotel will feature 1,080 well-appointed rooms and five restaurants and bars including an all-day dining restaurant. The hotel will also boast meeting and function spaces spanning a total of 3,765 square metres, including three ballrooms

48% of Americans Canceled Summer Travel Due to Coronavirus Concerns

Uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic has caused nearly half (48%) of Americans to cancel their summer travel plans for this year leading to more distress for the travel industry

Here's what our survey found:

• 46% of those who had upcoming travel plans lost money on nonrefundable deposits and cancellation fees, averaging $854.30 per person. Most of the lost costs came from airline tickets (59%) and hotel rooms (44%).

• The coronavirus pandemic is changing consumers' views about travel. Forty-three percent feel more negatively about the industry as a whole, and many will change their behavior as a result. For example, 55% said they're less likely to take a cruise once the pandemic is over, and 52% are more fearful of overseas travel.

• 1 in 4 Americans are planning a celebratory trip once the threat of the coronavirus disappears, especially millennials, Gen Xers, parents of children under 18 and six-figure earners.

• 40% of consumers said they're more likely to purchase travel insurance for future trips due to the coronavirus. However, 18% said the health crisis made them less likely to consider insuring their future trips.

Here's how hotels are redefining the tea experience for their guests while adding to their revenues

The entire process of growing, hand-picking of leaves, careful sorting and harvesting is fascinating and a premium-grade cup of tea commands a fitting price

Tea is not just therapeutic, but great to taste, besides being zero calories.” The rise and rise of gourmet tea Hotels serving teas beyond the regular Earl Grey and Darjeeling have helped popularise gourmet teas. Cafes and restaurants in hotels now serve single estate teas and unique blends

The making of a gourmet tea

Brewing a good cup of chai is an art and everything lies in how well it is balanced. Bala Sarda, Founder & CEO, Vahdam Teas believes gourmet tea is much like fine wines

At the Emperor Lounge, The Taj Mahal Hotel - Mansingh Road, 26 tea varieties are served, from Panch Dhatu Tea to Rooibos Apple

“A good cup of tea should be brewed at the right temperature, served in beautiful teacups from a stunning teapot, and feel fresh to the palette.”

As wellness finds its way to the centrestage of people’s lives, particularly after the COVID-19 scare, tea, with its various health benefits, will find increased acceptance.

The hotel tea experience 

At Port Muziris, Kochi, A Tribute Hotel by Marriott, guests are treated to an unusual tea tasting session at Kettle, the tea lounge. The cellar holds several varieties of teas inspired by Muziris’ spices and floral heritage. Jasmine, a common flower around these parts, lends itself to a delicate tea. Hibiscus-imbued tea leaves, a green variant flecked with saffron, the not-to-be-missed blue tea made by infusing tea leaves with the butterfly blue pea flower, and lavender-infused teas are part of the extensive cellar.

The cellar at Port Muziris, Kochi, A Tribute Hotel by Marriott, holds several varieties of teas inspired by Muziris’ spices and floral heritage.

With Mister Chai, we went all out to ensure that the typical chai time is a far more luxurious experience.” Among its offerings is Kali Mirch Chai, served with the Colaba Fish Fry Sandwich. ITC Maurya's rooftop Pan-Asian restaurant - Tian, asked Anamika Singh of Anandini Tea to work with its chef de cuisine to put together a tea-paired menu. The hotel now has a regular teatime service delivered at the room by designated butlers, exclusively for those who check-in at the women-only Eva Floor. For its executive floor guests, it has a dedicated tea lounge named Samaya, where the house blends are particularly popular.

The Lounge & Terrace on the lobby level of Four Seasons, Bangalore introduced the rarefied experience of loungy, relaxed afternoon teas to Bengaluru. In-house tea sommelier Mousumi Sharma has put together blends such as Apple Cinnamon Dust, Wild Berry Tales, Chocolate Mint and Orange Blossom, along with the classic

The art of pairing

Nair believes that each tea has its defined list of food accompaniments. High-Tea in Britain is said to be an extravagant and lavish affair,  accompanied by garden sandwiches,  scones, tarts, pies and cake. The rise and rise of High-Tea show how widely appreciated and accepted this mid-evening meal is.

The art of pairing the right food with the right cup of tea requires the sommelier to have some practice and a well-defined, sensitive palette

They  are best paired with very light food  such as white fish like sea bass or mild cheeses and desserts. Pakoras or a hot plate of vegetarian fritters go incredibly well with a piping cup of spiced chai, according to Samuel Massey, Director of Food &Beverage,Vivanta New Delhi, Dwarka.

Ranjit Batra, President – Hospitality, Panchshil Realty pens his view on the emerging new order in hospitality

The hotel industry will see a paradigm shift in the post-COVID-19 world. We will soon be referring to it in terms of BC and AC — Before COVID and After COVID. A lot of people compare the resilience of the hotel industry during the SARS epidemic and the 2018 financial crisis, and it eventually got back after a lag of a couple of years.

Most of them believe — taking cues from the fact that almost 85% of hotels in China have opened now — that it will see a V-shaped recovery. I think that is a pipe dream. SARS was an epidemic and affected only 26 countries.

In India, the entire country was placed under lockdown at a snap of the finger. This will have a significant impact on all the key stakeholders — owners, operators and customers. There will be some short-term impact and some long-term structural changes.

HVS India estimates hotel revenues in India to decline by anywhere between $8.5billion and $10 billion in 2020, not to mention the job losses. Let us take the impact on different stakeholders.

THE OWNERS

Indian owners will be staring at a loss for 2020, with a glimmer of hope that 2021 at least sees them break even. Taking a cue from HVS estimate of revenue loss and assuming average NOP margins of 25% to 30%, the owners would be staring at a loss of NOP of almost $2.5 billion to $ 3 billion. The owners will also have to bear the opening cost, once the hotels are ready to open after the lockdown.

THE OPERATORS

Operators have long maintained that their interest is aligned to that of owners as their fees are tied to revenues and net profits. However, it will be interesting to see whether the operators step up to the plate and ease the financial burden of the owners, especially when most of the owners are at their wit's end. The test of a relationship is always in hard times only.

It will be interesting to see how the relationship between the operators and their employees will pan out, with some operators choosing to seek pay-cuts from their employees, while some choosing to stand by them, making sure there are no pay-cuts and insisting that owners toe the line

THE CUSTOMERS

The increase in a web-based meeting on the likes of Zoom and CISCO WebEx, coupled with the shift towards work-from-home, will lead to business travel being curtailed to a large extent in the near future. Hotels, mainly dependent on business travellers, will require significant time before their occupancies see some traction. Usually, domestic leisure destinations should rebound first, with domestic travel restrictions being eased first.

THE WAY FORWARD

The future will belong to the owners with a stronger balance sheet and operators who stand by the owners. The customers will vote with their feet for hotels that they feel safe in and care about the environment.

OYO Cuts 25% Salary Companywide, After Furloughs

Gurugram-based hospitality unicorn OYO Hotels and Homes has now asked its employees to “accept” 25% salary deduction as it looks to overcome the impact on revenue from the Covid-19 pandemic.It  will be effective for April-July 2020 payroll.

OYO has decided to put some employees on leave with limited benefits from May 4, 2020 to August 2020. The benefits would include medical insurance and parental insurance, school fee reimbursement, and ex gratia support.

The development comes amid reports that OYO has told its UK employees that more employees would be furloughed under the government’s job retention scheme. High earners are also being asked to take a temporary pay cut.

OYO group CEO Ritesh Agarwal had earlier asked employees to go on temporary leave and had offered to look after the medical and healthcare benefits of all the employees across all its regions.

Agarwal has also forgone his salary for the year and senior leadership have been asked to take a 25% from the salary. Other Senior Executives across the world have voluntarily contributed 25%-50% of their salary.

As OYO tries to cut employee costs, the company is offering support to its hotel partners. The startup claimed that it has waived off multiple charges which are paid by partner hotels from March onwards. A benefit of around INR 24 Cr has been offered to over 3000 OYO partners.

OYO has also partnered with multiple lending institutions including fintech startups, NBFCs, add private sector banks to facilitate adequate financing for hotel transformation, Capex and working capital requirements of hotel-partners.

A retention linked discount has also been launched for a few hotel partners. It ranges from 50% on base fees for April and May. For beyond April, OYO might offer an extended discount until June.

IHG to open first Regent hotel since brand acquisition

IHG (Inter Continental Hotels Group) announces the signing of a management agreement with Shanghai 21st Century Hotel Co., Ltd. for its iconic property located in Lujiazui, Shanghai, China.

From 16 May 2020, the hotel will be officially branded as Regent Shanghai Pudong and ready to welcome guests with a truly unique and luxury experience, which the legendary brand is famous for. All existing reservations will be automatically forwarded and honoured by Regent Shanghai Pudong.

Expanding its luxury footprint, IHG announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Regent Hotels & Resorts in March 2018 and brought the much-loved brand into the top end of its portfolio. Since then IHG has worked quickly to combine its expertise in luxury with Regent’s deep heritage and revered legacy, relaunching the brand by evolving it to appeal to the modern luxury traveller.

Renovation is already underway to rebrand the iconic InterContinental Hong Kong into a Regent hotel in 2021, bringing the hotel back to its roots as it first opened its doors as a Regent in 1980.

In addition, the brand is also expecting new openings in Phu Quoc, Vietnam later this year, Bali, Indonesia in 2021, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as well as Chengdu, China in 2023.

Starbucks prepares to reopen stores and have employees return to work as company predicts 'normal operations' in the US by June

Starbucks announced that it is preparing to reopen stores across the United States and hopes to resume normal operations in June. 

 Kevin Johnson, CEO said Starbucks will use different formats and timing to reopen stores after some shuttered and others limited operations amid the coronavirus lockdown. 

Starbucks, unlike grocery stores and hospitals, was not permitted to stay open after stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines were mandated. 

'This is prompting many to define the next steps that will appropriately prioritize health concerns while, at the same time, take thoughtful and measured steps to serve our communities.' 

ITC Hotel Group helps its employees to combat COVID-19

ITC Hotel Group has embarked upon several initiatives to ensure the safety and well being of their employees such as:

Salaries Before Time: Salaries of the hotel group employees were processed well before time, by 23rd of March, to ensure that there are no delays owing to the lockdown and employees can cater to their needs in these unpredictable times.

Engagement Conversations: With an objective of proactively enquiring about the well-being of their employees as well as, to uphold the intent of ‘Personal Connect’, each HR Manager personally calls a minimum of 10 employees daily to enquire about their health and safety and that of their family members. 1200+ employees have been reached at their homes & extended necessary support through this initiative.

Mental Health – 1 to 1 Help: To uphold the overall well being of their employees the hotel group has leveraged its association with “1to1Help” to offer a holistic Employee Assistance Program. 1to1Help is a leading EA provider in the country and has a range of self-help resources as well as a large panel of professional counsellors along with a special section on Covid-19. It is an important service to assist employees in dealing with anxiety, stress, WFH arrangements, isolation etc. 

Enhanced Communication – SMS Blasts: The hotel group has collated the phone numbers of all 7000 employees. It has also enabled an SMS Blast service for communicating messages and important information related to care, safety and updates. 

COVID Advisories: Apart from the guidelines circulated by CHR, the following employee well being advisories were shared with all unit HR Managers with an objective of generating awareness, standardizing responses and upholding ITC’s culture of care and concern

Learning and Development: For employee learning and growth the hotel group has also rolled out a number of e-learning courses targeted at specific roles and levels through multiple channels of E-Learning. 

In “The Day After”, Hospitality is the Future

Over 7.1 million people infected in all regions of the world and far too many losses. World Trade expected to fall by between 13% and 32%.

A massive 75 million jobs at risk as per the UN World Tourism Organization, a 20 to 30% expected drop in international tourist arrivals, 2.1 Trillion $ of GDP loss, with 80% of small and medium-sized companies endangered.

Thanks to a dedicated on-line task force, we all switched to distant and online learning, producing thousands of videos on nearly all topics covering everything from mixology to finance or revenue management. Our faculty members have once again proven their incredible commitment to our students who are now connected to us from everywhere in the world.

Every day around the world, corporate, personal and collective initiatives are multiplying to support medical and hospital staff, who are more mobilized now than ever. The Chefs of our schools have joined forces to support and bring a bit of comfort to these health warriors.

The word "Hospitality" has never been so meaningful: empathy, generosity, sense of service…

As a first sign of recovery, close to 90% of the hotels in China are now reopened, and China air traffic is running at above 40% of its capacity. Moreover, governments around the globe are preparing and starting to implement post-confinement strategies.

We have the unique opportunity to create a "Day After" that is more balanced and more sustainable, and Hospitality will be one of its driving forces.

Hospitality, amounting to 10% of global GDP and accounting for one out of nine jobs worldwide, will be one of the main contributors to the rebound of the world economy and to job market recovery.

In "The Day After", Hospitality is the future.

The Art of War, Post-Covid19, and the New Sales and Revenue Managers

"Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, do what is great while it is small."

The New Sales and Revenue Manager should always be strategizing. As horrible as this crisis is, it presents a pause that can be used to become smarter about your work.

"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity"

The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to forget the pre-Covid19 world. When there is an economic reset, all the old rules are discarded, at least for a while. Accounts that you could never reach, will now be open to speaking with you. People who would have never accepted your invite on Linkedin are more likely to accept now. Dig into your PMS or CRM and extract your old contact file. If you have data on old bid requests, begin to segment them by group size first since you will not be able to bring large groups for now. Then segment these contacts by as many dimensions as your system has and attack that list with no recollection of when they last rejected your offer.

"If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost.."

Analytics on discounts performance will be critical. Knowing when a dicount's performance is statistically significant will help you quickly judge whether it is working in this new world.

The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to be creative. The vast majority of hotels will reopen their operations offering only a slightly more relaxed version of the same old cancellation policy, contract terms, and rewards policies.  You need to rethink your norms from the point-of-view of a traveler that is scared to make a decision that may cost them more than just money. To create more flexible terms, you need to understand your cancellation data, your group wash numbers, and any other data on business that did not materialize. This information is waiting for you in your PMS.

"Know yourself and you will win all battles"

The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to understand their position. All hotels will reopen from a position of weakness because they will be begging for business.The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to be proactive. When times are good, we can be reactive and not lose much. However, under crisis mode, only those that are ready for anything, will thrive.The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to be ready to lower rates. 

"He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight"

The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to stay calm. Again, the first reaction of the market will be to lower rates. Hotel owners are just under too much financial pressure right now to stand their ground.

The New Sales and Revenue Manager needs to think like the competition. Look back at your old STR reports to see what your competition did when demand was slow. How far did they lower their rates? It's very likely that they will run the same playbook. Know what to expect so you can plan how you will react. The last thing you need is to adopt the old attitude that you are smarter than your competition or that they have different motivations than you do. Everyone is now in the same boat trying to get to the same destination. Your competition is just as eager as you are, but you can be way more prepared.

"Therefore, just as water retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions."

Access Point Financial Launches “Navigating Hospitality Finance 2020” Information Resource for Hoteliers Facing Changing Market Conditions

 Access Point Financial, LLC (APF), a leading direct lender and specialty finance company focused exclusively on the hospitality industry, announced the debut of a new online resource entitled, "Navigating Hospitality Finance 2020," 

The informative four-part series is intended to help hotel owners and investors with an interest in hospitality to plan their best financial strategies during changing market conditions brought on by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and its direct impacts on the hotel industry.

The informative four-part series is intended to help hotel owners and investors with an interest in hospitality to plan their best financial strategies during changing market conditions brought on by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic and its direct impacts on the hotel industry.

Hoteliers and investors have a lot to consider in developing effective short- and long-term financial strategies

To help our clients better assess their respective situations and navigate the recovery, our goal is to be a responsible partner and provide impactful resources and tools to ensure their ongoing success.

The first edition of the four-part "Navigating Hospitality Finance 2020" series explores the changes to terms and conditions that lenders have implemented during the crisis.

IHG Army Hotels Support Communities and Military Families During COVID-19 Response

IHG Army Hotels, a portfolio of hotels which serves thousands of guests every day on forty military installations in the United States and Puerto Rico, continues to fulfill its mission to serve communities and military families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to caring for active and retired members of the military and their families, properties are providing safe and comfortable accommodations for service members who are supporting COVID-19 relief efforts or those who have been temporarily displaced during this emergency, including military personnel whose barracks or on-post housing have been repurposed. 

Army and base leadership to best support the installation mission and their communities in the most impactful way. For example: 

• Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart (Georgia) – Hotels on these bases are just a few of the properties that are using their talents to make face masks for their colleagues, local first responders and hospital personnel on post.

• Joint Base San Antonio (Texas) and Fort Wainwright (Alaska) – To help provide a sense of normalcy for families, hotels on base maintained and adapted a years-long holiday tradition with a “socially distant” visit from the Easter Bunny, who dropped off individually wrapped goodie baskets for children in house.

• Across the Country – Through fundraising activities across multiple bases in recent months – including bake sales, denim days and other grassroots activities – teams at IHG Army Hotels properties across the country were able to make a collective donation to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, an organization which builds mortgage-free smart homes for injured veterans and first responders. 

  IHG Army Hotels have reached agreements with Garrison leadership in order to alleviate the financial burden of servicemembers affected by the “Remain in Place” order while awaiting transportation to their new permanent duty station

Tokyo's Olympic Hotel Gains Forecasted to Lessen in 2021

The Summer Olympics’ performance gains for Tokyo hotels are projected to be lower after the one-year delay in the event, according to the latest forecast from STR and Tourism Economics.

“We are projecting less overall demand when compared with our initial forecast for 2020, and while double-digit RevPAR growth is expected, it will come from a much lower base,” 

“Lower absolute demand levels would be linked with traveler perception based on the timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as financial challenges of a potential global recession. The still high level of demand combined with ADR growth should drive RevPAR upward, similar to the growth percentage we saw during last year’s Rugby World Cup in the market.”

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group extraordinary effort

An extraordinary gesture for extraordinary heroes. Our team at Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech has been busily sewing masks to distribute to local hospital workers. Thank you to our community heroes; thank you to our MO heroes.

Tejinder Singh moves to Kolkata as the Area Manager, East & Cluster General Manager of ITC Hotels East

Hotelier  Tejinder  Singh,  who moves to Kolkata as the Area Manager, East & Cluster General Manager will now head ITC Hotels East. In this capacity, he would  oversee  both  the Kolkata properties, namely ITC Sonar and ITC Royal Bengal.   Additionally  as  the  new  upcoming  WelcomHotel  properties  at Bhubaneshwar,  Kathmandu  and Port Blair become operative, the same will be under his leadership

Mr. Tejinder Singh,  popularly  known  as 'Teji' began his journey more than two decades back  at ITC Maurya in 1994 as a management trainee. Since then he has held senior  management  positions  at  several  ITC Hotels in Delhi, Jaipur and Hyderabad.

He has also garnered management expertise through international exposure in the  aviation industry as the General Manager Customer Services & in-flight Dining for Europe, UK & North America based in Brussels and subsequently as the General Manager Service Delivery & Guest Experience for the brand.

An  integral  part  of  the  pre-opening team as the General Manager of ITC Kohenur,  Teji,  was  one of the leaders for positioning and launch of this 274  luxury  destination  located  in the heart of Hyderabad’s new business district  (HITEC  City)

He  has been a core member of the pre-opening team of ITC Hotels and has played an integral role in the launch of several hotels, namely ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, WelcomHotel Jodhpur, WelcomHotel Bella  Vista, Chandigarh, ITC Grand Bharat, Gurugram as well as WelcomHotel Dwarka, New Delhi

 He  has  also  served  as  the Resident Manager of ITC’s flagship Hotel ITC Maurya, New Delhi in 2014 and the General Manager of ITC Rajputana in 2015.

Hilton closes 1,000 hotels, experiences 56% decline in revenue per room resulting from coronavirus

Hilton Hotels' preliminary systemwide first-quarter estimate of revenue per available room showed a 56% to 58% decline for March, according to the company's filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

For the company's hotels in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, revenue per room is down 62% to 64% for March, which is slightly worse than Hilton properties in North and South America, which are down 54% to 56%.

These numbers are all better than the hotel's revenue per room in the Asia/Pacific region, which declined 74% to 76% in March.

As of April 14, 1,000 Hilton Hotels have suspended operations, which accounts for 16% of the chain's total global properties.

Marriott hotels also expect to report a decline of at least 23% in revenue per room for the first quarter. 

About 25% of Marriott's 7,300 hotels around the world are temporarily closed as a result of coronavirus travel fallout, according to a business update from the company

Hotel occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per available room were down significantly year-over-year for the week of April 5-11, according to a report from STR, a firm that analyzes hospitality industry data. 

More than 15,000 hotels signed up for a new American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) initiative called "Hospitality for Hope," which matches hotels with government agencies in need, offering temporary housing for emergency and health care workers amid the pandemic.

Hotels may be in a position to offer rooms near a hospital they have a relationship with. When relatives of sick patients come to an area, hotels reach out to hospital leadership to offer a discounted rate.

Georgia to Reopen Restaurant Dining Rooms on April 27

In a move to kickstart his state’s economy, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced that nonessential businesses can reopen and restaurants can serve dine-in customers once again .

 Theaters, private social clubs and restaurant dine-in services will return albeit with “specific social distancing and sanitation mandates.” Bars, nightclubs, amusement parks, and performance venues will remain closed. More information about guidelines will be released .

 Places of worship will be allowed to hold in-person services and essential elective surgeries will be allowed. 

“By taking this measured action, we will get Georgians back to work safely without undermining the progress that we have all made in the battle against COVID-19,” 

Kemp said the state is “on track to meeting phase one,” which calls for venues like restaurants and movie theaters to operate under “strict physical distancing protocols.”

“By expanding our hospital bed capacity—including the temporary facility at the Georgia World Congress Center—we have the ability to treat patients without crisis care in hospital settings. Our proactive actions have reduced stress and strain on area hospitals as well as the communities and families that they serve.”

Georgia’s shelter in place order remains in effect through the end of April. Although he is reopening businesses prior to April 30, Kemp asked citizens to limit travel and wear face masks when in public. The governor said the elderly and those with underlying conditions should be prepared to shelter in place until at least May 13

Marriott plans to spray disinfectant in guest rooms, sanitize keys to stop COVID-19

From spraying guest rooms with disinfectant to sanitizing room keys, hotel giant Marriott International became one of the first major hotel groups to outline how it plans to reassure guests of cleanliness in the age of the coronavirus

Guests may notice some of the changes from the moment they step into a Marriott property: Furniture in public areas will be rearranged to promote social distancing.

Marriott's promise of a new level of cleanliness may be an early sign of changes that will sweep the hotel industry as chains and individual properties compete to lure guests by offering the most coronavirus-resistant environment. The strategy could be critical to trying to create a rebound for hotels as stay-at-home orders are lifted and travel resumes.

In perhaps the biggest change, Marriott said it will use electrostatic sprayers with hospital-grade disinfectants to sanitize throughout the hotel. Besides guest rooms, the sprayers will be used in lobbies, gyms and other public areas. It said the cleaning agents used would be those recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization to kill all known pathogens.

The company is testing ultraviolet light technology for sanitizing room keys, and adding hand sanitizer stations and signs in the lobby to remind anyone who enters to keep their distance from others. Marriott is also taking a look at what to do at properties that offer buffet service.

Accor to launch cleaning standards certification 'label' post-coronavirus lockdown

Accor has partnered with testing, inspection and certification provider Bureau Veritas to develop a ‘label’ certifying that appropriate safety standards and cleaning protocols have been achieved.

The label will cover both accommodation and catering, and will set the sanitary standards applicable to all of the group’s hotels, “as well as to other chains and independent hotels”.

Accor said that the project had been carried out in partnership with doctors and epidemiologists, and had been developed in collaboration with Accor owners and trade associations.

Concrete proposals will be submitted initially to the French government and subsequently to relevant European governments, ministries and committees, and the result of the project will be “an operational guide made available to all stakeholders in the hospitality industry, enabling them to rigorously apply the health and safety recommendation of authorities (WHO, Health Ministry etc), both in guest services spaces and in back office and catering spaces”.

“Welcoming, protecting and taking care of others is the very DNA of Accor and at the heart of what we do. Today, more than ever, our employees, customers and partners need to be reassured of our ability to offering them the best welcome possible.

“As the European leader in hospitality, it is our duty to anticipate needs and respond to health and safety requirements by adhering to the highest standards. We are pleased to be pioneering this drive with Bureau Veritas and to extend it to all stakeholders.”