Smart travel means observing health and wellness issues when travel

In his latest statement, the Deputy Minister of Tourism announced the development of a smart travel protocol and its communication in coming days.   He said the protocol provided details for each of the sections involved in travel.   For example, hotels and accommodation centers focus on renting single-bed rooms instead of two-bed ones.

50% discount of Yazd tourism and accommodation centers for medical staff

Seyed Mostafa Fatemi, Director General of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicraft office of Yazd Province, announced;  In this plan, 23 tourism and accommodation centers of the province will receive the medical staff until March 2021.   These tourism facilities include two hotels, a guesthouse and 18 eco-lodges.   A desert camp and a tourist complex will also host the medical staff.

Egyptian hotels reopen to domestic tourists

The Egyptian government has announced that it will open hotels to domestic tourists, provided they do not exceed 25 percent of their capacity by the end of this month and apply a series of treatments to fight the coronavirus. Providing clinic and medical services, temperature assessment of clients, constant use of disinfectants, electronic registration of guests and conducting immediate tests are among the requirements of the Egyptian government to reopen hotels.

Coronavirus aircraft seat design

Avio Interiors has designed a seat that can be used by airplane without any need for social distance if coronavirus continues.   The company has proposed two plans for the post-Cracona aircraft seat to maintain the physical distance between passengers.   In the first plan, there are clear barriers between the seats, and in the second plan, the seats are placed one by one in reverse and with clear barriers between them.

The German government has closed a North Korean hotel

A hotel in Berlin, which is believed to belong to North Korea, is being permanently closed by the German government on a court order.  There are rumors that the North Korean government has a network of supporters in Europe who are investing and financing for Pyongyang through anonymous individuals.

The activity of hotels in Isfahan province has been started

"Karim Beigi", the head of the professional Association of Hoteliers of Isfahan province, announced;  Hotels of the province started operating from sunday with 50% of their capacity and complying with all health guidelines and social spacing.  When a passenger empties a room, next guest will not be accommodated in that room for at least 24 hours.   All hotel and accommodation staff are required to wear disposable masks and gloves.

A quarter of Greek hotels are on the verge of bankruptcy

France 24 TV report;  Economic activity in Greece has declined by 70 percent in recent weeks and is at risk of an economic crisis.  Tourism is the second largest source of income for Greece after commercial shipping.   The Greek islands are empty of tourists, and one in four hotels is on the verge of bankruptcy.

The Turkish tourism crisis in the absence of Iranians

Seyed Jalal Ebrahimi, head of the Iran-Turkey Economic and Trade House, said;  Many Turkish hotels have asked the Turkish government for help.  According to statistics and information, Iranians' travel to Turkey has decreased by more than 99 percent.

Delivering the Service Experience - Chapter 6 ; The Public Space Experience

Technique 86 Display High Quality Outdoor Furniture; All outdoor furniture should be of high quality (even at limited service and economy properties). Viewing outdoor furniture subconsciously sets the tone for what the guest will receive once inside. Technique 87 Keep Elevator Flooring Clean; Due to the use of rolling suitcases, one of the biggest prob- lem areas with regard to public space cleanliness is the elevator floor. Staff should be trained to check and clean the flooring in the elevators several times per shift. The cleanliness of the ele- vator is a factor in initial perception formation and also influ- ences guests’ perceptions throughout their stay. Technique 88 Offer Branded Rubber Duckies; When a family with a small child or baby passes a house- keeping cart in a corridor as they are returning to their gues- troom, the housekeeper should offer the family a rubber duckie that is branded with the hotel’s name/logo. ghout their stay. Technique 89 Create a Photo Zone; Photo Zone—With Selfies being the “in thing”, cre- ate a backdrop, banner, or something unique to the hotel (including your logo or hotel name) where guests can take pictures of themselves or, if they want a photo with a cam- era, an employee can easily take a picture of the guests. Encourage guests to share it on social media or a blog. This is another way for guests to remember their experience in a positive way. Technique 90 Routinely Eliminate Scuff Marks; At least two times per week, a member(s) of the engi- neering team should inspect all public corridors and remove scuff marks from walls with cleaning products such as Magic Erasers. This task should be part of the engineering team’s preventative maintenance schedule. Technique 91 Play Music in the Lobby; Music that matches the brand personality of the hotel should always be played in the lobby. Employees should under- stand the value of the music in reinforcing brand personality. Technique 92 Scent the Lobby; The hotel’s lobby should be scented year around with the same fragrance. Repeat guests will recall the scent when they return. This strategy can be achieved through plug-in aroma- therapy products or by burning scented candles. Technique 93 Afford Adequate Attention to Restroom Cleanliness; The public restroom cannot take a “rest” from service. The cleanliness and messiness of a restroom set the tone for other facets of a guest’s experience. If a guest sees a dirty restroom, automatically s/he will have a negative impression of the hotel. Technique 94 Use Bright Lighting in the Restroom; The hotel’s public restrooms should have very bright flu- orescent lighting. Such brightness helps the restroom appear clean. Technique 95 Give Back-of-the-House Tours; When a potential catering and conference client arrives for a site visit, show him/her the back-of-the-house areas first. Including the back-of-the-house demonstrates that the hotel pays enough attention to detail to keep those areas neat and orderly similar to the front-of-the-house. This effort also aids in making the potential client feel as if s/he is getting to know the team. Technique 96 Provide Employees with Business Cards; Have business cards with all the pertinent hotel informa- tion. Leave space on the card for an employee to be able to handwrite his/her name and position. Should a guest need hotel information, the employee can hand them out. This effort serves as a personalized service and the guest will know who to ask for if they need anything. This gesture comes in handy on many occasions and is fast and personalized as well. Technique 97 Offer Branded Gloves; If a guest is exiting the hotel in the winter time without gloves, offer a complimentary pair of gloves branded with the hotel’s logo. Technique 98 Display a Looking Glass; If a window in one of the hotel’s public spaces has a nice view, then affix a looking glass on a string to the wall next to the window. Technique 99 Screen the Outdoor Break Area from Guest View; The hotel needs to have an outdoor break area for asso- ciates that are 100 percent screened from guest view. Such screening can be achieved with landscaping and/or decorative fencing. When a guest sees hotel associates on break smoking cigarettes, this is one of the biggest ‘experience breaking’ prob- lems in the industry and is also one of the most common. Technique 100 Offer Wagon Rides for Small Children; The hotel should have wagons in the lobby that are cus- tomized with a seat and side paneling so that families can give their children safe rides to their guestrooms. Custom- ized wagons can also be available for pet transportation to the guestroom. Technique 101 Have a Child-Sized Luggage Cart Available; Just as some grocery stores have child-sized grocery carts, a hotel can have a child-sized luggage cart. The child can help co-create the lodging experience by placing his/her suitcase on the small cart and pushing it to/from the guestroom at check-in/out. Technique 103 Make Bicycles Available; If the hotel is located in a bicycle-friendly area, then have some bicycles and helmets available to the guests at no charge. Guests can sign a liability waiver form and borrow the bicycles when desired. Technique 104 Denote Empty Parking Spaces; When the hotel’s parking lot or garage is near maximum capacity, helium balloons should be placed in the remaining parking spots. Viewing the balloons from a distance will allow guests the opportunity to find the open spots without wasting time or fuel. Technique 105 Encourage Clutter-Free Storage Areas; Any areas that are visible to the guests when a door is open (e.g., service area, behind the front desk, office, storage room, etc.) should be free of clutter and anything that can be construed as unsanitary. Technique 106 Conduct Signage Audits; At least once per year, a 3rd party who has never been inside the hotel before should be asked to do an internal and external signage audit to confirm that signs are accurate and are not confusing (particularly directional signs). The signage audit could be traded for a room night. Technique 107 Print Hometowns on Nametags; All associates should have their hometowns printed on their nametags because this information helps facilitate con- versation with guests. Technique 108 Display Photos of Famous Locals; Display pictures of famous people from the local or sur- rounding area in the hotel’s public spaces—doing so helps connect the guest to the hotel. Technique 109 Offer Swimming-Related Amenities in Pool Area; If the hotel has a swimming pool, guests love the extras of a pool experience, especially in very hot weather. These items can be misters, cold washcloths, ice water, etc. Technique 110 Offer to Augment Diving Toys with Gold or Silver Coins; If the hotel has a swimming pool, if children are seen diving for coins, they should be given gold or silver coins inscribed with the hotel name/logo to use instead. They can keep these as souvenirs. Technique 111 Keep a Well-Stocked Bookcase; The hotel should have a bookcase in a public area from which guests can borrow books (including children’s books) to read or games to play during their stay. Some books should be about the local area.

view the message Sebastien Bazin is sending to all Accor employees & partners

Delivering the Service Experience - Chapter 5 ; The Guestroom Experience

Technique 67 Use Solid White Bed Linens; All bed linens and bed coverings, including the foot scarf and pillow shams, should be solid white. A solid white bed subconsciously signals cleanliness and spaciousness. Technique 68 Place a Follow-Up Call; After the guest checks in, the front desk clerk (or another desired employee) should call the guestroom to see if everything meets the guest’s expectations. This person should give the guest their name and instruct them to call them if anything is desired. Technique 69 Have Different Color Towels Available; Have different color towel sets available upon request for groups of friends staying together who do not want to get their towels mixed up. These colored towel sets can also be available upon request if someone in a traveling family has a cold and wants to minimize the risk of spreading germs to other mem- bers of the family. Technique 70 Encourage Guests to Take Hangers Home; Rather than affixing clothes hangers to the clothing rod so that guests cannot depart with them, take the oppo- site strategy and invite guests to keep a hanger. Ask a local art studio or vendor to creatively decorate the hangers to include the name/logo of the hotel and the name/logo of the art studio. Such decorated hangers placed in the guest’s residence closet at home are good brand reinforcement for both the hotel and studio. Technique 71 Display Towel Animals; When refreshing a room, if a housekeeper detects that a family with a child is occupying the room then s/he should fold one of the guestroom towels into an animal formation. Straightforward instructions for basic animal designs can be found on YouTube. Technique 72 Have a Celebrity Make Your Wake-Up Calls; As a surprise tactic, ask a well-known celebrity or come- dian to prerecord the wake-up call message that is used in the hotel. Technique 73 Have Surprise Amenity Bags Available; Do guests ask or “take” your amenities such as sham- poo, lotion, or soap? If so, take what can be a negative and turn it into a positive. Have some amenity bags made of the basic amenities in a small mesh type bag. When a guest asks for some, present them with this and see if they would like it. What a nice surprise “gift” it will be and since you would be giving them the product anyway, for a few cents more, it exceeds their expectations. Technique 74 Send Surprises to Rooms; Every front desk agent should be empowered to pick two guestrooms per shift to target with a surprise amenity. The surprise amenity should be an item indigenous to the local area such as a slice of key lime pie in Key West. Technique 75 Recognize Special Events; If a guest mentions a birthday, anniversary, wedding, or other celebratory event either at check-in or at the time of reservation, surprise him/her with a bottle of champagne or something special with a notecard with your information. The guest will remember this forever. Technique 76 Offer Photo Opportunities for Guests; Place a note in the room stating that the guest(s) can stop by the front desk at any time and an agent will take a photo of the guest(s) in the lobby and the photo will be placed on the holiday card that the guest(s) receives from the hotel. In addition, a past photo of the guest can be placed in a frame on the nightstand before the guest arrives. If these photos can be uploaded into the property management system then they can be used to help the front desk agents memorize the names of the regulars. Technique 77 Have Occupation Costumes Available; If a telephone reservation is being made for a family with a young child, then the agent can ask the parent making the reservation if the child would like an occupation costume in the guestroom upon arrival. The agent can list the costumes that the hotel has and let the parent indicate the most suitable one (e.g., doctor, veterinarian, firefighter, etc.). Technique 78 Surprise Toddlers with Bath Toys; If accommodations are being used by a family with a tod- dler, housekeeping can place an unopened package of bath toys in the room. Technique 79 Pose Stuffed Animals in Fun Positions; When servicing a room with children and there are stuffed animals or something similar, the housekeeper should make it look fun by putting the animals in clear view of the bed in a way that will be enjoyable for the child to see when s/he returns to the room. Technique 80 Encourage Postcard Usage; Place a postcard with a picture of the hotel on the gues- troom desk. The postcard should be stamped with prepaid postage. Technique 81 Surprise Guests with Personalized Candy; Every week strategically select 10–20 incoming guests from the centralized reservation system and order candy wrappers personalized with their names. Place the personal- ized candy in their rooms during their stay. Alternatively, at a bare minimum, have candy on hand with customized wrap- pers displaying the hotel name/logo. Technique 82 Replace Old Coffeemakers; If in-room coffeemakers with glass carafes are still being used, they should be replaced with coffeemakers that drip directly into the drinking cup. Technique 83 Review In-Room Information for Accuracy; At least once per quarter, hotel management or staff should check that the information in the in-room hotel information book is up-to-date and accurate. Technique 84 Check Telephone Labeling for Accuracy; At least twice per year, the buttons on the telephones in the guestrooms should be checked for labeling accuracy. Technique 85 Offer to Name a Room After a Frequent Guest; If a guest stays at your property more than 50 nights per year, then offer to name a guestroom in honor of him/her. A small plaque can be displayed in the room or corridor.

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