As UAE hotels commence to reopen, how will they keep guests safe amid the pandemic?

As travel restrictions and country-wide lockdowns get started to ease in a few elements of the world, hotels are experiencing to rethink how they run their functions and engage with guests.

In the UAE, as restrictions on the movement of residents have already been relaxed, some hotels have resumed limited operations, while following strict safety guidelines. Sometimes, this means they are just offering in-room dining options, with limited or no access to facilities, including swimming pools, gyms and beaches.

The Fairmont Ajman reopened on Thursday, April 30, after being closed for per month, but is only going to run at 30 per cent capacity. Together with reopening its pools (with social distancing measures observed by ensuring sun beds remain at least two metres apart), the hotel will also operate three restaurants for limited hours, with a la carte menus only.

Elsewhere in the northern emirates, Oberoi Beach Resort Ajman has opened its beach and pool, but is only offering in-room dining; and the Radisson Blu Resort Ajman has opened its pool and one restaurant. Both have started welcoming guests.

So what does hospitality - an industry that depends on human contact and involves countless strangers coming together under one roof - look like in the Covid era? A variety of UAE hotels that The National approached declined to respond to how they are adapting their operations amid the pandemic.

However, transparency will be key if these hotels expect guests to return to their properties. At the same time of great uncertainty, brands (across all industries) should reassure customers when you are clear and open. Hotel guests would want to know exactly what is being done to keep them safe before they start booking again.

For the moment, reduced capacity, limited facilities and minimal staff contact will be the order of your day. And buffets will stay firmly off the cards (actually, you have to wonder if this pandemic will signal the death knell of the buffet, already deemed a beacon of unnecessary wastefulness).

Enhanced cleaning operations will also end up being the mainstay of any hotel expecting to successfully lure back visitors as the pandemic rages on.

Hilton has teamed up with RB, maker of Lysol and Dettol, and the Mayo Clinic’s infection prevention and control team, to elevate its cleaning and disinfectant protocols in properties all over the world.

Because of be rolled out from June, the Hilton CleanStay with Lysol protection programme, since it will be called in america, was initiated in response to analyze that shows consumers currently have heightened concerns regarding hygiene on the journeys, and that rely upon cleanliness standards will be critical to restarting travel.