Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Collaborates with Johns Hopkins Medicine International on Enhanced Health and Safety Program at Properties Worldwide

TORONTO, May 13, 2020 /CNW/ -- Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world's leading luxury hospitality company, has entered into a collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine International, the global division of health care and research leader Johns Hopkins Medicine, to validate its new global health and safety program, Lead With Care, and provide ongoing, real-time guidance on the evolving COVID-19 situation. Grounded in the principles of care, trust and service, the Lead With Care program will be reviewed and validated by Johns Hopkins Medicine experts and implemented by dedicated teams at Four Seasons properties around the world.

"Within this new environment, our singular goal is to provide guests, residents and employees with the confidence and assurance that their health and safety is our first priority," says John Davison, President and Chief Executive Officer, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. "We are incredibly proud to work alongside the renowned experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine International, leveraging their global expertise to strengthen our already stringent health and safety measures through our new Lead With Care program."

Continues Davison: "For nearly 60 years, Four Seasons has set the global standard for excellence in hospitality and service. Lead With Care is a continuation of this high standard, building upon the strong foundation of trust and confidence that we have established through decades of experience. This new program is about offering genuine care and the highest levels of service, enhancing procedures to protect our guests, residents and employees, while also ensuring that they feel safe and reassured."

Four Seasons and Johns Hopkins Medicine International COVID-19 Advisory Board

Johns Hopkins Medicine International and Four Seasons have established a dedicated COVID-19 Advisory Board, bringing together Four Seasons leadership and top experts from Johns Hopkins Medicine International to inform health and safety decisions based on the latest scientific knowledge.  

Evolving in lockstep with rapidly changing discoveries, the COVID-19 Advisory Board will create, enhance and review current procedures, along with virtual and in-person training to guide implementation of Lead With Care across Four Seasons global portfolio.

This builds upon the early experience of Four Seasons Hotel New York, as well as Four Seasons hotels in Riyadh and Mumbai, in providing accommodation to high-risk medical personnel fighting on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Four Seasons Hotel New York was transformed into a safely zoned environment in a matter of days, implementing enhanced procedures to safely house guests, as well as properly train all employees.

Lead With Care: Four Seasons Enhanced Global Health and Safety Program

Grounded in health care expertise and enabled by access to leading technologies and tools, the Lead With Care program is focused on providing care, confidence and comfort to all Four Seasons guests, employees and residents within the new COVID-19 environment. The new program outlines clear procedures that educate and empower Four Seasons employees to take care of guests and each other.

"Along with already-commonplace measures such as more sanitizers, masks and heightened cleaning and hygiene, our collaboration with Johns Hopkins equips our property teams with access to leading international experts and real-time COVID-19 information, enhancing our tools and training to deliver an experience grounded in safety and trust," says Christian Clerc, President, Global Operations, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. "While the Four Seasons experience may look different in this new environment, it will ultimately feel the same – our dedicated people will continue to deliver the same intuitive service and personalized care for which Four Seasons is known and trusted for the world over."

Four Seasons collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine International will ensure the review and validation of the Lead With Care program in two phases. 

Phase one of the collaboration – Review and Validation – involves a comprehensive review of Four Seasons existing health and safety procedures along with enhanced protocols in response to the current situation at a global, regional and property level.  Working closely with Johns Hopkins Medicine experts ensures Four Seasons is at the forefront of the latest research findings and recommendations.

Phase two – Ongoing Guidance – provides Four Seasons with ongoing collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Medicine International team, including direct access to curated critical updates, relevant COVID-19 research outcomes, and expert advice to ensure real-time adjustments to operating procedures. Customized through on-property Hygiene Officers, this will allow Four Seasons to respond quickly and anticipate future needs, providing assurance that all appropriate infection control safety measures have been taken.

Four Seasons and Johns Hopkins will also establish a joint Response Team where senior experts in infectious diseases from Johns Hopkins will provide on-demand response and guidance to hotels facing COVID-19 situations. 

Lead With Care Backgrounder

To support the development of procedures to be verified by Johns Hopkins, as well as the procurement of supplies and equipment for Lead With Care implementation, Four Seasons will be working closely with EcoLab and International SOS –  who were also critical in the transformation of the Four Seasons hotels in New York, Riyadh and Mumbai that housed medical personnel.

While guests will see many of the enhanced Lead With Care procedures, behind-the-scenes measures will also take place through employee training, additional food handling protocols, and enhancements to ventilation systems and other back-of-the-house operations.

In addition, Four Seasons continues to invest in its award-winning App and Chat that further allows guests to control how they engage with others – limiting face-to-face interactions while maintaining the highest levels of personal service. Since its launch in 2017, the popular Four Seasons Chat – one of the only in the industry to be supported by actual employees on property, versus chatbots – has received 10+ million messages and averages approximately 580,000 messages a month. Features include the ability to make and manage reservations, request luggage pickup, airport transfers, room service, restaurant and spa reservations, and much more. Wait-free check-in and check-out is also offered, while Four Seasons Chat integration offers instant translation of 100+ languages giving guests the flexibility for contactless engagement throughout their stay.

Additional details about the Lead With Care enhanced health and safety program can be found below:

Enhanced Cleanliness

• Each Four Seasons property appointing a Hygiene Officer focused on implementing enhancements to already stringent procedures;
• Rooms disinfected daily with EPA approved products and will have blacklight inspection by room attendants;
• Focused re-training programs for Housekeeping teams on all cleaning protocols are being implemented across the portfolio;
• Public areas cleaned hourly with extra attention to frequented areas including front desk counters and public restrooms;
• The COVID-19 Advisory Board exploring an array of options to equip properties with the latest tools and technology, including electrostatic spraying, ozone technology for air purification and/or UV technology for HVAC systems.

Heightened Guest Safety and Comfort:

• Lead With Care kits placed in each guest room providing masks, hand sanitizer and sanitization wipes, with additional masks supplied on demand;
• Social distancing measures embedded in all services for guest protection, including appropriately spaced fitness equipment, modified spa menu and services, contactless check-in and housekeeping services;
• Restaurants and bars may operate with reduced capacity to ensure adequate space and socially distant set-up;
• Nearly all restaurants providing a-la-carte service with digital menus wherever possible;
• In Room Dining offering contactless delivery outside guestrooms along with sustainable, single-use packaging;
• Four Seasons App and Chat providing guests with real-time, contactless interactions with employees from their own device on nine global platforms and in 100+ different languages.

Empowered Employees:

• Lead With Care training building on Four Seasons legendary service model and diligent attention to detail, ensuring Lead With Care procedures are delivered in a thoughtful, attentive manner that balances guest safety with personal reassurance and comfort;
• Training focused on educating and empowering employees to deliver the enhanced health and safety program with confidence, passing on this care to each and every guest and resident;
• The COVID-19 Advisory Board advising on the global training program for all employees including: ensuring employees have a well-informed understanding of the disease and its transmission, providing guidance on appropriate social distancing and use of personal protective equipment, as well as physical and mental health monitoring and support;
• Grounded in emotional intelligence, employees are undergoing behavioural training, ensuring empathetic, personalized care and connection are not lost in the absence of close contact and limited face to face interaction.

About Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Founded in 1960, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is dedicated to perfecting the travel experience through continual innovation and the highest standards of hospitality. Currently operating 117 hotels and resorts, and 45 residential properties in major city centres and resort destinations in 47 countries, and with more than 50 projects under planning or development, Four Seasons consistently ranks among the world's best hotels and most prestigious brands in reader polls, traveller reviews and industry awards. For more information and reservations, visit fourseasons.com. For the latest news, visit press.fourseasons.com and follow @FourSeasonsPR on Twitter.

About Johns Hopkins Medicine International

Johns Hopkins Medicine International is the Johns Hopkins Medicine entity entrusted with global advancement of the mission: to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and care. Johns Hopkins Medicine International develops high-impact collaborations throughout the world by leveraging Johns Hopkins' extensive knowledge of medicine, nursing, public health, medical education, research and health care administration to improve health and health care delivery. Johns Hopkins Medicine International also facilitates personalized, culturally appropriate care for Johns Hopkins Medicine's global patients, as well as specialized concierge health care services. 

Contact:
Matthew Levison  
fourseasons@hlgrp.com     
646-274-3631

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SOURCE Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts