Firstly, the safety and health of the guests and employees are always the top priority. Health should come first and therefore we should take all the required measures to ensure a healthy and safe environment in the hotel's industry. Strict instructions and guidelines must be implemented by international, national, and local public health organizations, including the World Health Organization, and safety precautions should be enforced, including enhanced hygiene measures.
This is a very rapidly evolving situation with some perspective on how the situation will progress in the weeks to come. Flexibility and agility are essential. A crisis is to become the "new norm," whether economic, social, environmental, or health, and then we all shall adapt our business model and practices to this new paradigm.
Overall, not going into a panic mode is crucial, but rather look beyond the current difficulties and get ready for the process of recovery that already started.
How easily can Coronavirus spread?
Scientists do not exactly know how it's being passed on, or how quickly it can be transmitted. Many of the initially reported cases were directly tied to a market in Wuhan, China. But some of the following infections were clear examples of transmitting from person to person.
What are the symptoms of this infection?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health officials have studied more, they have seen a broader range of symptoms. Generally, health authorities say cough, high temperature, runny nose, and shortness of breath are all signs of this viral infection. In hospitals, several patients were cured and released within a few days.
Now, what hotel operators should start doing?
Hotel operators should respond rapidly and implement preventive measures. This can be achieved by integrating health initiatives such as traveler infection prevention, raising awareness, and risk communication.
In action, this can look like this:
- Communicate with your employees and always remind them of the importance of washing hands;
- Stock up on face masks, antibacterial gel, and hand soap to make sure guests and staff stay as healthy as possible;
- Notify your hotel guests that sanitary facilities are available and risk mitigation measures have been adopted by the hotel management;
- Be aware there is a chance that the hand sanitizer will run out of hand soon.
- Implement a mandatory temperature check for all your staff reporting for work.
Factors to consider there are currently no vaccines available to protect anyone from infection with the human coronavirus. By doing the following, you might be able to reduce the risk of infection:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth with dirty or unwashed hands
- Avoid any close contact with ill or infected people
- Cover the mouth and nose when sneezing
- Maintain at least a 1m distance between yourself and other people
As Technology is taking over, you can now track the latest news development about COVID-19 all over the world, alongside collecting data for further analysis. Corona Tracker is a tracker that provides the number of cases and deaths from novel coronavirus by country, the trend in the case and death counts by country, and a global map showing which countries have cases and deaths.
The objective of all the procedures mentioned above is to ensure that the spread of the virus is minimized within the hotel premises and to ensure that proper procedures are followed. And that’s how Hotels can instill confidence and trust in their guests and staff and make them confident that they are acting responsibly.
