What Hilton hotels are doing to attract guests during the pandemic

The Hilton Hotel on Auckland's waterfront. Photo / Supplied

Hotel operator Hilton says it has dropped prices and introduced new cleaning processes to help attract guests, including the corporate market which is showing signs of recovery.

Scott Thomson, general manager of the Hilton Auckland and Hilton Lake Taupo, said it previously had a high percentage of overseas guests but had reviewed pricing to ensure it was more accessible to New Zealanders.

"We're now seeing some of the demand that had built up over lockdown with a surge of travel domestically. A lot of guests staying with us are first-time guests to our property," he said.

Discounts of up to 30 per cent had been on offer.

"Our corporate market is slowly starting to return, but a lot is still out of our control when it's tied to regional or global company travel restrictions,'' said Thomson.

A "handful" of companies appeared to have returned to domestic travel throughout the week, he said, which was in line with predictions of corporate travel following the return of the domestic leisure market.

Inquiries were also starting to come in for virtual meetings at the hotels' business centres to include conference delegates based in other places, by connecting over purpose-built platforms to share presentations, keynote speakers and content.

One challenge was the lumpy booking pattern.

A suite at the Hilton on Auckland's waterfront. Photo / Jason Oxenham

"Occupancy is beginning to increase, both throughout the week and over the weekend, but we are still in a stage of unpredictability. People are planning their trips with far shorter lead times," said Thomson.

There were a "significant number" of last-minute bookings, especially at the weekend.

Thomson said hotel staff were asked every day about cleanliness procedures following the pandemic.

The chain's cleaning programme includes input from experts from the Mayo Clinic, a United States non-profit group of medical academics.

Thomson said a seal was placed on doors to indicate to guests that their room had not been entered since being thoroughly cleaned. The hotels were not currently part of the Government's isolation and quarantine programme, and had no plans to join it.

The hotels' global parent has been hit hard by the pandemic.

In May it was reported that Hilton Worldwide Holdings was cutting nearly 22 per cent of its corporate workforce globally - 2100 staff.

There are close to 580 Hilton Hotels and Resorts properties around the world.