Hilton, Hyatt and Others Pull Back the Curtain on Making Hygiene More Than Theater
Photo Credit: Critics argue safety measures like temperature checks are more theatrical than effective against the spread of coronavirus. Hotel brands say they help build guest confidence. Wikimedia / NeferJanah Meistrup
Skift Take
Strong communication and decision-making power at the local level are key to making heightened hotel cleaning measures succeed in an ever-changing pandemic information environment.
The world’s largest hotel companies maintain that their array of coronavirus-inspired heightened cleaning and safety measures are an effective way to bring back guests following the worst year for travel.
Staffers at Marriott now clean with electrostatic sprayers. Hilton zeroes in on scrubbing high-touch points in a guest room and offers a contactless hotel stay. Wyndham is even expanding mobile check-in and check-out and digital key technology to the economy sector at brands like Days Inn and Howard Johnson.
Some of the hotel industry’s new safety and cleaning measures were criticized for being less about effectiveness and more about “hygiene theater” to win over guest confidence.
But hotel companies defend the practices, calling them effective while touting the role cleaning theatrics play in a travel industry recovery.
“Our hotels have always been clean, but now we’re focused on a clean with a double-exclamation point,” said Phil Cordell, global head of new
