RIP, MINIBAR Pack your thermometers: Hotels are gearing up for new arrivals Bangkok, the world's most visited city, is readying the runway for tourists, and its new digs should be a wake-up call to anyone itching to jet away. Its hotels are deploying facial-recognition tools and touch-free buttons in elevators. Buffets are disappearing. Want to eat at a local restaurant? You might have to deal with plastic dividers on your table. Room service? The server will leave the cart outside your room. Bangkok was among the first major cities to jump-start its hospitality sector, but across the rest of the world, plans to reopen hotels look similar: Expect temperature checks on arrival, branded PPE, and one-way hallways marked with signs on the floor. Sorry, sir, but this hotel, motel, Holiday Inn is maxed out Don’t be alarmed by the empty lobby -- hotels are leaving many of their rooms open on purpose. The Eden Roc Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic, for instance, has already promised it won't exceed 30% capacity. That’s in part because many hotels won’t usher new guests into your room the day you check out. Best Western has said its cleaning staff will wait at least 24 hours before even entering rooms after guests leave. And don’t forget: Check-in is happening curbside now. Key cards? They have to be sanitized too much, so hotels are switching to mobile locks. If you want a bathrobe, you're going to have to ask for it. Bellhops, valets, minibars, decorative throw pillows, desk notepads -- those are all on the outs. Please no one tell Mr. Worldwide any of this, because he will be devastated. That after party in the hotel lobby? Also a no-go. In the new hotel economy, only some will triumph Don’t leave the light on for Motel 6, because Forbes predicts that when hotels do roar back into action, luxury travel will be the first to take off. The big reason: Privacy. Some ritzy hotels are already courting the sophisticado class with, as one French resort put it, “luxury and exclusiveness.” Translation: You won’t have to interact with other humans. Kid-free hotels might be another big winner. According to one tech travel group, 65% of new hotel bookings are for couples, up from 51% in the fall -- because which parents don't need a little social distancing from their tweens right now? from Hustle
Just wow, just wow.... 30% capacity, and how do they figure to keep profitable at this rate, mobile locking systems, one way hallways? I have seen this one way aisle nonsense now ....too fucking amusing. Bellhops, valets, minibars, decorative throw pillows, desk notepads -- those are all on the outs. Hotel rooms were always disgusting and full of off the chart bacteria sestpools even before this virus situation and now all of the sudden they want to rid of everything....they should just let you stay in an empty room at this point.
Americans will happily surrender every single freedom and comfort they have for the illusion of safety. It's silly to blame the hotels. The hotels don't care. I travel for work and I can tell you the only time a hotel gave me the time of day was when I upgraded to an executive suite. The hotels, airlines, etc are just catering to the pearl clutching whiners and busybodies who will go to social media and #cancel them if they so much as see ONE person inside of the same jacuzzi as someone else. We should be afraid of the pearl clutchers. They are the problem.
Reduced staff, and increased costs to hotels. Holidays will become a thing for the rich only I fear Happy to crash on a beach and try to find someone wanting company, if I can afford flights ofcourse.