TORONTO — Fairmont Hotels & Resorts re-opened its doors to guests and visitors on June 1 at its Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Whistler properties in Western Canada. This includes guest services, select food-and-beverage venues and golf courses, as well as limited spa services.
“The hotels’ top priority remains the safety, care and well-being of our Fairmont family. Welcoming, safeguarding and taking care of others is at the very heart of what we do and who we are,” says David Roberts, Fairmont Banff Spring general manager and regional vice-president, Fairmont Hotels in Canada’s western mountain region. “Today, this means keeping our guests and employees safe by preventing the spread of COVID-19 — partnering with top experts to implement new standards of safety and enhanced operational protocols and procedure, which are among the most stringent in the hospitality industry.”
The new operational standards being implemented at Fairmont Banff Springs, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and Fairmont Chateau Whistler — and at Fairmont properties across North and Central America — were developed and vetted by a team of expert advisors to ensure maximum efficacy in preventing the spread of all viruses and pathogens, including COVID-19, with oversight by Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspections and certification; Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security and fellow with the Infectious Diseases Society of America; and Ruth Petran, Ph.D., CFS, senior corporate scientist, Food Safety and Public Health, for Ecolab.
At each touchpoint along the guest journey through the hotel, extensive measures are being taken to protect guests and employees, including physical distancing; mandatory screening for all guests and employees, which may include a temperature check; masks provided to guests and worn by all employees; a 48-hour “settling period” for occupied rooms post-departure; increased frequency of cleaning and disinfecting, with a focus on high-touch points; and continued use of EPA-registered disinfecting chemicals, proven effective in preventing the transmission of COVID-19. Hands-on training for all employees, a dedicated on-property rollout committee and a formal audit program, validated under the global ALLSAFE Cleanliness label, ensure initial and continued compliance.
“As we welcome our friends, family and community back to Fairmont Banff Springs, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, and Fairmont Chateau Whistler, please be assured we’re looking ahead, through and past the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure our valued guests and employees will always be looked after with the highest degree of safety, care and comfort,” says Roberts.
