.png)
- bcf888
Safest holiday accommodation for travel during COVID-19 | Update June 2020
Updated: Jun 12, 2020
KEY POINTS
After COVID-19 there will be a "new normal" for international travel.
When international travel and tourism resumes, a key question on every traveller's mind is sure to be "what accommodation type will be safest for me to minimise my risk of infection?"
Travellers will likely want to avoid crowded hotels and other multi-unit, multistory accommodations, in favour of choosing smaller, single property vacation rentals or less busy serviced apartments.
Serviced apartments and vacation rentals will also cater best to post COVID-19 travellers who will likely opt to stay in one location for longer, rather than undertaking multi-destination holiday itineraries.
Multi-generational travel is also likely to be more popular post COVID-19, as families catch up on quality time together; another demand driver for serviced apartment type accommodation.
These trends will be game-changers for the international leisure travel industry, and self-catering serviced apartments and vacation rentals will be in hot demand, whilst hotel occupancies will decline.
Holiday makers will avoid crowded hotels in the "new travel normal".
In the "new travel normal", we expect to see a significant decline in the popularity of large hotels, and other similar types of accommodation housed in multistorey, multi-unit buildings. A marked increase in demand for less crowded accommodation experiences is expected. Large hotels and other similar, multistorey accommodations provide too many opportunities for infection to spread. With higher turnover of guests, including large volumes of travellers daily, and even hourly, hotels have huge difficulty ensuring that high-risk surfaces are sufficiently sanitised, and that guests observe appropriate social distancing.
Crowded hotel and multi-unit accommodation receptions, public spaces, lifts, common corridors, and even guest rooms, will expose guests to a very high risk of coming into contact with airborne germs and contaminated surfaces. Even their central air-conditioning systems will pose a high risk to guest safety, heightening the risk of person-to-person infection. Hotel operators can only hope to promote a perception of health safety; the reality of what guests will face in these accommodation environments is most likely to be much less favourable.
Non-hotel accommodations will be favoured by travellers to reduce COVID risk.
Accommodation types that deal with lower volumes of guests, and with lower guest turnover, such as vacation rentals and serviced apartments, will offer travellers a uniquely different and more favourable health safety environment. Proper social distancing and effective sanitising are both more achievable in smaller properties.
Serviced apartments also offer guests the flexibility to "self-cater", meaning that they may exercise an additional level of choice to further reduce their risk of exposure to infections. By avoiding restaurants and cafes where people congregate in large numbers and in close proximity, and where sanitisation standards may not be enforced rigorously enough, travellers can massively reduce their exposure to possible infection sources. Self-catering accommodations enable guests to have access to their own sanitised food preparation areas, and to use cutlery, crockery and utensils that only they will use and that they know to be clean and safe.
Travellers will stay longer in one location, leading to increased demand for larger accommodation.
Average durations of stay are sure to trend higher post COVID-19; another reason that will increase the demand for serviced apartment-type accommodations. Instead of moving locations after 2 or 3 days, stays of 5 to 7 days or longer will be typical in the new 'travel normal'. This choice to be based in the one location for longer, rather than to travel to several destinations during the same vacation, will undoubtedly cause more spacious and more comprehensively equipped and furnished accommodations to be in higher demand. A 'home-away-from-home' type experience will be favoured; an experience that can be best achieved in a serviced apartment or vacation rental.
Demand for multi-generational family travel will increase once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
A big surge in demand for family and multi-generational travel is anticipated once COVID-19 travel restrictions are relaxed or lifted. Many families haven’t been able to be together during lockdown periods, and they have likely missed celebrating significant family occasions such as wedding anniversaries and/or birthdays. Families will be seeking to recoup quality time together and how better to do so than on a multi-generational holiday?
Self-catering, serviced apartments and vacation rentals, particularly properties with direct access to the outside rather than via common areas and/or corridors will be most suited to family stays. Such properties not only offer family members the opportunity for all to stay together under one roof, but also in a way that provides for the greatest security to health, particularly to older family members.
Accommodations must also make it 'safe to book', as well as 'safe to stay'.
Offering booking flexibility will be a key requirement in the "new travel normal". Official visa and other travel regulations have changed quickly in recent times, leading to uncertainty going forward with regard to travel plans. Travellers will want to know that they will be able to cancel their plans without penalty in the event that they are precluded from embarking on their vacation.
How to choose the right accommodation property in the "new travel normal"?
In the "new travel normal", social media review sites such as Tripadvisor, Facebook and Google Business can be expected to guide traveller decision-making as regard accommodation choice to an even greater extent. Properties regularly reviewed by guests to be at the top of their sector, with exceptional standards of cleanliness and operating efficiency, will undoubtedly be favoured. Reviews should be recent and up-to-date and should demonstrate service delivery at a consistently excellent level.
How we are meeting the requirements of the "new travel normal" at Furano Lofts.
The luxury 'Furano Lofts' serviced apartments and townhouses, and the unique, 'Chalet at Furano Lofts' alpine residence vacation rental , exemplify the type and standard of accommodation that will be most favoured in the "new travel normal." Furano Lofts properties are top-ranked overall by guests on review sites, in particular on Trip Adviser, consistently receiving 5-star ratings for comfort and cleanliness, as well as for management efficiency. This collection of properties offers travellers exactly what they require.
Interested in staying at Furano Lofts? Make an obligation-free booking enquiry.
Examples of new 'travel normal' best practices at Furano Lofts and Chalet at Furano Lofts:
'Furano Lofts' and 'Chalet at Furano Lofts' offer industry best practice standards with regard to operational efficiency, housekeeping and services.
Guests are offered booking flexibility. Guests are free to postpone their bookings and redeem a 100% credit voucher for their future stay, or in the event of Government regulations precluding their travel, guests may receive a full refund, less a nominal deduction to cover refund remittance costs,
Check-in/check-out is handled separately for each guest. We handle these procedures in the guests' own private accommodation, thereby avoiding the traditional hotel-style reception area check-in / check-out process.
All properties have private access and facilities. Each property at Furano Lofts and 'Chalet at Furano Lofts' has its own separate entrance that connects directly to the outside and is not shared with any other guests. There are no lifts, common corridors or other common spaces. Kitchens, bathrooms and laundries are private and unique to each property. Each property is separately air-conditioned and in each room, the latest in constant-flow venting has been installed to ensure the regular exchange of fresh air with the outside.
Housekeeping and complimentary amenities exceed "new travel normal" requirements. A highly trained, and regularly health-checked housekeeping team ensures that the cleanliness of each property is maintained to the highest standard. All 'at risk' surfaces are sanitised during daily housekeeping, and exterior surfaces, such as front doors and door handles etc. are further sanitised at regular intervals throughout the day. Sanitation and attention to cleanliness have always been prioritised at 'Furano Lofts' and 'Chalet at Furano Lofts' but enhanced procedures have now been implemented, and all local and international health authority guidelines and recommendations are followed. Each property is also equipped with complimentary amenities, including hand sanitiser, hand wash and body wash.
Fresh air, tranquillity and calm. The location of 'Furano Lofts' and 'Chalet at Furano Lofts' is also uniquely suited to ensuring the healthiest of environments for guests. The property enjoys an exclusive, elevated position in the most picturesque area of Furano's ski village. The properties are surrounded by nature and fresh air, and have wonderful field, forest, garden and/or mountain views.
For more information about Furano Lofts and Chalet at Furano Lofts please get in touch with our
Guest Services team or browse our accommodations.