INTEGRATED casino-resort Resorts World Manila (RWM) has applied stringent measures to ensure the health and safety of its guests and employees as the 3,600-room complex and its facilities prepare to reopen in the new normal.

“The Resort World Manila management team has been looking far ahead about how we’re going to ensure that our guests continue to have the seamless experience when they visit the resort and how we can ensure our touchpoints are covered from safety [and] security. Ultimately, we want to give world-class service with a Filipino touch to the best of our ability, which we’ve always done in the last 10 years,” Stephen Reilly, RWM’s COO, said in a digital briefing on June 19.

The casino-resort complex in Pasay City is composed of the main Newport City mall (which also houses its casino and theater) and seven hotels: international hotel brands Marriott Hotel Manila, Sheraton Manila Hotel, Hilton Manila, Holiday Inn Express Manila (HIEx Manila), and Filipino hotel brands Belmont Hotel Manila and Savoy Hotel Manila. Also included in the hotel list is the soon-to-open Hotel Okura.

During the briefing, executives from each hotel outlined the safety measures they are taking which includes global safety programs from the international hotel chains — the Marriott Global Hotel Cleanliness Program for both Manila Marriott and Sheraton Manila, Hilton’s CleanStay program, and HIEx Manila’s guidelines for COVID-19 prevention following the direction of the Intercontinental Hotel Group’s guidelines -— while local brands Savoy Hotel Manila and Belmont Hotel Manila have their Stay Safe programs.

The said efforts are being done in collaboration with hygiene and sanitation brands Lysol, Ecolab, and Diversey.

“The first thing we had to do was change our mindset [in order] to prepare for this new normal. And the new normal is ever changing — it could be different tomorrow then the following weeks, until we get to the degree of real normality,” Mr. Reilly said.

The reopening of the hotels is still up in the air as the Department of Tourism only allows hotels to open once a city or region is under a looser form of lockdown called modified general community quarantine.

The department also requires hotels to acquire a permit before resuming operations.

The National Capital Region is still under a stricter general community quarantine.

The mall and other areas on the property also use sanitation and disinfection technologies including a smart disinfection and temperature chamber, Multi-Quat sanitizers (a sanitizing concentrate used for food service and housekeeping), and escalator handrail sanitizers using UV light.

“[W]e have our screening chambers in every single entrance. We’re actually adjusting our air-conditioning for the whole property to have UV technology to enable the whole resort to screen viruses coming in,” Mr. Reilly said at the briefing.

While the hotels are poised to reopen, the complex’s casino remains closed following the guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Among the sanitation procedures being followed in the hotels include the frequent disinfection of high-touch areas in the properties and using “electrostatic sprayers with hospital-grade disinfectants” for both Marriott and Sheraton.

The entire property meanwhile, will have an “antivirus patrol” which will be responsible for checking and ensuring that guests wear face masks and follow physical distancing protocols.

The hotels are readying themselves for eventual reopening while their restaurants and food and beverage outlets are already adjusting to the new normal and protocols set by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Pick-up and delivery services are now available in-house for outlets such as Victoria Harbour Cafe, Silk Road, Happy 9, and Casa Buenas. The service, called Delishvery, will soon include outlets from Marriott Manila and the Hilton Manila. Hotel Okura Manila, though it is yet to open its hotel rooms, is offering its Japanese cuisine for takeout with Okura at Home. Sheraton Manila currently offers takeout from its all-day dining restaurant S Kitchen and Korean restaurant, Oori.

Savoy Hotel Manila and Belmont Hotel Manila, meanwhile, both have their own pick-up and takeout services. — Zsarlene B. Chua

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