As states are reopening, more people are traveling again and to accommodate them, more hotels are opening back up too. However, since we are still amid a pandemic, many hotels have enacted stringent cleaning procedures to keep their guests safe when they check in to a room that others have been in. Among the ways rooms are sanitized between guests is by changing the sheets, something that should have been happening even before coronavirus, but something that Inside Edition learned isn't even happening now.
The show's investigative team checked in to various hotels in New York City and sprayed the Inside Edition logo on beds, pillows and towels with a washable paint that's only visible under UV light. They also used a similar invisible-to-the-naked-eye material on the TV remote, thermostat and desk. They checked out and, using a new reservation with a different name, checked back into the same rooms to see how well the hotel's housekeeping staff did at sanitizing. The results were disturbing. Three hotels didn't change pillowcases or wipe down surfaces and two didn't change the sheets.
The hotels in the report responded to the findings, with a Hyatt spokesperson saying, "We are working with the hotel’s owner to ensure the hotel is implementing proper cleaning protocols that are consistent with Hyatt’s commitment to cleanliness for the safety and wellbeing of our guests."
A rep for Hampton Inn said they conducted their own investigation and found that "our housekeeping team relied on a visual inspection of the room’s cleanliness to determine which areas received attention, deviating from our protocols. This is a violation of our standards to thoroughly clean each room. Both our housekeeping team and management apologize for this mistake and we are retraining our team members to reinforce our procedures."
Meanwhile, a rep for the Trump International Hotel denied the report, stating, "Following an internal review, we have concluded that the claims made by Inside Edition are categorically false. Trump International Hotel & Tower New York is one of the premier luxury hotels anywhere in the world and has received countless accolades, including the Forbes Five-Star award for the past 13 years, for its consistently impeccable service."
Photo: YouTube/InsideEdition