The Hygiene Factor

When hotels and airlines can open their doors to travellers again, the question on many people's lips will be “How do I know it's safe?”

This year the world has changed. Things we took for granted are now off limits, dreamed about and coveted. But as much as we may dream about getting back out into the world, we are now doing so with a heightened alertness to the dangers that put the world on pause.

For hotels and airlines, addressing this concern is their number one priority. They want to see you back with them, staying and travelling as before. Just as we know the world has shifted, they also do and there have been some gigantic efforts to give travellers the confidence they need to feel safe and responsible to start travelling again.

The biggest change has been around cleanliness. In the hotel sector, chains such as Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton have developed their own cleaning standards, working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement industry leading policies. They are seeking outside, expert advice to ensure that every measure they employ is as robust and considered as it can be.

Alongside more frequent and intensive cleaning schedules, a big change hotels are making, is the acceleration of technology adoption. In order to minimise potential points of risk, many hotels are moving towards online check-in, using phones to access rooms and make special requests and the removal of pens and paper. Whilst this has been on the cards for a couple of years now, with self-service check-ins and handy hotel apps, the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated this shift taking it from a nice to have, to an essential almost overnight.

Hotels are not the only ones turning to tech to help them meet the requirements of their customers. Airlines have been trialling new and innovative ways to deep clean their aircraft in line with WHO guidelines. Aerosol spraying is being used by several airlines, including Etihad and Air Asia, as well as increased contactless measures for boarding and security checks, to minimise surface contact.

With these changes comes peace of mind for travellers, but also some big changes to the way we may have previously undertaken our journey. Increased checks at airports will mean it takes longer to clear security and board aircraft. Several measures such as temperature checks, health declaration forms and additional sanitisation are expected to add hours to a journey.

Once again, leading the way with technology Hong Kong international airport is testing full-body disinfectant machines that clean passengers' clothing and bodies. This is currently only being used for staff who specifically handle public health issues, but it could be rolled out wider to help ensure safe transit through the airport. In addition, Heathrow is currently trialling temperature scanners to identify any potentially infected passengers, with a view to rolling out this technology across the airport in the coming weeks.

It is clear from these measures that hotels, airlines, airports and numerous other suppliers involved in your journey are exploring and implementing ways to give us all the confidence to travel again. How long these processes are in place for is yet to be seen, but what we do know is that when we can travel again, our much loved airlines and hotels will receive us with open arms, from a socially distanced 2m, of course.

Find out in detail some of the initiatives our partners are undertaking: