Every aspect of our daily lives that involves stepping outside of our houses has been affected by COVID-19—errands, exercise, socializing, and especially work and travel. For those who travel for work, the shift has been particularly disruptive, with the usual, familiar hassles being replaced by rapidly changing recommendations, requirements and accommodations.
I don’t miss the hassles, but coordinating a zoom call through multiple time zones comes with its own hassles, and they don’t involve First class seats on a flight to Nassau, Bahamas.
I am fortunate enough to be a part of the SEARCH Foundation, a nonprofit foundation supporting event industry professionals in crisis. This foundation has been more important than ever as hospitality industries try to weather the storm of the global pandemic. I traveled this year to the Bahamas for the SEARCH Foundation annual board of directors’ retreat, to connect with industry leaders and to continue our efforts to support event professionals in need.
The Trip to Atlantis
For such an important cause, I dusted off my passport, booked my flight from JFK direct to Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) in Nassau, Bahamas, and settled in. The travel requirements were strict, but manageable. Before my trip, I had to obtain a negative COVID-19 test within 5 days of my flight to the Bahamas. After the negative test, I applied for a Bahamas Travel Health Visa, which included required COVID-19 insurance during my stay.
Airlines seem to have more or less adjusted to the COVID-19 regulations by now, so the airport experience was remarkably similar to what I’m used to. I kept my mask on the whole time and kept my hand sanitizer close, but other than that, I just stashed my Health Visa in with my passport and that was that.
In retrospect, booking a direct flight was a good move to eliminate a layover and risk of exposure from a new airport’s worth of people. Stashing my Health Visa and negative COVID test in a handy place was also the right move, as I would need to present these documents multiple times as I moved through the health and safety checks from airport to hotel.
Welcome to Paradise Island
The trip from airport to hotel was short, and I mostly focused on getting myself situated on the ride. The Atlantis has implemented expedited check-in through your smartphone, just enter your details through their form, and you’ll breeze through the resort with socially distanced delivery of your room key and welcome packet.
Upon arriving at the Royal Tower (one of the five hotels at The Atlantis), there was plenty of pleasant staff there to greet me and assist me with bags and check-in. The staff seemed so well adjusted to social distancing and mask-wearing, that I hardly noticed the smiling faces that greeted me were covered up by discreet cloth masks or that the helpful bellhops were also scrubbing down their luggage carts with sanitizer after each trip to a guest’s room.
I arrived at my room comfortably and was blown away by the newly remodeled rooms in the Royal Tower. The peace of mind and comfort of a new, clean and beautifully appointed room were not lost on me after a day spent worrying about where I put my hand sanitizer and how far away to sit from the other people waiting at the airport gate.
The Atlantis had used their brief shutdown to not only overhaul their sanitation and social distancing processes, but also update and refresh their rooms. All over the resort new touches added a special hint of warmth for travelers arriving looking only to relax.
A Way Forward — The Atlantis hosts SEARCH Foundation
The SEARCH Foundation board’s annual planning retreat was The Atlantis’ first conference after reopening. The strange
reality of hosting a meeting at a hotel to plan and address the safest way to host a meeting at a hotel made the inaugural conference all the more poignant. If there was ever a meeting that needed to be in person, this was it.
The spacious conference rooms were perfect for social distancing, but there was also ample space and perfect weather, so we were able to hold meetings socially distanced outside as well. The structure was a hybrid conference with virtual and in person attendees, to accommodate those who could not attend in person. We discussed our agenda of internal business, as well as the important work of grant distribution and providing personal relief from the foundation to those affected the most by COVID-19.
Our board of hospitality industry professionals was also able to test and assess The Atlantis’ COVID safety plan and their meeting protocol for hosting meetings during these uncertain times. We found it completely successful, due to the dedication of their staff and the holistic approach taken by The Atlantis to provide health and safety support to employees and guests.
The Takeaway
On my return flight to JFK, I had a new set of priorities in mind for the hospitality industry at large and for my personal experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were some hoops to jump through in order to travel back to the U.S. as well. I had to make sure I had my negative test results handy again, along with my mask and my sanitizer. After navigating international flights, welcoming resorts and boardrooms full of problem-solving colleagues, I felt a renewed sense of hope. I was able to see firsthand the good that SEARCH Foundation was doing to support our industry colleagues, and most of all I saw a way forward for the hospitality industry through this pandemic and beyond.
