COVID-19 Recovery: Leveraging Technology to Manage New Industry Standards Post-Coronavirus

As the hospitality industry looks towards an uncertain future, in the wake of COVID-19, many hotels have stepped up their cleaning standards, hygiene practices, and operational procedures in an effort to ensure the health and safety of hotel staff and guests once the industry is back up and running. Major hotel chains such as Best Western, Hilton, and Marriott have already introduced new standards of cleanliness and hygiene at their properties, with the rest of the hospitality industry likely to follow suit. With many countries, states, and provinces easing their lockdowns gradually, there is opportunity for the hoteliers to adapt to the new norms, such as continued social distancing and heightened levels of cleaning processes that await the hospitality industry in the coming months.

With that being said, hotels will need to be more accountable going forward, as it will be necessary to demonstrate to both staff and guests that the hotel is doing everything possible to provide a safe and clean environment. While housekeeping procedures were fairly standardized across the hospitality industry in the past, this pandemic has presented a new set of challenges for hoteliers in particular. It simply will not be enough to say that your hotel is following more strict cleaning guidelines, rather hoteliers will need to be more proactive and regimented with their approach and documentation when it comes to cleanliness. One way hoteliers can do just that is to implement modern technology that meets the needs of the post-coronavirus hospitality industry.

Manage Your Hotel Better with Mobile Property Management Software
For hotels to be able to improve their operational procedures, they first need a property management software solution, such as Chorum PMS, to better understand and manage their hotel on a daily basis. With the ability to view real-time information such as occupancy rates and upcoming reservations directly from their own clean and sanitized mobile device, hoteliers can ensure their hotel does not become overcrowded, which could potentially put staff and guests at risk. In the early stages when travel has just resumed, the last thing a hotelier wants is a hotel that is full of guests standing around in the lobby or too many people checking in or out at the same time. While the prospect of new bookings is enticing, the potential negative impact from guest sentiment at a hotel that is perceived as not following industry standards could quickly offset any initial revenue incurred. However, by leveraging a mobile property management software system, hoteliers can take control of their hotel operations and ensure that their hotel is at the optimal occupancy to generate revenue, while not dissuading guests from staying at their property. Through taking control of your hotel and making decisions based on real-time information, you can ensure your hotel has the appropriate staff in place to keep the hotel clean and guests safe, which will be of the utmost importance in the early stages of the turnaround.

Keeping Your Staff Safe and Protected
The value of your hotel staff during this transition period can truly make the difference between a guest feeling comfortable at your hotel and a negative experience. With that being said, it is imperative hoteliers provide their staff with a safe and secure working environment. At the front desk, there is the highest amount of risk due to the regular communication with guests who are checking in and out. While property management systems with integrated mobile applications can help promote social distancing and reduce crowding in the lobby, as mentioned in our previous article, guests may opt not to check in or out digitally. In this case, it is best to invest in other means of protecting both the guests and staff. Property management software that integrates with systems such as EMV chip card readers greatly reduce the need for hotel staff to hand terminals back and forth between customers, which is also beneficial for the guest as well. Even solutions that integrate with mobile key providers can also help to limit unnecessary physical contact between staff and guest. The bottom line is ensuring you have the right system in place that is built on modern technology and is capable of integrating with existing, as well as future solutions, to ensure your property is ready to handle this new wave of hotel guests. Learn more about hotel front desk software that does all of this and more.

In addition, other staff members such as housekeepers will need to be protected as well. With many hotels opting to reduce full cleaning services daily, software must be in place to manage this. A property management software solution that allows for customizable housekeeping offerings is essential to tracking and managing this process. In doing so, housekeepers will be able to know what rooms require a full cleaning, thus reducing the time spent in unclean rooms, helping to keep housekeeping staff safe in the process. When cleaning does occur, housekeepers are able to document anything unsafe or unsanitary in the room from a mobile device, which is automatically updated in the property management system and is instantly available for a technician or the front desk to view. Once a room has been approved as clean, the same process applies, and the room can be marked as available – reducing the interaction between housekeeping and the front desk.

Moving Forward Backed by Modern Technology
While the prospect of re-opening can be a scary thought for both hoteliers and guests, the reality is that hotels will soon be opening their doors with stricter and more stringent safety and cleanliness protocols. With these new standards, comes new challenges of managing them, and having the right property management software in place can be the difference between a hotel’s success and failure. Making the investment in a modern, cloud-based solution such as Chorum PMS, can help keep your hotel on track with your new hygiene standards and manage your new operational procedures. Keeping guests and staff safe is the objective for all parties involved, and with the goal of enhancing cleaning protocols and maintaining social distancing, technology will play an important part in doing just that.

For more information and resources, please visit our Hospitality Industry Resources page and check out our other recent blog posts. If you would like more information on the Jonas Chorum suite of software solutions, please visit our contact page or request a demo.