During tough times, operators and hotel companies are putting the true meaning of ‘hospitality’ into action by making their properties available for use by medical personnel and first responders during the COVID-19 crisis.
- The Silver Hotel Group, Mississauga, Ontario, is a family owned company offering safe and comfortable rooms for tired front line medical staff and first responders. “Our properties have specific floors dedicated to front-line workers, with a dedicated elevator where possible, to help mitigate the community spread of Covid-19,” said Shivani Ruparell, vice president of Silver Hotel Group.
- Accent Inns, Victoria, British Columbia, opened its doors to offer rooms at cost for front-line essential service workers. “We considered closing our doors because our reservations office was only taking cancellations and clearly travel was drying up,” said Trina Notman, vice president of Marketing & Communications at Accent Inns. “Then, a nurse who was desperate for a place for her colleagues to self-isolate called us for help because some of her colleagues had taken to sleeping in their cars to avoid risking passing the virus on to their families. We quickly created an at-cost room rate for front-line essential service workers, and our PR agency, Beattie Tartan, got the word out that Accent Inns was ready to help.”
Another example is AHLA’s Hospitality for Hope Initiative created to boost collaboration between the hotel industry and local, state, and federal governments to help employees, communities, and the industry. AHLA partnered with state associations to support communities by connecting hotels with the health community to find housing and support for medical staff and first responders. More than 16,000 hotels have signed up for AHLA’s Hospitality for Hope Initiative.
“Maestro’s entire team recognizes that these outstanding hospitality organizations and their people are working hard and investing time and money during this difficult time,” said Maestro PMS president Warren Dehan. “We are privileged and honored to be associated with these operators who are giving back to their communities. Thank you for all you are doing.”