The hospitality industry took a major blow in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as vaccines continue to roll out and case numbers decline across the country, hotels, venues, and other public spaces are looking to rebound this summer. This major increase in demand is undeniably great news for hotel owners, but those who aren’t prepared to handle such an influx of guests this year may find themselves struggling to keep their customers satisfied. You’ve got plenty of bases to cover in preparation for the busy period, but cleanliness and safety should be your top priorities. Here’s how to get your hotel properly sanitized in time for the summer rush.
How to Sanitize Your Hotel
Create and Optimize a Sanitation Schedule
Lacking a plan of attack for sanitation is a recipe for disaster. Without clear direction, certain duties and areas may get neglected while others receive more attention than is necessary. To ensure your entire facility gets the care it needs, establish a thorough cleaning checklist and schedule for your janitorial cleaning services to follow. This itinerary should be well organized and prioritized — commonly used areas and shared spaces like fitness centers, restaurants, pools, and your main lobby should receive plenty of attention throughout the day, and guest rooms will need to be cleaned and sanitized frequently, sometimes several times a day. Your schedule should also be separated into specific tasks. Commercial floor cleaning services, for instance, might be tasked with deep cleaning floors once a week. The more clockwork-like your schedule is, the easier it will be to maintain a pristine hotel before, during, and after the summer rush.
Keep COVID Concerns in Mind
In the U.S., the COVID-19 pandemic is on track to be much less of a threat by mid-summer than it’s been for most of its duration. That said, COVID is still a risk, and hotels must continue to do what they can to reduce the transmission of this disease and give their guests peace of mind. Before and during the summer rush, make sure your cleaning staff performs necessary disinfection duties when tackling different hotel areas. You might consider hiring dedicated disinfection services to perform deeper disinfection just before the summer rush to ensure your facility is in proper shape for the increased traffic. To put customer’s minds at ease and reduce some of the burden on your cleaning staff, you can also provide guests with COVID-19 supplies in their rooms (i.e., hand sanitizers, disinfectant sprays, microfiber cloths, branded masks, etc.) so everyone can maintain their own spaces as they see fit.
Step Up Your Staffing
More occupancy means more work to be done to keep your hotel clean, sanitary, and beautiful. If you’re looking to prepare your facility for the summer rush, now is a good time to bolster your staff. Put out ads for hotel housekeeping jobs, ask current employees if they’d like to increase their hours, consider giving raises and bonuses for those working more challenging summertime shifts, and so on. The sooner you start hiring, training, and incentivizing your staff, the more prepared you’ll be to handle the inevitable increase in foot traffic this summer.
Clear the Air
Lastly, as important as it is to keep your hotel surfaces clean and disinfected, you can reduce this workload by maintaining clean indoor air. Indeed, improving your indoor air quality (IAQ) will reduce the amount of pollutants in the air (i.e., dust, pollen, germs), many of which eventually land on floors, furniture, and other surfaces and/or otherwise enter one’s lungs. You can increase your IAQ by periodically inspecting and cleaning your HVAC system components, changing out air filters as recommended by the manufacturer, allowing fresh air in by opening doors and windows, placing plant life in common areas, and more. These efforts also play into air disinfection for coronavirus, so maintaining proper IAQ is also part of your COVID-19 safety protocols.
The summer rush for hotels is right around the corner. Are you prepared to impress and protect your guests this year? If you need a helping hand, look no further than The Budd Group. We offer a wide range of cleaning, disinfection, maintenance, and facility management solutions for clients across all industries. To learn more about our services and values, give us a call today at 800-221-8158!