Spa Executive - December 2021

stopped offering buffet service, and we removed
that requirement as a concession; if you’re not
doing it because of health regulations, you’re not
going to get penalized for it. We’re now bringing
that back because that’s an enhancement to the
guest experience, but rewriting the requirement
with some modifications that better suit how
people think about communal buffets now.
How have things changed
since 2020?
In 2020, we actually declared that we were going
to stop our star rating process, but we didn’t stop
100% because there were still destinations open
and thriving in 2020. They’d been working hard,
they were busy, they were ready to be evaluated.
So, we ended up having a very light announcement
at the end of 2020. Now, we’re back on the road
again in full force.
doing it because of health regulations, you’re not
going to get penalized for it. We’re now bringing
that back because that’s an enhancement to the
guest experience, but rewriting the requirement
with some modifications that better suit how
people think about communal buffets now.
During the pandemic we saw a lot of hotels figuring
out how to combine health and safety regulations
with still trying to give the best experience possible.
And, that was clearly a struggle.
Some elements dropped off. Graciousness and
service did drop off a bit. It was still very strong at
the Five-Star level, but it did go down. Cleanliness
also dropped off, which was surprising to us
because of all the regulations around it. But, we’re
starting to see all those performance points climb
back up to almost pre pandemic levels, which is
very encouraging.
We made a lot of concessions during the pandemic,
and now that I think we’re seeing the end, there are
not going to be any more concessions. But we have
made changes. For example, most hotels and spas
stopped offering buffet service, and we removed
that requirement as a concession; if you’re not
December 2021 Issue • p. 29