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August 3rd, 2020 | by NEWCASociety has witnessed the constant changes to daily life caused by the coronavirus crisis—some more expected than others. One somewhat surprising effect of COVID-19 has been the transformation within hotel design, renovation and construction.
ConstructionDive reported on a white paper co-authored by Mark Pratt, vice president and global hospitality practice leader at the Leo A Daly architecture firm, which points to a “shift to health and wellness offerings” for the safety and wellbeing of hotel guests.
According to Pratt, some of these new, health-related features will include:
• Replacing soft surfaces with solid, antimicrobial and antibacterial finishes.
• Increasing outdoor seating, dining and work areas
• Increased use of stainless steel, porcelain, and glass, such as replacing shower curtains with glass doors
• The addition of high-tech filters to HVAC systems, and an increased focus on air containment and sanitization
• Additional high-tech systems/products such as thermal cameras, automated door openers or room controls, and “air curtains” to moderate climates for indoor/outdoor dining or gathering
The Dive reported that, according to Pratt, “This shift to health and wellness offerings will generate an influx of new and retrofit work for U.S. contractors in the near future.” Pratt recommended that hospitality contractors devise “coronavirus retrofit packages” for various types of hotels.
“Be proactive by taking a typical guest room and calculating how much and how long to change it, then propose it to hotels,” Pratt said.
More on this story can be found here.