Coronavirus: Marriott to ramp up cleaning, social distancing measures to reassure guests

Electrostatic sprayers using ‘hospital-grade disinfectant’ will sanitise surfaces both inside hotel rooms and public areas like lobbies and gyms

It is testing ultraviolet light technology to sanitise room keys, while guests will be able to check in, unlock room doors and order room service via mobile phones

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The exterior of the Portland Marriott in Portland, Oregon, the US. The hotel giant plans to disinfect hotel guest rooms and sanitise keys as part of its cleanliness strategy to put guests’ minds at ease as travel restrictions begin to lift. Photo: AP

Published: 8:30pm, 25 Apr 2020Updated: 8:30pm, 25 Apr 2020

From spraying guest rooms with disinfectant to sanitising room keys, hotel giant Marriott International became one of the first major hotel groups to outline how it plans to reassure guests of cleanliness in the age of the coronavirus.

Guests may notice some of the changes from the moment they step into a Marriott property: furniture in public areas will be rearranged to promote social distancing.

“We are living in a new age, with Covid-19 front and centre for our guests and our associates,” said CEO Arne Sorenson in a statement announcing the changes posted on Marriott’s website.

Marriott’s promise of a new level of cleanliness may be an early sign of changes that will sweep the hotel industry as chains and individual properties compete to lure guests by offering the most coronavirus-resistant environment. The strategy could be critical to trying to create a rebound for hotels as stay-at-home orders are lifted and travel resumes.

Electrostatic sprayers using “hospital-grade disinfectant” will sanitise surfaces in Marriott guest rooms.

In perhaps the biggest change, Marriott said it will use electrostatic sprayers with “hospital-grade disinfectants” to sanitise throughout the hotel. Besides guest rooms, the sprayers will be used in lobbies, gyms and other public areas. It said the cleaning agents used would be those recommended by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organisation to kill all known pathogens.