After allocating 15 Room Mate Group properties to provide support during the pandemic in Spain, Italy, France and the United States, the company is now leading the way again by becoming the first hotel chain in the world to offer free, rapid antigen tests.
With the help of healthcare professionals from Quirónprevención, from mid October the Room Mate group will provide tests for guests checking in at its hotels as well as for its entire workforce. Guests will also be able to take the test free of charge before travelling by visiting a Quirónprevención clinic in their home town if available. The chain will then provide its guests with symptom tracking throughout their stay, using an app developed by Quirónprevención. Longstay guests will be tested every three to five days.
The test detects the virus with a high degree of accuracy from the moment it is transmitted and crucially has a rapid turnaround – providing results within 15 minutes. It will be carried out using high-quality devices approved by the FDA and the Spanish Ministry of Health with CE marking.
Kike Sarasola, CEO and Founder of Room Mate Hotels, says, “People always lie at the heart of every single decision we make as a company. Right now, our priority is the health of our guests and our roomies. That’s why we have teamed up with Quirónprevención to become the first chain to offer free antigen tests to all of our guests at our hotels in Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the United States and Turkey.”
As part of the first phase, the tests will be available in the four hotels that the company currently has open in Spain: Room Mate Óscar in Madrid, Room Mate Anna in Barcelona, Room Mate Valeria in Malaga and Room Mate Leo in Granada. In the next phase, the service will be rolled out across the rest of the company’s hotels around the world and at its beach hotels set to open next summer. This service will also be offered to all clients who organise events at its hotels.
Back in June, the company began to gradually reopen its hotels around the world. It currently has hotels open in Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastián, Malaga and Granada), France (Paris), Italy (Rome, Milan and Florence), the Netherlands (Amsterdam and Rotterdam), the United States (Miami) and Turkey (Istanbul).
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