Latvia's first five-star luxury Kempinski Hotel - Grand Hotel Kempinski Riga on July 1st will reopen its doors after the pandemic downtime, with the opening of most of the elegant guest rooms, the spacious wellness area - Kempinski The Spa and the rooftop terrace bar & restaurant STAGE 22.

Following the newly established measures of the Kempinski Group, the Riga Hotel have implemented the Kempinski White Glove Service to ensure the highest level of service andguest comfort during and after the current situation.

High quality and sophisticated service combined with authenticity and personal care is one of the highest maxims of Kempinski Hotels. To provide the most outstanding level of service and guest comfort even during and after the current situation, the international luxury hotel group with European roots has launched the "Kempinski White Glove Service". In light of the fact that some of the closed Kempinski Hotels have now reopened their doors, the Kempinski operational strategy and quality management team has launched this extensive service covering all areas of the luxury hotels while keeping in line with the regional safety and health regulations as a top priority.

"It is crucial to us to continue delivering service on the highest level true to our Kempinski heritage as this is what we stand for", explains Benedikt Jaschke, Chief Quality Officer and Member of the Kempinski Management Board. "While we need to give guests full confidence in the cleanliness and disinfection of our premises and reflect the seriousness of the current situation in all aspects of our daily operation, we are eager to continue and even surpass our dedicated service à la Kempinski."

To fully support the execution of the "Kempinski White Glove Service", an extremely comprehensive guidebook has been launched by the operational strategy and quality management team. The 50 pages guidebook meticulously treats any kind of measures to be taken in all departments of the luxurious hotels ranging from arrival of the guests to set-up of public areas, food & beverage to housekeeping as well as spa areas to meeting spaces. When it comes to the employees, they will from now on be carrying gloves during all guest interactions as well as in compliance with government regulations and advice masks, which havebeen produced for Kempinski by Italian hotel uniform designer  Maurel, carrying the patterns of the Kempinski flower print. Part of the amenities in all guest rooms will be mini hand sanitisers as well as guest masks. While hotel teams obviously have to keep their distance to the guests of at least 1.5 metres, all furniture in public areas has to be rearranged to keep social distancing rules for the convenience of guests. Enhanced cleaning plans are provided by hygiene products supplier Diversey through wall charts and online guidelines to visualise step by step the flow of disinfection and cleaning of all hotel areas. Sanitising stations will be spread throughout each hotel, key cards will be disinfected before and after usage, cloth towels in public toilets replaced by one-time-usage disposable towels and professional air purifiers provide clean and fresh air.

Absolute privacy is offered to guests who upon check-in and during their stay decide not to allow any hotel team member to enter their room during their full stay period at the hotel. While usually a "Do not disturb" sign is used temporarily, the new "Privacy" sign assures that requested services will still be handled, but in front of the guest's room door.

"The list of measures to be taken is long and very complex", adds Benedikt Jaschke. "But appropriate and strictest hygienic standards on a very high level are key to reassuring our valued guests that a stay at any Kempinski hotel worldwide during or post coronavirus lockdown offers an environment of full safety in any respect without sacrificing our high standards of professional luxury service."

Procedures are of course not restricted to guest services, but also apply to back of the house areas such as the employee restaurant. To limit the number of employees having their breaks at the same time, service hours of the canteen for example will be extended, some tables and chairs will be blocked to grant space and boxed meals can be offered as an alternative to be consumed at office desks.