A closer look at the technology behind new hotel cleaning regimes: Part two

Reviewing and improving your cleaning practices and standards isn’t optional if you want to appeal to guests in a post Covid-19 world. In our last article we zoomed in on the distinction between cleaning, sanitisation and disinfecting. They are not the same thing, even though the words seem to get used interchangeably. Let’s take a second to recap on what each means.

·Cleaning a surface removes visible debris, dirt and dust

·Sanitising a surface makes that surface free of visible dirt contaminants which could affect your health. It is meant to reduce the occurrence of bacteria, viruses and fungi

·Disinfecting a surface kills microscopic organisms.

So there’s an extra step in the cleaning process that all hoteliers should be considering, and that’s disinfecting the room.

In part 1, we also looked at some of the tech that can help you reach the levels of disinfection needed.  So how do you narrow down which method you should invest in?

Things to consider when choosing a solution

 Getting cleanliness right in the ‘new normal’ can seem overwhelming.  We’ve given a detailed breakdown of the things you need to think about in a previous article, but here they are in a nutshell:

· Common areas and high touch areas will need cleaning more often

· You should consider disinfecting all hard and soft surfaces like carpets and decorative pillows in guest rooms after each stay / check-out

· Visible solutions can inspire guest confidence – e.g. being seen disinfecting surfaces with professional equipment will win guests trust & confidence

· Whatever technology you choose needs to be safe for staff and be easy to train them to use

· Time is of the essence – you’ll need to consider the length of time some chemicals are left on a surface, the coverage they provide and how long areas should be vacant after application

· Labour cost – some technologies require staff to undertake specialist training. The amount of setup time and labour involved in disinfecting the room also needs to be taken into consideration.

The solutions on the table – and the verdict

Luckily there are a range of solutions to the cleaning conundrum, including UV-C which uses UV light to sanitise, fogging chemical sprays with a fogging machine, and electrostatic spraying via a special cordless handheld gun or backpack.

We’ve ranked each one against the factors outlined above to see which ticks the most boxes.

Our verdict

We’d say electrostatic spraying, as used by the Marriot and Hilton, seems to offer the safest and most effective solution. It also has lower associated costs, is quicker and less chemical used.

To recap on the fundamentals of electrostatic sprayers: they are based on the principle that opposite charges attract and like charges repel. The electrostatic sprayer places a positive charge on the liquid before entering the nozzle. This means that no matter which angle you disinfect a surface from, the charge created by the electrostatic sprayer makes the disinfectant wrap around and cling to the entire surface, giving 360-degree coverage. Rather than wiping off the disinfectant, it is left to dry on the surface, meaning it stays there longer and kills more of its target microbes. No wiping also means no cross-contamination.

The bottom line

Ultimately it is up to each individual business to look at their resources and what suits them best in terms of post Covid-19 disinfectant procedures. It’s important to do your due diligence and be aware of the options and to evaluate what is the most appropriate for your business in terms of effectiveness and cost, including equipment, labour costs and the modifications to procedures and chemicals.

Each of the technologies involves some initial equipment cost, but in the long run they will help save you time, money, and will boost customer confidence & loyalty.