- Hotels strive to bring travelers back to their accommodations.
- Some offer on-site testing for groups planning events at their hotels.
- The hope is that the test protocols will make the groups feel like they are booking a stay.
- You can find more stories in Insider’s business section.
Hotels have all sorts of new options Jump-start your business amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For some, on-site testing is the newest tool to get group travel back into full swing.
The hotel industry relies on group travel for almost a quarter of its annual business – a collective term for vacationers and business travelers who stay in a hotel.
As the pandemic has canceled, postponed or even postponed conferences, trade shows, weddings and other events online, this industry segment has seen a sharp decline. For example, Marriott International said in its quarterly earnings call on February 18 that group bookings are expected to decrease 57% in 2021 compared to 2019.
The potential salvation for group companies of hotel brands like Marriott, Hyatt and Hilton is the continued spread of the coronavirus vaccine. Executives from each company announced earlier this month that their group businesses are expected to recover in late 2021 and through 2022 in line with these efforts.
To increase confidence that events can be held safely at short notice while the vaccine rollout continues, some hotels are introducing test protocols that organizers can set up for their meetings.
For example in selected Marriott hotels in the USA. Groups scheduling meetings can choose to use protocols including “self-administered COVID-19 tests performed by the guest prior to travel, COVID-19 tests performed by an external testing provider on-site at the hotel, daily and / or pre-arrival questions about health screening via a dedicated mobile application and daily temperature checks to enter the event area, “Stephanie Linnartz, president of Marriott International, recently told Insider.
Meanwhile, Wynn Resorts is working with the University Medical Center in southern Nevada to build a COVID-19 test lab on company premises in Las Vegas. The company intends to use the testing functionality to approve guests who tested negative to attend events such as concerts, conventions, or other meetings.
“Extensive research clearly shows that people are being kept away not so much from the physical environment we are diligently sterilizing as they are from fear of other people. We need to alleviate that fear,” said Matt Maddox, CEO of Wynn Resorts wrote in an op-ed in October.
Pre-event testing has been a common topic of conversation as states develop their own guidelines for reopening business amid the pandemic.
For example, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced in late January that weddings of up to 150 people could take place indoors from March 15, provided every guest had previously tested negative for COVID-19.
Companies like Binding systems and EventScan offer on-site testing for gatherings such as weddings and conferences.
And many hotel chains, including Marriott, Hyatt, and Hilton, have offers on-site tests at international locations So that travelers can meet the CDC’s requirement that they take a negative COVID-19 test before boarding the United States.
Of course, taking a negative COVID test isn’t a foolproof way to prevent the virus from spreading in an event with a large number of people, as the test can only show a person’s infectivity at any given time. Epidemiologists say When it comes to stopping the spread, testing is best used in conjunction with masking and social distancing.
However, hotel managers seem optimistic that testing services can at least partially alleviate concerns.
Kimberly Wilson, senior vice president of global sales for Preferred Hotels & Resorts, told Insider that having a “growing number of hotels offering guest reviews” can help “address those concerns and enable travel buying companies to new and evolve.” Business travel build guidelines that reflect the time. “
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