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.
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