The government is slowly but surely rolling out COVID-19 vaccines for the general population, but administering the vaccine on a national level is quite the undertaking, requiring innovation and collaboration — and America’s hotels are well poised to help.
In fact, some hotels are already working alongside state governors to offer aid in communities across the country. In early 2020, the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) launched a “Hospitality for Hope” initiative to support public health agencies and private sector partners. Through this program, a network of more than 20,000 hotels is helping to alleviate the burdens on our health system in a time of national need. A combined total of 2.3 million hotel rooms near established healthcare facilities have been offering safe spots to quarantine for frontline workers.
“As an industry, we have always stepped up to help our neighbors and communities in a time of need, including early in the pandemic through ‘Hospitality for Hope,’” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA.
There are more than 50,000 hotels operating around the clock in every state — in urban, suburban and rural areas alike — casting a wide geographic net. According to the AHLA, hotels’ existing infrastructures and capacities make them ideal vaccine administration sites.
The industry looks forward to continuing this work in partnership with the public and private sector to support this next phase of recovery.
“With the next phases of vaccination distribution underway, hotels have the unique capability to help provide additional locations to assist with the administration of the vaccine,” Rogers said.
Because many hotels are temperature-controlled environments with refrigeration capabilities, they may meet the requirements for safe and effective vaccine storage. And, since the COVID-19 vaccine may cause side effects such as pain and swelling at the injection site, as well as fever and fatigue, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hotels can offer traveling patients a place to rest for a few days following their shots. Never mind that they continue to serve as safe havens for the frontline health care professionals who are working hard, day in and day out, to bring herd immunity goals to fruition.
Some hotels — even those that are currently closed — are forging forward in the delivery and distribution of the vaccine. For example, while Maine’s Samoset Resort and Bar Harbor Regency are not presently open for overnight guests, they’re working in conjunction with local hospitals to donate their spaces as vaccination clinics.
Samoset Resort in Rockport, which is part of Ocean Properties Hotels & Resorts’ luxury Opal Collection, is collaborating with Coastal Healthcare Alliance to host a clinic three days a week for a limited time. Clinic hours at the 230-acre waterfront complex will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through March 31, 2021.
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“We are glad to do our part by partnering with our community healthcare professionals and donating function space in an effort to make a positive contribution to the critical vaccination process in the state of Maine,” said Connie Russell, general manager of Samoset Resort.
Meanwhile, the oceanfront Bar Harbor Regency, an Ocean Properties hotel located near the entrance of Acadia National Park, is working with Mount Desert Island Hospital to serve as a site for vaccinations.
Hanover, Maryland’s Live Casino & Hotel has, too, turned its 75,000-square-foot event center into a vaccination clinic with the capacity to inoculate 100 people per hour, according to a press release. Encore Resort at Wynn Las Vegas is another state-operated vaccination facility, according to a press release. Even the Walt Disney Company’s Disneyland theme park has been turned into a vaccination “supersite” to offer thousands of vaccine appointments every day, The New York Times reported.
“The industry looks forward to continuing this work in partnership with the public and private sector to support this next phase of recovery,” Rogers said.
