COVID-19 may have resulted in job loss, but the hotel industry’s new emphasis on safety and doing more activities outdoors has resulted in many jobs coming out of the pandemic as well, all in the name of ensuring guests that they are safe.
Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa in California now has a Hygiene and Wellbeing Champion. This person goes through specific training that is in line with property’s pending GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation. The job supports ongoing COVID safety protocols, working with every department within the hotel.
At Carmel Valley Ranch, also in California, the director of housekeeping is the lead for the wellness and hygiene manager, who also oversees two additional hygiene employees. Extensive training includes forensic cleaning on a scientific level.
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Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach in Florida has social distancing ambassadors stationed at the pool, fitness center and lobby. These ambassadors ensure guests aren’t crowding too closely and that furniture remains six feet apart.
A key part of Marriott International’s “Commitment to Clean” initiative is a cleanliness champion at all its properties globally. At Monterey Marriott Hotel in California, for example, that role has been assumed by the director of event planning. In collaboration with the senior operations manager and housekeeping team, the cleanliness champion ensures Marriott’s Commitment to Clean guidelines are being met. Cleanliness champions are required to complete a monthly recertification to ensure they are up to speed with the latest Marriott guidelines.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises has implemented a “Healthy Sail Panel” to develop its health and safety standards. The panel consists of 11 experts from around the world with backgrounds in areas such as public health, medical research, infectious disease, biosecurity, and hospitality and maritime operations. The panel is co-chaired by Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Mike Leavitt, former governor of Utah and former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Mint House is a tech-heavy hotel company, and while it doesn’t feature space for meeting, the apartment-style accommodations are perfect for a work-from-home setting and, with contactless check-in and checkout, keyless entry, and customized groceries waiting upon arrival, guests hardly need touch common-area surfaces at all. The property’s mint clean standard officer ensures the Mint Clean Standard, developed in collaboration with Ron Klain, the Obama administration’s Ebola czar, is being upheld.
But not all new coronavirus-related jobs are focused specifically on hygiene. Some properties are making the most of the increasing number of business and leisure travelers who want to get outside. The Bristol Hotel in Virginia has a resident Appalachian adventurer who curates hiking routes, leads guests on guided hikes, creates fly-fishing itineraries and coordinates outdoor excursions for guests to experience Southern Appalachia and the renowned Appalachian Trail.
Inns of Aurora in New York has built a 3-mile trail and appointed an outdoorsman who creates custom outdoor adventures and leads private lessons in fresh-air activities such as archery, outdoor identification—identifying plants, trees and animal tracks—and fishing.
