After a nearly three-month hiatus, courthouses are beginning to open up and it looks like by the fall, in-person trials will again be taking place all over the country. With so many things to consider on top of the normal craziness of preparing for a trial, we thought sharing our recent experiences with hotels would be of value.
Firstly, you must know that depending on the city your trial is taking place, some or most hotels are still not be open. They could be in the process of setting a reopening date and your trial could be a determining factor. This provides a great opportunity to leverage your business and negotiate better terms.
Most markets are still struggling to reach occupancies above 40% and because trial teams will be some of the first corporate clients, you will be in high demand. Hotels have furloughed and laid off many salespeople, so it could be more difficult to reach someone and get answers quickly. However, once you get someone you should be very well taken care of because they need your business more than ever.
New Sanitation and Health Safety Standards
Major hotel chains have all publicly shared their plans for sanitation and health safety standards to assuage guest concerns. Hotel Sales Managers will happily share them along with anything property specific that is being done or we are happy to share for those that would like to see them. Overall the plans are very well thought out and detailed, but it is up to the individual property and staff to carry them through.
Will you have to wait 10 minutes for an elevator with no one inside? Are all staff members required to wear a mask and what about vendors and other hotel guests?
In addition to sanitation, you must consider the hotel’s ability to accommodate distanced meetings, war rooms and working spaces. We have seen more firms inquire about large meeting spaces instead of or in conjunction with using suites. We have asked for exact measurements and floor plans to illustrate how 6ft spaced desks will look.
Assuming you are comfortable with the standards and specifications of the room set, you also want to consider what food and beverage options are available and the processes being followed to ensure safe handling. Are you more or less inclined now to order catering from outside the hotel and if you are in a meeting space is that even allowed (most hotels don’t allow food to be brought in to banquet space). Generally, you want to minimize the amount of outside contact that will be taking place and keep the team as isolated as possible.