Hotel chambermaid

Stay-at-home restrictions are being lifted across the country and more people will resume their routines of shopping at retail stores, traveling for work and fun, and eating out in restaurants. But as two new surveys from P&G Professional reveal, COVID-19 is still top of mind for consumers and it will be critical for businesses to reassure their guests that it is safe to return.

Communicating that the space is cleaned and disinfected by brands they know and trust will help instill this consumer confidence. In May 2020, P&G Professional surveyed 850 frequent business and leisure travelers and 974 diners about how COVID-19 has impacted their expectations about future travel and dining experiences. The surveys revealed that more than 70 percent of hotel guests and 80 percent of diners believe COVID-19 will have a medium to large impact on their expectations, even as nearly 50 percent of each group plans to return to their routines within the next three months.

As businesses begin to reopen and welcome people back into their space, transparency around cleaning procedures and the products used can help guests feel more safe and confident and ultimately benefit a business’s bottom line. 

Seventy percent of travelers and 58 percent of diners respectively, said they would patronize a hospitality or food service establishment if they knew the business was using a manufacturer or brand of cleaning products they personally knew and trusted. In addition, 55 percent of travelers would be willing to pay more for a hotel room and one in three diners would be willing to pay more for a meal if they knew the business was using a personally recognizable and trusted brand of cleaning products. 

“Now more than ever, it is critical that businesses achieve and maintain a high level of cleanliness and disinfection to help ensure the health and safety of employees and guests," says Paul Edmondson, P&G Professional Americas Commercial Director. "Communicating the steps taken to achieve these new standards of clean is key to building trust with customers while rebuilding their business.” 

Some more findings from the study found: 

- Fifty-seven percent of travelers expect more transparency around what hotels are doing to keep guests safe and rooms clean, both in-person and on the company website.

- Sixty-seven percent of travelers expect to see more thorough and frequent cleaning and 61 percent expect to see more visible methods of cleaning, like pamphlets and signage.

- Cleanliness and housekeeping procedures were ranked as most the important attributes for hotel guests, surpassing both the price of the room and location of the hotel