A stampede of hotel companies has recently made announcements to tack hygiene onto their brand images, and the latest in the race is Hyatt. But this Chicago-based company, which has long touted wellness as a core value, wants to come from behind to take the lead.
Its Global Care & Cleanliness Commitment, which was announced this week, tackles the nose-to-tail hotel experience—from health and hygiene to food and beverage safety, to technology and even how spaces will henceforth be designed.
See also: Marriott Unveils New Global Cleanliness Council to Fight COVID-19
Mark Hoplamazian, Hyatt president and CEO, said the announcement “is an important expression of our purpose to care for people so they can be their best—now and in the future.”
Measures to be undertaken include:
- Accreditation by GBAC STAR at Hyatt’s more than 900 hotels worldwide.In May, the company plans to introduce this “performance-based cleaning, disinfection and infectious-disease prevention program.” GBAC is Global Biorisk Advisory Council, a division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, and is composed of leaders in “microbial-pathogenic threat analysis and mitigation, designed specifically to deal with biological threats and real-time crises like the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a Hyatt press release. The company is the first hospitality brand to announce its global pursuit of this
- A working group of trusted medical experts and leading industry professionals from organizations like Georgetown University Medical Center, American Airlines, Ecolab and Global Wellness Institute. Other advisors include representatives from Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine, Maritz Global Events, technology company Sofinfi and Gensler, the architecture firm.
- Hygiene managers appointed at every Hyatt hotel by September whose job it will be to train staff; oversee enhanced disinfection with hospital-grade products; implement stepped-up food safety and hygiene protocols for its restaurants, group meetings and events, and room service; provide protective masks and other equipment for hotel staff; make sure social distancing is observed in public areas; and explore devices for air purification.
Hyatt also intends to share safety and hygiene learnings with American Airlines.
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“As a key part of our loyalty collaboration with Hyatt, we are committed to looking at the holistic experience of our customers with a special focus on their well-being,” said Julie Rath, vice president of customer experience, innovation and delivery at American. “The benefit of this collaboration is that we can share insights from our enhancements to cleaning and protective procedures while applying best practices from Hyatt to elements of our operation.”
