“‘ONYX Clean’ will impact every step of the guest journey from arrival to departure, with updated standards and operational procedures that complement the group’s existing health and safety initiatives,” the firm said in a press release.

The initiative will be introduced at all of the company’s 52 properties across seven countries in the coming weeks, and at all new openings.

“ONYX team members are continuously engaged while staying home as they participate in an online learning platform that offers a wide variety of training programmes, including in-house produced educational videos that help deliver awareness on pathogen risks and demonstrate enhanced cleaning and sanitising methods and updated guest service protocols,” the release said.

Each property has appointed an in-house ONYX Clean champion who will ensure the implementation and internal audit of all standards based on a property-wide checklist developed in partnership with Ecolab, a global leader in hygiene, safety and energy technology solutions and supplier of many cleaning products.

“As one of the leading medium-sized hospitality players in the Asia-Pacific region, we have always taken pride in our high levels of hygiene and our longstanding commitment towards the safety and well-being of our guests, team members and the community,” group president and CEO Douglas Martell said.

“With the impact of Covid-19 leading to new norms and heightened consumer interest in hygiene and safety, we would like to assure all travellers – both new and returning – that we have their safety and well-being as our number one priority,” he added.

Under the ONYX Clean initiative, arriving guests will need to have their temperature taken, hands sanitised and requested to complete a health and travel questionnaire. Physical distancing will be implemented in the event of queues or when waiting for check-in.

A room seal will be placed on every room door to indicate to arriving guests that their personal space has not been tampered with since being thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Housekeeping teams will wear hotel-issued masks and gloves, and carry a list of high-touch surfaces such as table tops, chairs, door handles, lift buttons, TV remotes, room controls and faucets, which will all be wiped down with approved sanitisers and further sterilised with UV-C wands, the firm said.

Also, all food and beverage outlets will be rearranged to ensure a safe distance of at least one metre between tables and bar chairs, with queue management during busy meal periods such as breakfast. Kitchens and food preparation areas, spas, pools and fitness zones will also undergo enhanced sanitisation and crowding minimized, it added.

ONYX Hospitality Group said it has 20 hotels in the pipeline, scheduled to open in the coming years in locations such as Pattaya, Niseko, the Maldives, Penang, Colombo and Vientiane.