Cleanliness has long been a factor in a hotel’s rating and customer satisfaction. Post-COVID life for hospitality industry necessary safety precautions guests now expect, while still providing standout rememberable experience.
Travel Industry Turned Upside Down
When governments started closing down their economy which force most hotels, such as The Joule and Great Wolf Lodge, to close with staggered and ever-changing reopening schedules. Over the past decades, travel saw consistent growth even when financial crises and epidemics affected the global economy. COVID-19 created a completely different situation. According to a McKinsey report most hotels won’t see pre-covid occupancy rates until at least 2023.
No more fabric blinds, curtains or shades
Fabric curtains are harder to sanitize compared to other materials like glass or even wood and can rapidly become contaminated with microorganisms. According to a Buzzfeed article about what gets cleaned the least, for example, hotels only dust drapes every four weeks and clean shower curtains once every quarter. Hotel sector has seen revenue declines more than four times greater than during the previous two crises, global financial crisis and SARS epidemic of 2003, combined. Forcing many to close their doors, either temporarily or even permanently. Revenue per available room recovery may not happen until 2024.
Hotel curtains are a host to harmful disease spreading bacteria and costly to sanitize, not to mention high end hotels have fine quality linens requires expensive specialized cleaning protocols, which usually leads to curtains shrinking or being damaged, which requires additional replacement costs. In Dallas-Fort Worth a standard 300-bed luxury hotel, the annual hotel curtain expense can quickly add up to almost $400,000. Luxury hotels that shift to smarter technological solutions for light control and privacy that are easier to maintain and limit guest exposure to germs.
Polyvision Privacy Glass
Compared to fabric, glass windows and partitions are easier to sanitize with bleach and more cost-effective, helping hotels improve their bottom line. Community or frequently touched by guests and employees such as lobbies and conference rooms, Polyvision® Privacy Glass allows your guests and employees to choose when they want privacy or transparency to enjoy the view. Polyvision® Privacy Glass is cleaned just like normal glass, making it a smarter and more versatile solutions for the hospitality industry.
Post-COVID Life is a prime opportunity to renovate existing hotels and plan for future projects. The future might be unclear right now, but one thing is clear: when travel picks up again it will be hotels that create the cleanest spaces in the smartest ways that’ll come out on top. While the initial cost for Polyvision® Privacy Glass is more expensive, the short-term and long-term ROI is far greater as Polyvision® Privacy Glass does not require maintenance besides standard glass cleaners and disinfection.