ATLANTA — The American Hotel & Lodging Association is offering to help deliver COVID-19 vaccines across the country.
Chip Rogers, President and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association sent the Biden Administration Transition Team, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Governors' Association, Operation Warp Speed, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a letter offering hotel properties as vaccine administration sites across the country.
The letter outlines why hotels are uniquely positioned to help with vaccine rollout.
“Since the start of the pandemic, our industry has been on the frontlines to support national public health and safety priorities. AHLA launched the “Hospitality for Hope” initiative in early 2020, identifying more than 20,000 hotels willing to provide temporary housing for emergency and healthcare workers during the COVID-19 public health crisis. The initiative identified a total combined 2.3 million rooms located in close proximity to established healthcare facilities for frontline workers to use as they worked around the clock to save lives and provide lodging for those exposed to COVID to quarantine safely,” Rogers said.
In a release sent to 11Alive, Roger and his team noted the hotel industry is ready to step in and assist our community and alleviate the current burdens on our health systems in a time of national need and has the following capabilities:
Geographic reach: With more than 50,000 hotels in every state, including properties located in cities, suburbs, and rural communities, hotels have the geographic reach to support a wide distribution of the vaccine.
Available Capacity and Operate 24/7: Hotels have private rooms, meeting rooms, conference, and ballrooms as well as outside areas, hotels are equipped for 24-hour operations to allow for round-the-clock vaccination administration.
This will also ensure there is adequate space to maintain physical distancing, capacity limits, and other safety protocols. Further, as hotels are currently running at rates of less than 50 percent occupancy, families or individuals who might be traveling to receive the vaccine will have access to be comfortable and have access to flexible lodging options, should they need them.
Comprehensive cleanliness protocols: The industry has also adopted AHLA’s Safe Stay, an enhanced cleaning initiative that builds on the hotel industry’s long-standing commitment and operations procedures to ensure the safety of guests during the ongoing public health crisis.
Infrastructure: Hotels also offer ample parking and are often accessible from major transportation networks, including highways and public transportation routes.
Hotels also have outdoor resources that can provide safe, weather-proof vaccination services where parking lots could be utilized for vaccination administration, similar to drive-thru testing sites.
Refrigeration Capabilities: With many hotels being temperature-controlled and the majority of hotels having refrigeration capabilities to store vaccines, issues concerning vaccine storage will be limited or can be quickly addressed to meet the requirements necessary for safe and effective vaccine storage.