How Hotels Always trying to find the newest and greatest amenity to seduce guests. The latest perk has hit the hospitality industry, and it’s not rooftop yoga – it’s a COVID-19 test. Find out how the hotel can benefit from it Investors.

Room service and a COVID-19 test please

International travelers now have one more reason besides wanting a late night snack to call room service. You can ask a doctor to come to your room for either a rapid antigen test or a PCR COVID-19 test. Or guests can go to a special test room, depending on the hotel’s facilities.

COVID-19 travel request

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) prefer that you not travel at all while traveling Coronavirus pandemic. But for people who “Got to“Travel, the CDC, made it mandatory for all passengers over 2 years of age to pass a negative COVID-19 test on January 26, 2021, which was done within 72 hours of flying to the US. Unless you have a negative test result , do not get on the plane.

The new requirement was traveling

The CDC testing requirement put a damper on international travel – even greater than what had already happened to travel during the coronavirus. Both domestic and international travel declined significantly in December 2020, accounting for 40% of trips purchased from 2019. Potential travelers didn’t want to risk being quarantined from home if they received COVID-19.

Following the CDC’s announcement, international travel declined even further – to 23% of 2019 sales – mainly due to confusion over the new policy and additional framework for travel. Something had to be done.

It’s big in the Caribbean

The first users to provide COVID-19 tests were mainly Caribbean and Latin American hotels. In many countries in these regions, unlike many other international travel destinations, there are no COVID-19 travel restrictions taboo to Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.

It makes sense for hotels

Hotels are in business to seduce and make guests happy, and one way to do that is by offering popular amenities. A COVID-19 test is now making the cut.

If all U.S. residents over 2 years old are required to get a COVID-19 test (and negative test) prior to boarding the U.S., the greatest convenience if the hotel offers the required test. If you don’t offer a test, guests may not come at all. If you are looking for a test facility in an unfamiliar location or you have to go to the airport earlier to test, people may be waiting for the trip.

The tests have shown that they make a difference. In the Nayara Gardens in Costa Rica, for example, the owner Leo Ghitis told the story Conde Nast Traveler that anyone who calls to make a reservation asks about testing options.

The costs

Depending on the type of test guests desired, the price can be high: a low of about $ 22 for a rapid antigen test to a high of up to $ 250 for a PCR test ($ 390 for an accelerated PCR test in a Four Seasons Resort in the Bahamas) – just another item on the hotel bill. However, some hotels, such as various Hyatt Hotels (NYSE: H) and Eden Roc Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic, are offering free trials for a limited time.

If you test positive, many hotels offer discounted rates for your quarantine period of 10 to 14 days. In the Bahamas, visitors are required to purchase health insurance that covers the cost of a quarantine room, medical care if necessary, or a private flight back to the US for travelers who prefer to be quarantined at home.

The bottom line of Millionacres

The ability to have a COVID-19 test at your hotel may not be possible typical amenity Looking for travelers. But these are not typical times. Anything that can bring the hospitality industry back to life should be good news for investors.