Skift Take
Hotel owners face rising operational costs to keep up with new coronavirus cleaning standards. While some technology platforms could trim labor costs, these offsets aren't expected to hit until tech-savvy business travel returns.
Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but it is also top of mind for hotel companies looking to win back travelers and market share coming out of coronavirus shutdowns.
But post-pandemic cleaning regimens come at a hefty price.
Global brands like Hilton and Marriott down to independent hotels have all responded to coronavirus with heightened cleaning and safety standards to give guests confidence to book a stay. While it is still early in these efforts to pinpoint an exact cost on operators, hotel management company Hotel Asset Value Enhancement estimates the range of new cleaning protocols could collectively cost the hotel industry as much as $9 billion each year due to higher frequency cleanings and new materials.
The figure averages to $30,000 in added materials for a 150-room hotel at a time when operators are already grappling with low occupancy rates and depleted revenue.
“I think everything is material right now,” said Kate Walsh, dean of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. “Expenses are borne by the owners of the properties, and those owners are really trying to be liquid enough to survive this. It all matters, but everyone is willing to make the investment because we have to.”
The HotelAVE study estimates a bu
