Marriott will be rolling out a multi-pronged platform as the hotel giant seeks to elevate its cleanliness standards to meet the new safety challenges presented by the current pandemic.

“We are living in a new age, with Covid-19 front and centre for our guests and our associates,” said Arne Sorenson, chief executive, Marriott International.

“We want our guests to understand what we are doing today and planning for in the near future in the areas of cleanliness, hygiene and social distancing so that when they walk through the doors of one of our hotels, they know our commitment to their health and safety is our priority.

“It’s equally important to us that our associates know the changes we are making to help safeguard their health as they serve our guests.”

Marriott has created the Marriott Global Cleanliness Council to tackle the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic at the hotel level.

The body is focused on developing the next level of global hospitality cleanliness standards, norms and behaviours that are designed to minimise risk and enhance safety for consumers and Marriott associates alike.

The council is chaired by Ray Bennett, chief global officer, global operations, Marriott International, and will benefit from knowledge and input from both in-house and outside experts including senior leaders from across Marriott disciplines like housekeeping, engineering, food safety, occupational health and associate wellbeing.

“Through the council and scientific advice of experts, we are taking a thoughtful approach to set an even higher bar of cleanliness and develop new guest interaction protocols,” said Bennett.

“The council is focused on more than just disinfection across the hotel, we are providing a holistic approach designed to take care of our guests and associates.”

Marriott is rolling out enhanced technologies over the next few months, including electrostatic sprayers with hospital-grade disinfectant to sanitise surfaces throughout the hotel.

Electrostatic spraying technology uses the highest classification of disinfectants recommended by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organisation to treat known pathogens.

Over the next few months, when guests are in hotels within the Marriott portfolio, they will notice a number of additions to our cleaning regimen designed to set an even higher standard of cleanliness for the hotels.

“Safety for our guests and associates has always been a top priority for Marriott and today that discussion of safety is in the context of Covid-19,” said Bennett.

“We want our guests to know that we are doing everything we can to welcome them back to a safe and clean hotel environment when they start traveling again.”