TORONTO – When the Ides of March arrived this year, it marked one full year since my last trip abroad, my last flight and my last hotel stay.
During the endless lockdowns and quarantines that have followed, my wanderlust wondered if I’d ever travel again. Heck, my American Express card was threatening to leave home without me.
Then came word that my age group was next in line for a COVID-19 vaccine jab. Hope was finally on the horizon. It was time to get back in the game.
However, with the rules governing travel having changed so drastically over the last year, I knew I needed a dry run. But with most countries still in lockdown and international flights still grounded, I had to find something close to home.

Above: The Four Seasons Toronto's rooms are disinfected daily with EPA approved products.

Fortunately, I live in the city where the best hotel brand in the world, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, is headquartered, and where it’s flagship property in Toronto’s fashionable Yorkville neighbourhood is a magnet for the world’s rich and famous.
What better place to learn the new post-pandemic playbook than at a hotel chain that writes the rules for the industry?
So, I dusted off my overnight bag and headed off for my first ever staycation.
Upon arrival, I’m quickly introduced to the new normal for the hotel industry when I pull my car up to the Four Seasons Toronto entrance:
I’m told guests must wear masks in all public areas at all times;
My temperatures is checked and health questions asked before I’m allowed to proceed to the lobby area;
Plexiglas barriers separate guests and reception desk staff;
Hand sanitizer bottles are scattered throughout the reception area.

Above: A room service meal from Café Boulud was every bit as good as the restaurant version.

The procedures are all done with Four Seasons’ renowned nonchalant efficiency and are all part of the chain’s industry-leading “Lead With Care” safety program, developed in cooperation of Johns Hopkins Medicine International, which is meant to reassure guests that its properties exceed public health and safety requirements.
Four Seasons properties globally will even arrange COVID-19 testing for guests whenever and wherever they can.
The “Lead With Care” program extends into rooms, which are disinfected daily with EPA approved products and have regular blacklight inspections.
Four Seasons has even appointed a “hygiene officer” who implements the chain’s stringent procedures, which  include:
Cleaning of public areas, including front desk and public washrooms, hourly;
Outfitting properties with new health technology tools like electrostatic spraying, ozone technology for air purification and/or UV technology for HVAC systems;
Providing each guest room with masks, hand sanitizer and sanitization wipes;
Social distancing measures, including appropriately spaced fitness equipment;
And contactless in-room dining, which includes single use packages.

Above: Even a limited spa treatment at Four Seasons Toronto gets me back in the mood to travel.

Maxime Regad, the hotel’s congenial Director of Food and Beverage, appears at reception and enthusiastically greets a rare new arrival – hotels worldwide have seen their occupancy rates drop to single digits over the past year and Four Seasons Toronto is no exception.
Although public dining during my stay is prohibited, Regad assures me an in-room meal ordered from the hotel’s famed Café Boulud restaurant will not disappoint. And he’s right - my steak steak frites and charcuterie board I order are restaurant worthy.
The rigid new rules even extend to the hotel’s spa, which in mid-March was offering limited massage services. Both the therapist and client must wear masks during the treatment and spa amenities, like swimming pools and steam rooms, remain off limits for the time being. Even with the restrictions, though, my therapist, Chantelle, makes the experience very memorable.
Every major hotel chain in the world has adopted similar programs. Accor AccorHotels, for instance, owners of iconic brands like Canada’s Fairmont Hotels, calls their new COVID hygiene program “ALLSAFE,” while Best Western’s is called “We Care Clean” and Hilton’s is “CleanStay.”
As the vaccine rollout continues to gain momentum more Canadians will feel more confident to start travelling again – 68 per cent of Canadians told posters in a recent survey that they are planning to take a domestic holiday this summer.
With programs like Four Seasons’ “Lead With Care” now firmly in place, they can go with confidence.