Hyatt Teams Up With Global Biorisk Advisory Council

Accor (read more here), Marriott (read more here), and Hilton (read more here) have already announced their new cleanliness standards due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hyatt has now taken the safety of associates and guests into a new level by teaming up with Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) that looks like an organization fighting Ebola.

You can access Hyatt here and GBAC here.

Here’s the announcement from Hyatt:

Focusing on the safety and wellbeing of colleagues and guests during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, Hyatt’s commitment includes Global Biorisk Advisory Council accreditation, hotel-level sanitization specialists, and a working group of trusted medical and industry advisors

CHICAGO (April 29, 2020) – Guided by its purpose of care and experience delivering world-class hospitality for more than 60 years, Hyatt today announced a Global Care & Cleanliness Commitment to further enhance its operational guidance and resources around colleague and guest safety and peace of mind. The multi-layered commitment builds on Hyatt’s existing rigorous protocols and will include an accreditation process by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) at all hotels around the world, colleague training and support resources, and a cross-functional working group of medical experts and industry professionals that will contribute to various aspects of the hotel experience.

“The world as we knew it has been fundamentally changed by COVID-19 and when we are all ready to travel again, we want to make sure that every Hyatt colleague and guest feels confident that each aspect of our commitment is designed with their safety in mind, and that we’re putting their wellbeing first,” said Mark Hoplamazian, president and CEO, Hyatt. “To do this, we must critically examine the hotel experience from every vantage point – from our rooms and our lobbies to our spas and dining – bringing in the latest research, technology and innovation to make that happen. Hyatt’s Global Care & Cleanliness Commitment is an important expression of our purpose to care for people so they can be their best – now and in the future.”

Global Cleanliness Accreditation

Hyatt remains committed to providing safe and clean environments and upholding the highest standards of cleanliness for colleagues and guests at all hotels globally. In May 2020, Hyatt plans to introduce a GBAC STARTM accreditation through a performance-based cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention program that will focus on establishing hotel environments that are sanitary, safe and healthy. GBAC is a division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, and is composed of leaders in the area of microbial-pathogenic threat analysis and mitigation, designed specifically to deal with biological threats and real-time crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Hyatt is the first hospitality brand to announce plans to commit to GBAC STARTM accreditation which will include detailed training at more than 900 Hyatt hotels worldwide. Hyatt intends to complement this with regular internal and third-party auditing.

Hotel-Level Sanitization Specialists

The wellbeing of colleagues is at the heart of Hyatt’s business and core to advancing care for guests and customers. In response to COVID-19, Hyatt is continuing to develop new work procedures and mandatory trainings in an effort to ensure safety for colleagues and guests. Daily colleague surveys will be introduced to measure colleague comfort, a hotel’s cleanliness, working order and customer service, enabling hotel leaders to address opportunities, make adjustments as necessary and meet colleagues’ needs in real time.

Further, as part of Hyatt’s Global Care & Cleanliness Commitment, by September 2020, every Hyatt hotel will have at least one person on property trained as Hygiene Manager who will be responsible for their hotel adhering to new operational guidance and protocols, some of which may include:

Colleague certification, trainings and recertification process for hygiene and cleanliness

Increased frequency of cleaning with hospital-grade disinfectants on all high-touch surfaces, guestrooms and shared spaces

Implementation of enhanced food safety and hygiene protocols for restaurants, room service and group meetings and events

Prominently placed hand sanitizer stations throughout hotel public and employee areas and entrances

Exploring purification and sanitization device installation in an effort to ensure enhanced air quality

Protective masks and other equipment for hotel colleagues

Social distancing guidance in public areas across hotel properties

Cross-Functional Panel of Industry Experts and Professionals

At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, Hyatt assembled a global cross-functional response team and engaged infectious diseases and occupational health experts to support efforts with COVID-19 research findings and information, which enabled Hyatt to promptly update detailed guidance to hotels and address specific needs and situations.

Hyatt continues to engage additional medical experts and leading industry professionals as part of its commitment. The goal of the working group will be to provide counsel on key areas of Hyatt’s business, challenging Hyatt to act even more holistically in this new environment. Topic areas and advisors in discussion include:

Health & Hygiene: Dr. Daniel Lucey, M.D., M.P.H., Infectious Diseases Professor, Georgetown University Medical Center; Fellow, Infectious Disease Society of America

Colleague Safety: Dr. Charles Yarborough, M.D., M.P.H., Preventive/Occupational Medicine Expert; affiliated with Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Food & Beverage Safety: Dr. Elaine Black, Ph.D., Food Science and Microbiology, Ecolab

Travel Journey:

Julie Rath, Vice President, Customer Experience, Innovation and Delivery, American Airlines;

David Peckinpaugh, President, Maritz Global Events

Space Design: Tom Ito, FAIA, LEED® AP, Global Hospitality Leader, Principal, Gensler

Technology: Ahmad Ouri, Chief Executive Officer, Sonifi

Wellbeing: senior leadership from the Global Wellness Institute

“As a key part of our loyalty collaboration with Hyatt, we are committed to looking at the holistic experience of our customers with a special focus on their wellbeing,” said Julie Rath, vice president, customer experience, innovation and delivery American Airlines. “The benefit of this collaboration is that we can share insights from our enhancements to cleaning and protective procedures while applying best practices from Hyatt to elements of our operation.”

Conclusion

This is getting heavy with Hyatt and GBAC. From the looks of GBAC’s website, it looks like they are fighting highly infectious and deadly diseases such as Ebola rather than the Covid-19 pandemic.

Not sure if Hyatt team members will have full body PPEs with gas masks? Is anybody else than me starting to believe that hotels are overreacting on their response?

It is good that hotels in North America start upping their cleanliness standards that have been slipping due to staff reductions.