Survey Shows Travelers Choose Hygiene Over Price and Location

Travelers intending to book vacation accommodations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic consider hygiene to be more important than price or location, according to a new survey by travel company Skyscanner.

The survey was conducted among 2,300 travelers from the United States, the United Kingdom., Australia, South Korea, and Singapore who visited Skyscanner’s website during June 12-22, reports European Cleaning Journal.

When it comes to booking a property in the future, 55% of Skyscanner users scored sanitation and hygiene practices as “extremely important,” compared to price (48%) and location (45%). Reward and loyalty programs ranked lowest (11%), behind brand reputation (21%) and star rating (20%).

In the face of COVID-19, travelers say hygiene practices (73%) and flexible cancelation polices, (61%) have become “more important than before.”

In response to new traveler preferences, Skyscanner has introduced cleanliness ratings on most accommodations listed on its site. These ratings are retrieved from TripAdvisor’s reviews in real-time.

Many public facilities, including airports and hotels, are looking at new ways to meet changing traveler preferences as well. Hyatt Hotels & Resorts was the first to announce their commitment to complete the new  GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation Program, developed by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association. The program is designed to help public and commercial facilities establish and maintain a cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention program. Since Hyatt’s announcement in April, other hotel establishments, including The Leading Hotels of the World, Ltd., which represents more than 400 hotels in over 80 countries, have announced they will apply for the accreditation as well.

Travelers will also see an effort to put new hygiene standards in place at airports across the U.S. On Tuesday, the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and GBAC announced they have established a formal partnership to accredit airports that meet the highest levels of cleanliness and safety at their facilities to minimize risk from coronavirus and other infectious agents.