Hotel industry issues coronavirus safety guidelines before anticipated travel surge
Hotels around the country are prepping for travelers to start showing up again amid the coronavirus pandemic. But how can guests know it's safe?
The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) unveiled its Safe Stay guidelines on Monday, an effort made in conjunction with major brands like Wyndham, Hilton, Marriott and Best Western to standardize cleanliness.
"It's really an effort to make sure that no matter if you're staying at an extended-stay economy hotel or you're staying at the nicest luxury resort, that there will be at a minimum common standards across the entire industry," Chip Rogers, AHLA president and CEO, told USA TODAY on Sunday.
Rogers said it expects hotels to go above and beyond the guidelines. Brands such as Hyatt, Marriott and short-term rental service Airbnb have announced specific cleaning standards in recent weeks.
In addition to setting industry standards, AHLA hopes to use Safe Stay as a way to work with local lawmakers looking to regulate hotel properties and as an avenue to creating an enhanced safety guideline certification that may exist permanently.
