What started as an unknown virus, today, it has flipped the lives of people upside down. Almost every single part of the world is under lockdown, fighting this common enemy.
However, despite the fact that things look so bleak right now, the truth is that all epidemics end sometime. And witnessing how the world is uniting, the end of this pandemic is predicted to be much sooner than we anticipate.
Lockdowns will be lifted, hotel businesses will start functioning, travelers will have itchy and come out of their homes.
But there are certain things that hotels would need to keep in mind while operating post COVID episode considering the safety of guests and their employees. And in this article, we at Hotelogix list down 5 points that hotels should focus on when they get back to business.
#1 Minimize The Use Of Elevator As Much As Possible
To stay safe from this ill-famed virus, people need to maintain social distancing. And elevators are one of those places that don’t go hand-in-hand with social distancing.
It is important for hotel owners to make sure that the use of lift is as minimal as possible. But how to do that? Well, here are the things you can do:
- If your hotel has more than 3 floors, then it is advised to not sell rooms beyond the third floor. Guests having a room on the higher floor would increase the use of elevators in your hotel.
- However, there’s another thing hotels can do who choose to sell rooms even on the higher floor. Hotels need to set certain guidelines for the use of the elevator.
- Not more than two people would be allowed to use the lift.
- Use of mask (one time use) inside the elevator is mandatory
- Guest would have to stand on designated spots marked inside the lift
#2 Hold A Room For At Least 24 Hours
One of the biggest concerns for a guest would be about the room s/he is going to stay. And as a hotelier, you have to ensure complete safety.
Here is a certain protocol that you have to follow:
- Every time a guest checks out, make sure the room is blocked for the next 24 hours.
- During that 24 hours’ time interval, sanitise the room multiple times.
However, there may be instances when you would fail to seamlessly keep track of your rooms — whether it’s in terms of housekeeping or in terms of inventory. This is where a robust PMS comes into the picture.
Hotelogix PMS and its modules like housekeeping, channel manager connect etc. automate your operations. With the housekeeping module, you can keep a track on rooms — how many times they are sanitized and whether they are available for sell again.
Talking about the channel manager, when you block a room for 24 hours, it would update your room inventory in real-time in OTA’s and other channels.
#3 A Different Approach To Housekeeping Tasks
‘Cleaning With Colours’ is proved to be one of the effective ways for housekeeping departments to achieve hygiene — not just for hotels but also for medical centres, schools, daycares, nursing homes etc.
But what exactly ‘Cleaning With Colours’ is?
It is basically a colour-coded cleaning program where cleaning products such as rags, towels and cloths with different colours are used to clean different items.
For example, you can use:
- Red-coloured cleaning equipment for areas with a higher risk of cross-contamination such as toilets and urinals
- Blue for lower-risk areas such as common areas
- Green for areas where food is handled and prepared. Or, it can even be used to glass, mirrors etc.
- Yellow for objects and surfaces in rooms such as furniture
Having such a program in place for housekeeping would definitely prevent the risk of spreading germs and help you achieve that much anticipated hygienic hotel.
#4 Eliminate The Frontdesk
The hotel Frontdesk is one of the busiest spots. Guests come in, stand in queues to check-in, and this is where you must implement social distancing.
One of the best ways to go about it is by eliminating the frontdesk.
- Instead of having guests queued by, you can rather give them the option to check-in online
- You can also designate space in the lobby for them to sit and wait for a moment while you do their checking through a tablet or a mobile phone.
It is much more important than ever to keep your hotel check-in and checkout process completely contactless.
Hotel technology has evolved tremendously in the past couple years and PMS providers like Hotelogix has powered their system with the best techs available.
Hotelogix Mobile PMS is the world’s most powerful mobile app for hotel management. And while social distancing is the need of the hour at this point in time, Hotelogix Mobile PMS is what hoteliers need. You can manage your entire hotel operations from the convenience of your smartphone — from anywhere, anytime.
This smart Mobile Hotel PMS App offers the convenience of super-fast check-in and check out to your guests and enhance their experience. One can quickly scan guest IDs from 80+ countries from your mobile and finish the check-in a few seconds.
#5 Offer Room Service Rather Than Dine In
Another aspect that a hotelier needs to keep in mind while implementing social distancing and hygiene protocols is to eliminate dine in.
If your hotel has a bar or a restaurant, you must ensure that you are only offering room service and not dine in. This would help your guests to avoid social gathering and have more contactless activities in your property.
However, to keep track of each and every order and all the POS outlet activity, your hotel needs a reliable POS management system. Hotelogix PMS is one such system that comes with a POS software module. This cloud-based POS module lets you manage a wide variety of services at your property by letting you set up unlimited ‘Point of Sale’ outlets. Whether it’s about selling directly to the guests, transfer to the room as “Room Service”, or bill directly to the company, Hotelogix POS does it all.
Outlook
The COVID-19 pandemic is inevitably going to end. And while hotel businesses are on halt, it is much more imperative than ever for hotels to focus on making their operations better. It’s time for hotels to look back and audit their entire system and look for room for improvement.
