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The Hilton EventReady with CleanStay program includes guidelines for groups to maintain physical distancing during registration, sessions, and networking events. (Courtesy Hilton)
Earlier this year, in response to the pandemic, Hilton rolled out a CleanStay program, developed in partnership with RB — the manufacturer of Lysol — and the Mayo Clinic’s Infection and Prevention and Control Team. The program provided a set of sanitation protocols and cleanliness standards for everything from guest rooms to F&B to public areas.
But over the last months, it’s became clear that Hilton’s meeting planner customers were looking to the hotel chain for far more than just guarantees of cleanliness, said Frank Passanante, SVP Hilton Worldwide Sales – Americas. “They were looking,” Passanante said, “for guidance and leadership for the whole event experience.”
Today, Hilton is unveiling a second phase of the initiative, Hilton EventReady with CleanStay, based on a series of think tanks, and research and consultation with its customers and other experts. The initiative is a comprehensive program that “addresses all of the issues of the day,” Passanante said.
In addition to expanded sanitation cleanliness standards that apply to the entire meeting experience, the program also takes into account the uncertainty that meeting planners face around travel restrictions and safety issues related to the pandemic, he added. The program offers “Book-to-Billing Flexibility,” giving planners flexible pricing and simplified contracting.
As part of the program, Hilton also will be supplying meeting planner customers with a 300-page “EventReady Playbook,” designed to help them plan safe and socially responsible events, he said. Among it highlights will be:
- Room sets developed with sanitation protocols and social responsibility guidelines in mind, including classroom-style and theater-style meeting rooms, coffee breaks, and F&B.
- Hybrid events guidelines for combining one or more in-person events with a virtual component, connecting audiences from around the world — or even in different rooms.
- Creative networking ideas on how to network while maintaining physical distancing, such as progressive meals that use more than one meeting space; food truck outdoor events; and projection mapping, directing attendees to various stations.