More than half of Marriott International properties across South Africa have opened their doors under the latest national lockdown regulations.
The properties have opened in line with government regulations and will cater to travel permitted under the current regulations.
“We are excited to welcome back our guests and look forward to providing them great experiences across our diverse portfolio in the country," said Volker Heiden, Area Vice President Sub-Saharan Africa, Marriott International.
The locations set to open include Cape Town, Johannesburg, Roodepoort, Pretoria, Durban, Bloemfontein, Garden Route (Mossel Bay and George), Mahikeng, Nelspruit, Kimberley, Upington and Rustenburg. Offerings at these properties will include non-sharing accommodation and food and beverage offerings in line with current regulations.
Each property has implemented extensive health and safety protocols to ensure the safety of guests and hotel associates. These include implemented guidelines on chemicals and equipment to be used that are effective against viruses and increase the frequency of cleaning and disinfection at high-volume areas and regularly touched surfaces.
Cleaning and disinfecting protocols are in place to sanitize rooms after guests depart and before the next guest arrives, and there is also an increased frequency of cleaning in the ‘Back of House’, where hotel associates work behind the scenes. In addition, measures have been introduced to minimize contact and reinforce social distancing and ongoing staff education is taking place.
The hotel brand also created the Global Cleanliness Council to tackle the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic at the hotel level and develop the next level of global hospitality cleanliness standards, norms and behaviours that are designed to minimize risk and enhance safety for guests and hotel employees.
“We understand that health and hygiene will be at the forefront of our guests’ minds as they consider traveling and staying at hotels. With our increased measures, we want them to see and understand what we are doing and why we are doing it – so that when they walk through the doors of one of our hotels, they know our commitment to their health and safety is our priority, whichever one of our brands they are staying with,” added Heiden.