Hotel health and safety post Covid-19 isn’t just about hygiene certificates and access to medical support, it’s also about mental health and wellbeing.
The Belgian designer and former princess Diane von Furstenberg once wrote, “When you get into a hotel room you lock the door and you know there is secrecy, there is luxury, there is fantasy. There is comfort. There is reassurance.”
That last bit is especially important.
When the hospitality industry reopens its doors following the lifting of lockdowns everywhere, it will be admitting a clientele more skittish and demanding than it was before. This is both known and accounted for. It’s the reason for enhanced health and safety protocols such as Accor’s AllSafe Cleanliness label. But, is it enough?
Safeguarding your guest’s physical health is one thing, but what about their mental health? What can you do to protect that? Should you even think about protecting it?
I think the answer is yes. As business travellers and holidaymakers return to your hotels, the last thing you want them doing is stressing out about infection rates and disinfected surfaces. Mental health issues are costly.
Take work stress for instance: It’s the number one cause of staff absenteeism in the developed world. When it comes to any kind of stress, anxiety is the number one presenting symptom. And with the predicted post Covid-19 rebound, customer anxieties will be running high, hence all the new safety measures.
At its core, anxiety is about threat and danger, whether that threat be real or imagined. When people are unhealthily concerned (as opposed to simply worried in a realistic way) they tend to overestimate the probability of that threat occurring and underestimate their ability to deal with it.
The unhealthily anxious will either avoid the thing they are anxious about, tolerate it under extreme duress (i.e., panic) or seek constant reassurance in the face of the threat.
None of the above are good for enhancing hotel experience. Also, would you know how to reassure one of your guests if they had anxiety? Would you be able to talk someone down from a panic attack if they were freaking out about the person in room 112 that had just sneezed in their general direction?
Progressive companies and big corporations already take work stress very seriously. They not only bring in mental health and wellbeing practitioners from outside in on a regular basis – there to provide seminars, presentations and workshops – but they also have wellbeing officers and mental health first aiders as part of the workforce.
They are there because companies recognise that mental health issues are as much of a priority as physical health concerns.
A mental health first aider is the go-to person for anyone going through some form of psychological problem. They help guide the person in distress to the relevant help and are also able to spot early warning signs and can intervene before things escalate.
They won’t necessarily be able to provide psychotherapy themselves, but they can point them towards people who do. People like me, for instance.
My area of expertise is anxiety disorders and work-related stress management. One of the biggest anxiety triggers is uncertainty. It pops up in any area where “I would like to know,” becomes “I have to know.” From hypochondria (I have to know I don’t have this particular illness) to fear of flying (I must know this plane is safe); from overprotective parents (I have to know my child is okay at all times) and on to control freaks (I have to know the outcome of everything), uncertainty anxiety can develop over anything. Uncertainty anxiety can crop up in your hotel. All the hygiene protocols in the world won’t talk someone down from a full-blown panic attack about Coronavirus.
But what if you planned ahead? What if your reassurance wasn’t just physical, but psychological?
Several hotel brands already consider wellbeing not just a trend, but a life-long strategy, especially for their high-end users. What if you went beyond that? What if you offered your guests more than just a massage or a mindfulness meditation session? What if you could provide valuable psychotherapeutic tools and techniques as and when needed?
Sure, you could train staff to be mental health first aiders, there to spot the signs of anxiety and maybe you could teach them the basics of bringing someone down from a panic attack, but better still would be to bring psychologists, psychotherapists and life coaches in house and have them on hand.
You could run regular workshops (water aerobics in the pool 8.00am to 9.00am, followed by psychotherapy by the pool 9.30am to 10.30am, for instance). I run several groups on a therapy programme in a hospital setting. People can access them as a one-off, or attend one or two, or complete the whole programme, depending on the length of their stay.
But you don’t just have to think about groups and workshops. You could have a dedicated therapy room on site, staffed by a therapist offering one-off hourly sessions (or indeed as many sessions as someone needed across the duration of their trip).
You’d be surprised at what you can do in just one session of psychotherapy. In fact, worldwide, the modal number of therapy sessions is just that, one single session. When asked why they didn’t return for more, patients often remarked they got all they needed from that initial appointment.
Single session therapy walk-in clinics exist in many cities around the world, they provide therapy at the point of need (now) rather than the point of availability (when an appointment becomes free). Why not have them in your hotels?
Post Covid-19, mental health and wellbeing offerings in the hospitality industry won’t be a luxury, they will be a necessity.
“Fear is not an option,” is also something Diane von Furstenberg once famously wrote. “Don’t dwell on the dark side of things but look for the light and build around it.”
When your guests lock that door, make sure the light is on and that they have everything they need to feel reassured.
Five Quick Fixes For Anxiety
1: Breathe Deeply
When you’re anxious your breathing becomes shallow and rapid. It’s part of the fight or flight response, which is great if you’re running away from an escaped tiger, but not so good if you’ve just stepped out of the shower. Shallow breathing can also lead to a condition called hypocapnia which, in turn, causes more anxiety, dizziness and fainting. Breathing in and out slowly and deeply will restore your body’s natural equilibrium.
2: Question Your Thoughts
When we are anxious our thoughts can run away from us or play tricks on us. Question the validity of your thoughts. Ask yourself if the thought is true, or sensible, or helpful. If it’s none of those things, drop it.
3: Write Your Thoughts Down
Getting things out of your head and down on paper can make things seem less daunting. They also allow us a sense of perspective.
4: Change Your Scene
Go for a walk, or a swim; do some yoga or practice a form of meditation if you know one. Engage in something that allows you to focus on your body rather than your mind.
5: Distract Yourself
Describe something in exquisite detail, a painting on the wall in your room, the view from your window; even your shoe, down to the very lust smudge and stain. Be as boring and pedantic in your detail as possible until your anxiety has passed.
Bear in mind, however, that some form of psychotherapy will be more effective in the long run.
Daniel Fryer is a psychotherapist, expert speaker and author of The Four Thoughts That F*ck You Up And How To Fix Them, out now from Penguin Random House imprint, Vermillion.
https://www.penguin.co.uk/