The Safest Hotels During The Covid-19 Crisis
If you're thinking of traveling during the second wave of the coronavirus outbreak, you might be wondering: Is there a list of the safest hotels during the COVID-19 crisis?
There is. The Safe Travel Barometer, a startup that ranks travel companies based on their cleaning and sanitation practices, released the list exclusively to FORBES. It's a handy guide for anyone interested in staying somewhere that takes safety seriously.
Why is a list of the safest hotels for coronavirus so important? Because too many hotels have said too little about their sanitation efforts. They've either published a vaguely worded press release, meant to soothe worried guests but short on specifics, or they've said nothing substantive other than, "We'll do better."
But the most alarming result of the Safe Travel Barometer research is that there just isn't a lot of information on hotel safety out there. Many properties have said little or nothing about their cleaning practices. That should be troubling to every guest, but also something worth remembering. It's not the hotels on this list that you should worry about — it's the ones that are not on this list.
A Hilton CleanStay seal at the Canopy by Hilton Scottsdale Old Town in Scottsdale, Ariz.
CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT
How to tell if your hotel is safe during the COVID-19 crisis
Of course, some hotels go above and beyond, which is something else to look for. At the Canopy by Hilton Scottsdale Old Town in Scottsdale, Ariz., each door has a Hilton CleanStay seal, signifying that it’s been sanitized to the hotel chains high standards. The property, Old Town Scottsdale’s first new hotel in over a decade, opened just a month ago, so it its cleaning protocols have been there from the start. (One hotel guest told me that he always travels with sanitizing wipes and cleans surface areas himself. At the Hilton, he says, the wipes remained white. “I was impressed,” he says.)
After the housekeeping staff at the historic Beverly Hilton services a room, they bring in an ultraviolet light to sanitize even more deeply, says hospitality expert Anthony Melchiorri.
"If you have questions or would like to know more about the exact safety measures put in place to protect your health, call the hotel where you plan to stay and ask them what to expect," he says.