The Re-imagination of Travel Post Pandemic
Emily Kratt, our Managing Director, recently went on a trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico to relax and enjoy the ocean breeze for a few days with some friends.
Emily expressed that “she thinks it is her responsibility to share how we can safely meet and travel”. At INNOVATX Events, our goal is to plan and deliver safe, effective, creative, and on-brand events. Since March 2020 we have pivoted into virtual experiences but as we start easing back into the next phase of hybrid meetings and events, we want to inform and discuss best practices for executing the safest event possible. We understand that everyone will start to travel at their own pace when they are ready.
Since March, Emily has flown three times; once on Delta, once on United and this last time on Southwest. In addition to all her flights being half-full, she did notice some differences. Emily described her experience, “Both Delta and United handed out sanitizing Purell wipes as you entered the plane and when you were given your sealed snack bag. Southwest did not give a sanitizing wipe and they poured water into plastic cups versus it being in a bottle within a sealed bag. Also, the boarding process on Delta and United was different. They boarded from the back of the of the plane first, which is what they should have always been doing!”. She mentioned “Southwest still had the same boarding process as pre-pandemic, being first come first serve, however they would not allow more than the allotted boarding group to stand within the line.”.
When she landed at the Cancun Airport in Mexico, she was met by a car service that immediately dispensed hand sanitizer, sanitized all luggage and had cold water and a Corona awaiting in their air-conditioned, luxury van.
When they arrived at the hotel Secrets Maroma, she was met with masked staff asking for everyone to sanitize their hands. They also had to do a temperature check. Once checked-in, they had to verify that no one within the group had any symptoms, nor had been around anyone with symptoms through a mobile app. At each location you entered, in terms of indoor facilities, you had to have your temperature checked.
In the guest rooms at Secrets Maroma, almost all touchpoints like remotes, iPad and the toiletries were sealed, and they had a note explaining that they were sanitized. Even when someone asked for an extra pillow it was in a sealed bag with a note how it had been sanitized.
All pool lounges and tables at the restaurants were distanced at least 6 feet apart and every member of the staff was always masked and wore protective eyewear. The buffet also differed from the normal style. Instead of self-serve, everything was already pre-plated into small tasting portions or chef attended.
Overall, Emily felt that a lot of thought was put into every single detail of the guest experience to ensure her safety as a guest and the safety of the Secrets Maroma employees.
The link below will take you to the AMResorts CleanComplete Verification video, which is worth a watch and is an excellent example for all hotels to take notice.