5 News Stories We Loved This Week

Support for those on the frontlines of coronavirus from hotels and restaurants this week made it clear that, yes, we’re all in this together:

In response to the impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry, Indagare has launched Indagare Global Classroom, a series of group and private programs that connect Indagare members with our partners around the world. Learn more here.

Claridge's, with the help from the teams at the Connaught and the Berkeley hotels, is offering London NHS workers accommodations and meals. Some of the doctors, nurses and other key staff will be staying for a week or longer, giving them a place to rest in between long shifts. And while the hotel can only house a limited number of NHS workers, its kitchens can help feed many more. Each day, the hotel will be cooking daily meals for more than 500 NHS workers and local support teams across London, using the city's Meal Force organization.

Four Seasons Hotel New York has opened its doors to healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients at nearby hospitals including Bellevue and Mount Sinai. “Many of those working in New York City have to travel long distances to and from their homes after putting in 18-hour days," hotel owner Ty Warner said in a written statement. "They need a place close to work where they can rest and regenerate."

Dorchester Collection, behind hotels like Rome's Hotel Eden and The Beverly Hills Hotel, has guaranteed the jobs of all of its roughly 3,600 employees, regardless of the duration of the downturn in occupancy. Meanwhile, The Beverly Hills Hotel has been providing meals to first responders in Los Angeles.

#ChefsForAmerica: Chefs like Marcus Samuelsson are joining José Andrés and his World Central Kitchen to create a coalition of restaurants providing meals for those most in need now, from students unable to receive lunches due to school closures to entire families impacted by the virus.

Leading fashion companies—to name a few: Armani, Bulgari and Prada in Italy; Chanel in France; Burberry in the UK; Nordstrom in the US—are utilizing their factories and distribution networks to produce and ship hospital masks. And at an industry-wide level, Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue have repurposed A Common Thread, originally conceived as a funding resource after 9/11, to help individuals impacted by COVID-19 in America's fashion business.

Related: The Indagare Guide to Staying at Home

In response to the impact of COVID-19 on the travel industry, Indagare has launched Indagare Global Classroom, a series of group and private programs that connect Indagare members with our partners around the world. Learn more here.