When the dust settles on the Covid-19 Pandemic and travel resumes throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world, there will need to be a strong focus on cleanliness if hotels wish to obtain the occupancy levels they had before.

This will need to go beyond a simple place card in the room that says “Hi, your room is clean.” Indeed, if hotels wish to survive in a post-virus world, there will need to be tangible, measurable and numerous cleanliness measures taken throughout the property to make guests feel safe and comfortable.

Many parts of the world are already taking proactive steps to address this. Singapore, which is consistently ranked among the worlds cleanest cities, recently announced a program that will audit hotels and give them a “clean bill of health” if they meet 7 criteria. Most of the requirements revolve around the staff and a more rigid cleaning schedule. This includes increasing frequency in which common facilities are cleaned, having processes in place to take employees temperature and other similar requirements.

This is a great start, and I strongly believe other countries will follow Singapores lead and come out with programs of their own. However, to take it to the next level, hotels will need to fundamentally address high touch point areas in the room and consider going above and beyond traditional cleaning practices.

Below we discuss 4 high touch point areas in the room, and what hotels can do to improve consumer confidence in the cleanliness of the room.

Sinks

Starting off our list is the place where we all go to wash our hands, face and to brush our teeth. The bathroom sink is one of those places that sees so much use that it’s no surprise that it provides an ideal breeding ground for germs. So what can hotels do?

Touchless sinks and faucets have been making their way into commercial and consumer spaces for the past couple decades. But how often does the hotel guest room have one? I couldn’t find much data online, but I for one can’t remember ever seeing one in the guest room itself (This doesn’t include public bathrooms). We think that will change in the very near future.

Remote Control

A study from 2012 showed that the TV remotes is the MOST bacteria laden surface in the hotel guest room. That’s right. Not the sink, not the light switch, not even the toilet. The TV remote! But why is that? Doesn’t housekeeping wipe down the TV remote between stays? Sure, they do, but the issue is dirt, grime and other bacteria often find their way into crevices of the remote that are very difficult to clean.

Solutions to this problem have popped up over the years. One such popular one is the “clean remote” which has a flat surface and buttons that protrude out which make it easier to clean and more difficult for germs to make their way into hard to reach places. .

This is a great start! But keep an eye out for another product coming soon that takes this to another level. Sign up here for more information when we have it.

Light Switches

See a trend forming here? The objects with the highest concentration of germs tend to be in places that we touch without even thinking about it. The light switch is no exception, and according to one study - it’s one of the 10 most germ infested places in the guest-room.

We’ve seen several hotels address this in the past couple of years by adding smart controls to their guestrooms. One such solution from Brilliant allows guests to turn the lights on and off by either voice control or motion sensors.

This trend has been going on for a while, and it will become an even bigger part of a hotel's strategy in a post-covid world.

Phone/Mobile Device Charger

This one is a little unique, because it doesn’t actually apply to the product itself, but rather what guests bring with them. I’m talking, of course, about our mobile phones. I’m sure we’ve all seen the reports coming out that our phone is essentially a breeding ground for bacteria and other germs. Not hard to see why. We often use it while eating, drinking, hanging out with others, and (don’t lie) while using the bathroom.

The fact that our phones are so dirty isn’t something new, but it is something that the majority of consumers didn’t seem to pay much attention to. We think that’s going to drastically change as this crisis winds down. So how can hotels address this new concern going forward? Once easy way would be to provide cleaning wipes right at the nightstand with a little note that says “use me to keep your phone clean.” Not the most elegant solution but it still shows guests that you are thinking about their health and safety.

Conclusion

No one knows when the hospitality industry and broader economy will return to some semblance of “normal.” But no doubt this current crisis we’re all facing will fundamentally change how many consumers will act once travel starts picking back up again.

While this certainly is a challenge, it also provides a unique opportunity for hotels to set themselves apart from their competitors. The ones that survive in a post-covid world, are the ones that do what it takes to make guests feel comfortable and safe.