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Giving our guests safety and flexibility
Now, more than ever, the health and wellbeing of our guests is of paramount importance, and we’re making sure our hotel teams have everything they need to keep everyone, including themselves, safe.
All our hotels have been given best practice guidelines, which have been supplemented with additional Covid-19 cleanliness-specific guidance, training and information, consistent with our own very high standards, and customers can now view Cleanliness Ratings as they book one of our hotels.
IHG has a long-standing commitment to rigorous cleaning, having launched the IHG Way of Clean programme in 2015, which was developed with Ecolab and Diversey, both world leaders in hygiene and cleaning technologies and services. Now also partnering with a team of medical experts at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, we have expanded this programme with evolved procedures. Examples include:
- Reception: Front-desk screens, sanitiser stations, sanitised key cards and paperless checkout
- Guest Room: Visible verification of sanitised items (e.g., glassware, remote control), reduction of in-room furnishings/high-touch items, new laundry protocols and use of new technology
- Public Spaces and facilities: Additional deep cleaning of high-touch surfaces, social distancing, ‘last cleaned’ charts, best practices for pools, fitness centres and lounges
- Food and beverage: New standards and service approach to buffets, banquets, room service and catering
- Meetings and events: Deep and more frequent cleaning of meeting and event spaces, access to ample hand sanitser stations, socially distanced seating and meeting room layout, guidance on management of guest flow, single-serve and pre-packaged meal options.
- Social distancing operating procedures and signage
- Clear PPE standards for colleagues and guidance on the use of protective equipment
- Cleanliness information in hotels and on IHG’s booking channels
With updated measures in place, IHG is launching a Clean Promise. Rolling out globally from 1 June 2020, guests can be reassured that their room will meet IHG’s high standards of cleanliness. If not, the hotel will make it right. You can read more about IHG's Clean Promise here.
Bookings and loyalty
Flexibility is a priority for customers during such an uncertain time and so, to make it easier for guests, we have:
- Waived cancellation fees and created a Book Now Pay Later option for the rest of 2020. No deposit is required, and cancellation is possible up to 24 hours before a stay for direct bookings
- Launched a special Heroes Rate for government workers, healthcare professionals, the military and other groups responding to this crisis on the frontline for the rest of 2020
- Helped our IHG Rewards Club loyalty members protect their status and points and earn more faster with new promotions and offers
- Given loyalty members the ability to turn points into financial donations for Covid relief efforts
You can read our latest Travel Advisory Policy here.
We’re also working closely with our corporate customers, including managing Groups & Meetings bookings and adapting our service to continue to meet their needs during this difficult time. From healthcare organisations to logistics and delivery groups, we’ve been able to quickly help many clients find safe, high-quality accommodation for frontline staff. Our Meet with Confidence programme also gives corporate bookers greater flexibility on cancellations and discounts on their bookings, while also using cleanliness best practices to ensure a safe environment for meeting attendees.
Being there for our hotel teams, owners and corporate colleagues
We know how incredibly difficult this challenge is for our hotel teams, owners and corporate colleagues around the world. As a company we stand beside them all, deeply committed to doing everything possible to help us get through this time together.
Protecting our business and hotels
Globally, we have taken measures to reduce costs and preserve cash that will give us the capacity to manage the business through this unique period. We are also working on many fronts to help ease the pressure on our hotels – from staying in regular contact with our GMs and owners, to providing market-specific employment and financial guidance, and a range of measures to help reduce costs and preserve cash. This included a market-tailored fee relief package and deferred payments, which gave our owners a chance to use cash in other ways to protect their business during a difficult time.
Supporting our people
We want to do all that we can to help those colleagues who have been furloughed or lost their jobs as a result of this crisis and so we have created the IHG Hotel Colleague Job Center, which offers access to employment with hiring companies. We also have a Stay in Touch programme in place to make sure we remain connected to our amazing colleagues affected by furlough measures or temporary hotel closures.
As for our corporate colleagues, much of our business globally is still being run almost entirely remotely, and we know that this unique environment brings with it many challenges that require both physical and emotional support.
Alongside regular Q&A sessions with leadership, we’ve invested in digital resources designed to offer personal development and help create a work/life balance. This includes a wide range of study areas and masterclasses, covering topics including mental and physical health and wellbeing, leadership, and embracing new technology, and we have provided useful advice for parents and their line managers to make sure that little people remain a priority while we stay productive.
Advocating for our owners and our industry
We know we have an important role to play in advocating for both our owners and our industry. From the White House to Number 10 Downing Street, we’re working with governments in many markets to secure invaluable stimulus packages for the hospitality industry that will further protect our owners and jobs over the medium term, and help drive a recovery that contributes to economic growth.
Providing True Hospitality to our local communities
Making a positive impact on the thousands of communities our hotels and offices are a part of around the world means so much to everyone at IHG, and we know that our care and support has never been needed more than it was over the past few months. From donation drives, food deliveries and local messages of hope on social, to providing hotel rooms for frontline workers and society’s most vulnerable, and supporting charity partner relief efforts, we have stepped up in many ways.
Supporting frontline workers
From China and Australia, to the UK and US, we’ve worked with governments, local authorities and our owners to help provide accommodation to those who need it most. This included looking after thousands of healthcare workers such as doctors, nurses and physicians that were leading the relief efforts on the frontline, as well as delivery drivers who were playing a vital role in supplying and connecting millions of people having to stay at home.
One example is our support for the #FirstRespondersFirst initiative in the US. We’re proud to have donated 50 million IHG Reward Club points to this outstanding cause, which means frontline healthcare workers could access thousands of nights at IHG hotels for free in the cities where they are needed most. Across different markets, we are also providing for the most vulnerable members of society, such as the homeless, with some of our hotels offering a safe space to shelter.
Working with our charity partners
Alongside this work, we have a long history of working with humanitarian aid partners through our True Hospitality for Good programme to assist communities in times of need. To support Covid-19 relief efforts, we donated to the China Red Cross to help build temporary hospital facilities, supported relief efforts through the British Red Cross Disaster Relief Alliance, and helped the Salvation Army distribute hygiene kits to frontline workers and the homeless in Atlanta.
Working with ‘No Kid Hungry’ (US) and ‘Trussell Trust’ (UK), and supporting the Global Foodbanking Network and European Food Banks Federation, IHG is also supporting vital work in more than 70 countries by ensuring these providers have access to the funds, training and resources required to help provide basic provisions to those in need at the very grass roots level of our communities.
Of course, caring for others is part of our DNA and IHG colleagues around the world are finding new ways to offer some personal help – and True Hospitality – to their communities. From serving up meals to frontline workers and the elderly through deliveries and drive-thrus, to donating masks, beds and other supplies to healthcare workers and hospitals, our colleagues continue to show their incredible passion for making a difference in even the hardest times.
