How to pick a hotel to stay at in the age of Coronavirus? Although domestic travel is now allowed in certain countries, seems like the main concern that appears in everyone’s mind is ‘if it’s safe to travel now?’. Living in the new norm, the government’s effort alone won’t be enough to keep everyone feeling secure. One’s health will heavily depend on the safety measure taken by them personally too. You have to practice good hygiene everywhere you go.
We know that it has been a tough year for everyone. Who would have thought that we will spend half of the year staying and working from home, wearing a mask, with no mass gathering, and experiencing a lot more other inconveniences that we used to take for granted when it was just there?
It could be a little suffocating having to stay inside for so long that after the lockdown, people have started to look for a vacation spot to ease their mind. But the concern is still there, how do I keep my family and I safe throughout our journey?
Here are some tips from Tripfez on how you can pick a hotel and make sure they are doing enough to keep their visitors safe and happy!
1. Choose Your Destination Wisely
The first tip on how to pick a good hotel during Coronavirus is to choose your destination wisely. Before making any plans to your preferred destination, kindly ensure that the location has low to no cases of Corona (preferably the latter). Avoid from going to destinations with a high number of cases at all! You can also check the International Air Transport Association (IATA) travel regulations map for more related info.
In the meantime, if you’re travelling within Malaysia, you can download the MySejahtera app instead. This app was made by the Government of Malaysia to track and check the hotspot location of COVID-19 which will be useful to use whenever you need to travel further away from home.
2. Social Distancing Policy
Social distancing is the best and easy way to follow in avoiding ourself from being exposed to the virus. Hence, it is important to practice good social distancing everywhere including in the hotel where you are staying. As a customer, you’re allowed to ask the hotel either they are applying the social distancing policy in their buildings following the guideline released by the authorities.
Social distancing rule in the hotel should include when you are in the dining hall or other public facilities there and even during the check-in process. It is also recommended for hotels to provide food delivery option to the guest’s room to minimise movement. Food should be pack using disposable containers and the hotel should also provide disposable utensil.
3. Sanitisation
Other important tips on how to pick a hotel with good cleanliness policy during Coronavirus is to consider if the sanitisation process of the hotel follows the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Some hotel also advertises their sanitisation process and overall policy on their websites so you should also check them out before booking.
Hotels should have frequent sanitisation schedule especially at high contact points such as elevator buttons, door handles, and more. Apart from that, the hotel should conduct temperature checks at the front desk before guest check-in. Guest with a body temperature above 38 degrees Celcius and/or displaying COVID-19 symptom should be prompted and given proper medical assistance. Besides, sanitizer should be placed at every level of the hotel, especially near the elevator and doors.
4. Flexibility
Since the Coronavirus hasn’t vanished yet from this world, we have to consider the possibility of another outbreak. Thus, it is important to check on the flexibility of the hotel. Usually, hotels will provide few options such as free cancellation, flexible date, or refund. Every option has its own benefit although free cancellation is the best option that you can get. As for a flexible date, certain hotels allow guests to change the booking date without any extra charge. However, it depends on the availability of the room.
5. Bring Your Own
Hotels all over the world might have taken the extra precaution, but you should still bring your own COVID-19 friendly travel kit just in case. Things that should be in the kit are a mask, hand sanitiser, a small bottle of hand wash, disinfectant spray or wipes, small plastic bag, and prayer mat for Muslim. If you’re unfit to travel, please consider changing your plan or travel date. After all, everyone should play their own role in conquering the Coronavirus. Another thing to note is, for now, please expects gym, prayer room, swimming pool and spa to be closed as per advice by WHO.
There you go! We hope this checklist will help you make the correct decision when it comes to picking a good hotel that is safe for you. It is important to take extra precaution when planning for vacation now since we haven’t found the vaccine to Corona yet. Hopefully, with all of the safety measures that have been taken by everyone, it will be possible for us to overcome this virus.
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