CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The COVID-19 pandemic could radically change how commercial spaces are designed — none more so than hotels, perhaps.
To respond to that, Stephen Overcash, principal at Charlotte-based Overcash Demmitt Architects, has started a task force that will investigate strategies, technology and other methods to make hotels healthier and more sanitary in a post-COVID-19 world.
>> Have questions about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the Carolinas? We have an entire section dedicated to coverage of the outbreak -- CLICK HERE FOR MORE.
About 60% of the work Overcash Demmitt does is for hotels, Overcash said. He participated in a virtual Urban Land Institute panel recently about the hospitality industry, which got him thinking about how design can meaningfully make spaces healthier and safer for hotel guests.
“It’s a paradigm shift, the way we look at where we stay,” he said.
The industry may take cues from hospitals and the health-care sector. Self-cleaning rooms — in which an odorless, germ-resistant cleaning solution is sprayed in a room and coats everything, like Teflon — are already being done at some hotels in Copenhagen. Robots that deliver room service, transport luggage and clean using ultraviolet lights could become commonplace.
This browser does not support the video element.
>> We’ll bring you LIVE updates on Channel 9 Eyewitness News. Get extended coverage on the free WSOC Now app on Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV.
No-touch technology isn’t new — many toilets and sinks, for example, are already sensor-based. But items like light switches and TV remotes may become touch-free in the wake of the pandemic, Overcash said.
Read the full story here.