CNN Philippines (Metro Manila, June 11) — Disinfectant sprays and steam machines whir loudly in upscale hotel rooms in Makati. And as the moisture from the chemicals starts to settle, only silence fills the air. Orchestra music and the clinking sound of glasses in a toast are now mere memories of days gone by.
The hotel ambiance now feels surreal. Gone are the towering and neatly dressed butlers. Doormen in dark coveralls with face shields have replaced them, greeting guests at the lobby.
Inside elevators, there are no more cocktail party posters that sell socializing. The ads instead now say “stay safe and maintain social distancing.” Breakfast buffets are out – it’s either ala carte or to-go.
With the lounge’s grand piano, spa and lavish pool areas all cordoned off, the coronavirus has truly upset the high life.
As of June, about 478 upscale and budget hotels nationwide, 160 of which are located in Metro Manila, have been turned into quarantine homes for overseas Filipino workers awaiting COVID test results, according to the Department of Tourism.
Makati’s luxury hotels– at least two dozens of them – have also opened their doors to returning OFWs since the lockdown began, an industry source said.
“During the lockdown, we are serving our distressed returning OFWs as part of the Bayanihan Heal as One Act,” Andy Belmonte, Holiday Inn and Suites Makati hotel manager, said in a June 4 interview with CNN Philippines.
“They don’t step out of the rooms. They have to remain inside so whenever we deliver meals, or we have some things for them, linen or whatever they request, we just put it outside the chair then it’s up to them when they will pick up. We try to avoid face-to-face interaction with them,” he added as he explained why the corridor leading to the rooms is littered with solo chairs.
Romeo Fontanilla, a seafarer from the virus-infected Costa Luminosa cruise ship, is grateful to be one of the hundred OFWs booked in this high-end Makati hotel.
“Magaantay lang kami dito sa hotel, waiting for advice… Stay safe pa din, konting pagtitiis pa din sa protocol na ginagawa sa amin dito ng gobyerno,” he said.
As Makati hotels reopen soon to new guests and loyal patrons, they’re in a scamper to deal with the stigma.
“Everything now is clean, clean, clean. Clean, sanitize, disinfect,” Belmonte said.
“We already have high standards of cleanliness but it still has to be enhanced. We partnered with medical experts, chemical specialists for our products that we use for disinfection.”
Since the brand is attached to the London Stock Exchange-listed InterContinental Hotels Group plc (IHG), Holiday Inn and Suites Makati follows global standards called the “IHG way of clean”. Under that system, the turnaround time for new guests checking in could take three days. Used rooms are left untouched for one whole day before hotel staff in protective PPEs return to disinfect the toilet, bathroom, tiles and all surfaces, including switches, TV and remote controls. As the bed is the most important detail in a hotel room, it is stripped entirely and steamed at high temperature to kill any virus. Hotel staff steam-clean the rest of the beddings and purify the air.
Five-star hotel Discovery Primea, which also housed balikbayans, is likewise doubling down on health and sanitation protocols. That means huge investments for purchasing equipment and training for in-house staff tasked to disinfect rooms. Guests entering a newly cleaned room here will be welcomed with a whiff of bamboo scent, remnants of the antimicrobial coating solution sprayed on surfaces. A bottle of that costs thousands of pesos and could cover only one hotel floor.
Hotel managers are capitalizing on brand reputation in cornering niche markets like expatriates and long-staying guests.
“Our hotel was never designed to be crowded,” Discovery Primea general manager David Pardo de Ayala said in a June 5 interview, referring to the hotel’s low density and high ceiling design that together add an air of luxury.
“In this new context, that is a particularly relevant feature – space becomes a luxury. Space becomes synonymous with safety and peace of mind.”
As the pandemic has changed the hotel experience from dining to wining and deluxe in-room services, guests can only be nostalgic for a bygone era.
