Our community, our responsibility. There are two things I have learned so far from the coronavirus; the first is that keeping our community safe and clean is a responsibility we all share.

I was surprised by the numerous e-mails I have received regarding ‘cleaning processes and good hygiene,’ from industry partners, department stores, even my gym, announcing their new cleaning procedures. There are several webinars on a daily basis promoting healthy habits, disinfecting methods and good practices for yourself and others. I appreciate the information and the extra steps that everyone is taking to help make people comfortable and safe.

The second thing the pandemic has shown is that when the chips are down, most people are willing to come together to help one another.  And since travel is all about people coming together, our industry should be a good place to expect an extra level of care. After all, even pre-COVID, we travelers had to have a certain trust in the environments travel providers offer – clean pillow cases, (relatively) germ-free seat-back trays, tobacco-less car rides, etc.

In the days to come when business travel returns to the road, I’m certain one of the biggest hurdles for the industry to overcome will be providing people with assurances that things are clean, healthy and safe. Travel providers will need to do a lot more communicating and educating, not only about what steps they’re taking, but also about how effective their efforts are going to be.

I am glad to know that our industry is taking steps to help educate and promote healthy habits as well as developing cleaner, safer environments for all. My hope is that once this crisis is over, we will continue these practices.