CH&LA releases ‘Clean+Safe’ guide to steps for reopening after COVID-19

HOTELS IN CALIFORNIA, and across the country, will have to place a new emphasis on cleanliness during the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The state’s lodging association has released a 9-page guide to how reopening should be done.

The California Hotel & Lodging Association’s “Clean + Safe” guide provides a comprehensive checklist of standards the state’s hotels should try to maintain. They include tips on how to receive guests while maintaining social distancing to recommended methods for cleaning rooms and public spaces, such as elevators. It also spells out steps to ensure employee safety.

“Coronavirus orders and restrictions in our state pose a real labyrinth for hotel owners because there is little consistency between California’s 58 counties and hundreds of municipalities,” said Bijal Patel, CH&LA chairman. “Our program helps overcome this challenge by featuring lots of flexibility – it can be adapted easily by big and small hotels, for urban as well as rural areas, in both more and less restrictive communities.”

Hotels that meet the “Clean+Safe” requirements receive a decal to display for guests to see. There is no cost for the program. CH&LA’s members operate almost a quarter of a million rooms at properties that range in size from smaller inns to hotels with as many as 3,000 rooms.

The program is geared to be used by smaller, unbranded hotels as well as larger hotels.

“About 50 percent of our member properties are independent, non-branded hotels, so they cannot benefit from the re-opening programs introduced in recent days by various brands,” Patel said. “While the brands have set the re-opening standards for their properties, we at CH&LA are setting the re-opening standards for our state.”

Reassuring guests is an essential part of any reopening , said Lynn Mohrfeld, CH&LA president and CEO.

“Hotels are where travelers go to get ready for their next day on the road, expecting to find accommodations that are clean, comfortable, and dependable, especially in this new post-coronavirus world,” Mohrfeld said. “Our new program will give guests the confidence and peace of mind they so desperately want and deserve because we are reassuring them that their hotel environment is safe and under control.”

CH&LA updating its website twice a day with information on the outbreak, Patel said previously.

California Gov. Gavin Newsome on April 28 released California’s “Pandemic Roadmap” that details the state’s plan to reopen for business.