Recommandations and marketing

SUGGESTED SAFETY AND HYGIENE MEASURES

Below we have put together some ideas that, depending on the specific nature of your operations, can be implemented in accommodation facilities and declared towards your customers. Some of the practices listed below are commonly used in our operations, some are of a recommendatory nature and others may be viewed as a potential inspiration for you.

PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS SETTING

• Develop prevention standards, procedures in case of a suspected disease and procedures in case of a confirmed occurrence of the disease at the accommodation facility.
• Employees and suppliers adhere to more stringent hygiene rules effective at the hotel.
• Train the employees on a regular basis.
• Create checklists for the employees (to ensure regular disinfection of the public areas).
• Check the symptoms potentially displayed by the employees and guests.
• Ensure that a safe distance is maintained between individuals in all publicly accessible areas of the accommodation facility.

CLEANING AND GENERAL SANITATION - SHARED AREAS, UTILITY ROOMS, GUESTROOMS

• Ensure regular cleaning of the rooms, interiors and equipment, at each workplace, using appropriate cleaning and disinfecting agents – starker hygienic measures (reception, lobby, elevators, conference and meeting rooms, business centres, restaurants, toilets, fitness centres, wellness, corridors, etc. – this also applies to the staff-only back-of-house areas).
• Tighten the hygiene measures and sanitation practices concerning those items, which are touched by more persons, e.g.:

1. Public spaces, receptions - tables, chairs, counters, magnetic cards - keys, payment terminals, pens, door handles, door knobs, railings, switches, etc.).
2. Rooms - dispensers in bathrooms, controls, switches, hair dryers, coffee sets, telephones, bedside lamps, service manuals, mini-bars, irons and ironing boards, safe deposit box control buttons, etc. Introduce restrictions on use - magazines, stationery, bedspreads, decorative pillows, etc. Pay attention to disposable cosmetics in the rooms - whenever possible disinfect also the packaging of the unused cosmetics after every guest’s departure.
3. Restaurants - tables, chairs, children's high chairs, menus, promotions, etc.

• Keep the housekeeping staff informed of the correct uses of the personal protective equipment and of the need for hand disinfection to be performed immediately after removing the protective equipment and after completing the cleaning or sanitation works.
• Lay down strict rules for the storage and cleaning of work clothes and for the linen washing (table and bed linen).
• Ensure safe handling of linen to prevent its contamination (used laundry to go into bags after the cleaning work has been completed, strict separation of the used X clean laundry, etc.).
• Wherever possible ensure regular ventilation of the rooms, including the guestrooms, after the guests’ departure.

DISINFECTANTS, PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

• Make disinfectants available in the public areas of the hotel.
• Provide disinfectants and protective equipment in the guestrooms (e.g. gels, antibacterial soaps, facemasks, etc.).
• Make disinfectants and protective equipment available to the employees (facemasks, respirators, disposable gloves, hand cleaning and disinfecting solutions, disposable wipes, protective curtains e.g. in the reception, etc.).

SERVICES

• Broaden the range of services that will allow for minimising the contact with the hotel staff and other guests - these services to include e.g. the following:

1. Contactless payments.
2. Apps used for making reservations, checking in and possibly ensuring contactless access to the room.
3. Express check in/out via automatic kiosks at the reception.
4. Virtual concierge.
5. Hotel transfers provided by a contractual partner with emphasis on guest safety.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICES

• Offer the possibility of delivering breakfast to the room (delivery of the entire room service range at no extra charge).
• Implement food preparation and service procedures to protect food and beverages from the risk of contamination on their way to the guest.
• Whenever possible prefer the presentation by individual portions of food at the buffet counter (where this is not possible, use rather smaller volumes of the prepared meals with more frequent replenishing).
• Minimise the guests’ contact with the meals and inventories at buffets (if possible, meals are to be served by the staff).
• Do not place cutlery on the table until the guest has been seated.
• Pay attention to baked products handling, place them on the table only when the guest has been seated, or pack them in bags or protect them in another suitable way so that they cannot be touched by other guests.
• Make sure you clean and disinfect the coffee machines, juicers and other appliances more frequently, especially such their parts that are directly touched by guests.
• Whenever possible make use of condiments in disposable packaging and bottled beverages.
• Prefer the usage of disposable napkins to the textile ones.
• Wash and disinfect the dishware and glassware in dishwashers, including the items that have not been used, as they may still have come into contact with the hands of the guests or the staff.
• As far as hand washing is concerned, follow the wash – disinfect – rinse sequence and use disposable paper towels for drying.
• Run the glassware rinsing process at a minimum temperature of 70°C.
• Prefer the use of electronic menus or sleeved menu cards that can be disinfected more frequently.
• Leave the room service trolleys in the hallway outside the rooms whenever possible.

MISCELLANEOUS

• Clean and replace the ventilation system filters regularly.
• Regularly ventilate those rooms, in which the guests or employees stay for more extended periods.
• Prefer the types of waste bins that can do without manual opening.
• Communicate to the customer the frequency of the cleaning of toilets and possibly of other public spaces, too.
• Ensure that the suppliers adhere to the disease prevention procedures.
• Pay increased attention to the protection of your staff from the risk of infection - provide them with sufficient protective equipment and supplies corresponding with the nature of their work.

COMMUNICATE YOUR FACILITY’S HYGIENE AND SECURITY MEASURES TO THE GUESTS

We recommend that you should communicate the measures you have taken to your guests. Not only to those already staying in your hotel/guesthouse, but also to those potential clients who are just making their decision. Those deciding on whether to visit your property or not may be still worried about travelling. Reassure them that their health and safety is your priority. The form, in which you will be communicating your measures, is all up to you. Everything changes dynamically over time, just as the scopes of activities you focus on may be changing either. That is why we would recommend that, rather than presenting a list of all the measures taken, you should communicate the logo, which sends a consolidated message that you have been paying special attention to the above-mentioned areas, i.e. safe staying in the room, disinfection of all public areas, restaurant services and prevention of any contamination possibly affecting the food product. If a guest felt restricted by any of these measures, then you should refer to the fact that it is your effort to protect him/her and offer apology for any potentially less comfortable measures encountered. It is of crucial importance that your entire service team should also get sufficient information about the measures in place and be able to explain them to the guests.