Le Bijou, a Swiss luxury hospitality company has begun offering a coronavirus-themed package. Luckily for this company, becoming a quarantine hotel was not a difficult transition. Le Bijou has always offered a fully automated experience, with no human interaction, even during check in. Guests control their experience through a private app which offers a remote concierge service that can be used to order meals, groceries, and cabs, or schedule private chefs or massages. Their luxury suites are complete with amenities like kitchens, private gyms, saunas, and fireplaces.
Some adjustments have had to be made to this hotel during quarantine. The cleaning staff, equipped with masks and gloves, now clean the rooms only before and after a guest’s stay, rather than during as they normally would. Deliveries to the suites as well as garbage pick-up have been re-coordinated to be completely hands off, eliminating any interaction with the guests. In addition, this quarantine hotel has partnered with a private clinic to offer customizable COVID-19 related add ons. If needed, guests have the option purchase in-room doctor visits and coronavirus tests, as well as 24/7 nurse care. Le Bijou of course encourages people exhibiting any symptoms to stay home. Although the quarantine hotel can’t totally rule out the possibility that a guest may be positive, they are taking precautions to take care of anyone staying at the hotel during this difficult time.
Although this already fully-automated hotel was in a unique position to be able to accommodate a COVID-19 quarantine, hotels in Thailand and Australia have also begun offering similar packages. In addition, Le Bijou has seen a significant increase in reservations booking between a 2 week and 2 month stay, with a mix of guests who are tourists stuck in Switzerland due to travel restrictions, as well as locals who are older or more at risk and need access to a place to receive medical care. Clearly hotels during quarantine have significant appeal. In a post-Coronavirus world, we may see a trend in all hotels becoming more hands off and eliminating unnecessary human interaction.
Whether we see more COVID-19 packages offered by hotels during quarantine, or this hands-off experience becomes the new normal post-virus, implementing a hotel property management system may be extremely helpful to this transition. In one convenient and easy to use platform, guests can communicate with the hotel, view room rates, and book their stay. And the best part is that everything is accessible remotely via an app that can be used on your mobile device, tablet, or computer. If a fully automated hospitality experience truly is the way of the future, hotel pms may evolve to follow the model set by Le Bijou by offering a check in service, concierge, and customizable add ons like food delivery.
While these are unprecedented and difficult times, we are fortunate that we live in a time where we have technology that can meet the needs of hotels and their guests and provide a space to quarantine. While it may seem appealing to stay at one of these hotels during quarantine, it should be noted that the US Government advises against travel at this time and it is safer to stay at home. However, through the use of hotel pms, we may see the hospitality industry continue the automated experience of quarantine hotels in a post COVID-19 reality.