Spring Break is coming. Looking for the cheapest room rates, I accidentally booked one of those pre-paid you-can’t-get-out-of-this-no-matter-what rooms through a hotel. This was back in the days when Coronavirus was barely a whisper in the news – like 6 weeks ago.
As the trip approaches, we’ve already cancelled some of the stops we were going to make (such as the viral cesspool some people might call therapeutic, healing hot springs).
I’m shocked that the hotel hasn’t proactively reached out to all guests with reservations. I know they haven’t because I would, of course, be on this list.
So, since they haven’t reached out to me, I called them this morning. And I asked for specifics on:
- Laundry procedures (hopefully they’re not just stripping the sheets, but any blankets and bedspreads as well)
- Deep sanitization of surfaces in the room.
- Amped up cleaning staff – Budgeting and hiring for cleaning staff so that they have time and people to adequately clean the rooms
I didn’t even go into other random concerns. I thought base-level information would be about the extra precautions taken in my room.
Bad News is Better than No News
Communication is so key to any kind of brand story. If you position yourself as a communicative, helpful company that has your clients’ interests, safety and peace-of-mind at heart, you will win.
Even if you’re delivering bad news.
No one wants to have to deal with Coronavirus or any other threat to public health and safety.
But addressing your company’s procedures for dealing with Coronavirus is an opportunity to connect with your audience. It’s an opportunity to show off if you’re actually being responsible.
On the flip side, if you actually have a policy in place, but you’re not communicating it, you’re missing that opportunity to connect.
But far worse? You’re alienating your clients. Because they assume that you don’t have one. And seriously? Who in the hospitality industry wouldn’t have some kind of extra safety measures in place right now?
Proactively communicate specifics about what you are doing to keep your guests safe. And make sure those procedures are highly visible and obvious in your actual hotels so that you can acquire social proof.
Show Off Your Rock Stars – the Cleaning Crew
In individual hotels (or restaurants, etc.) make a special mention of the people who are doing this extra work.
- Show the extra staff.
- Thank the staff for stepping up to work harder or longer.
- Introduce the new, supplemental additions to the staff in addition to the regular crew.
- Leave a note on the tip envelope in the room highlighting the “extra” that cleaning staff is doing to keep guests safe.
- If check-in time needs to be slightly delayed because of deep-cleaning, have the front desk say that.
- Post how long each crew spends cleaning each room now as opposed to before the Coronavirus outbreak. Hint: it should definitely be a lot longer unless you’ve have extra hands on the crew (which you should clarify).
After my phone call this morning to the wonderful woman who answered my questions, I was very reassured by the procedures in place. At least they’re thinking about it on some level.
The next level? Social proof. Show this deep cleaning in action. With pictures.
And I’ll be waiting anxiously by my inbox for a policy message from the hotel itself.
