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The future of hospitality | Responding to the challenges, seizing the opportunities
Use technology to alleviate 
operational burden and 
promote safety
Adhering to authorities’ COVID-19-related 
health and safety rules—and addressing 
customers’ health worries—represents 
a significant burden for hospitality 
companies, especially as they may 
be unable to operate with typical staffing 
levels. Technology can help ease 
this burden. For examples, hotels, casinos, and sports 
venues might wish to explore the use of 
non-invasive thermal scanning technology 
to monitor incoming customers for 
signs of fever and alert staff to intercept 
potentially ill individuals before they can 
enter the premises. The technology is 
already in use in restaurants, casinos, 
and car parks in Macau—as well as in 
airports in various parts of the world—
and people have come to accept the 
scanning as a necessary part of life in the 
new normal. However, the technology’s 
utility in still subject to some debate, and 
North American customers may be more 
skeptical of such mass surveillance. Smartphone apps may also prove useful. Something like China’s health status app, 
which indicates an individual’s health 
risk on a colour-coded scale, could 
help hospitality organizations screen 
customers prior to entry; they may also 
prove useful in facilitating the return of 
domestic and international travel. The 
contact-tracing apps used or under 
consideration by governments and health 
authorities worldwide, meanwhile, could 
enable hotels, casinos, and sports venues 
quickly identify a sick customer’s travels 
through their facilities and alert other 
customers about their potential exposure. Technology can also help hospitality 
organizations communicate when rooms 
were last cleaned—and even assist 
in the cleaning itself. Marriott Hotels 
is testing UV light to sanitize guests’ 
key and devices shared by staff and 
using electrostatic sprayers to spread 
hospital-grade sanitizers in guest rooms, 
lobbies, gyms, and other public areas.14 
Sports venues and other organizations 
may choose to take a cue from transit 
operators in Asia, which have begun 
deploying drones and robots to reach and 
disinfect hard-to-reach surfaces.15 Digital 
screens can display cleaning schedules, 
when a space was last cleaned, and 
promote organizations’ health and safety 
precautions overall. Symptom monitoring solutions help businesses reopen and protect staff 
and customers
A number of digital solutions have emerged during the current health crisis 
to enable Canadian organizations to monitor and manage the health of both 
workers and consumers. One of these solutions is Thrive Health, a digital 
platform that provides businesses and other organizations with the key 
functionality needed to safely reopen, protect the health of employees and 
patrons, and minimize costly disruptions: coronavirus risk assessments of 
individuals. Throughout the pandemic, federal and provincial governments 
have relied on Thrive Health’s platforms to perform these assessments on 
millions of Canadians. The platform helps organizations assess risk based on individuals’ personal 
factors, roles, and symptoms—and it provides clear guidance, resources, and 
the latest recommendations on how to respond.