Recommended guidelines for opening and continuing to operate hotels

The recommended guidelines for opening and continuing to operate hotels/facilities/guesthouses in connection with the announcement of their opening in the second stage of "easing" during the COVID-19 epidemic were prepared by the Polish Hotel Industry Chamber of Commerce jointly as part of the hotel team of the industry crisis team. On April 24, the team sent recommendations regarding safety protocols to the Ministry of Development.

Reopening hotels has a significant economic and social justification. The key is to protect a million jobs and hard-to-renew assets of tourism infrastructure, such as hotels, guesthouses, and other accommodation facilities.

Work is underway, both on the part of hoteliers and state institutions, to create and implement standards that create a "new hotel order" that will ensure the safety of Guests, Employees and Partners in our facilities.

Therefore, guidelines for hotel industry stakeholders should be developed in a common manner to help them comply with appropriate safety standards. At the same time, it should be noted that the new guidelines cannot become a financial and organizational barrier that prevents the facility from operating.

The introduction of new protocols without taking into account the economic and operational conditions and the specific nature of the facilities' operations may lead to the facilities NOT being opened, i.e. in practice, to the failure to lift the "operating ban" on hotels/facilities/guest houses.

It is impossible to imagine domestic tourism without hotels/facilities/guesthouses. It is impossible to imagine, even in the medium term, the operation of facilities without the safe but also quick opening of: transport, organized tourism, incoming tourism and MICE trips (corporate meetings).

The guidelines should therefore motivate hoteliers to reopen their facilities safely and as quickly as possible.

We therefore propose to intensify joint actions of the industry and public institutions aimed at creating and implementing new guidelines for hotel operations.

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

I. Preventive procedures

• temperature check and introduction of a declaration for guests regarding their health (under penalty of non-accommodation in the event of refusal);

• the obligation to inform employees and guests about the most important provisions of the facility's sanitary protocol;

• introducing safety rules into the facility regulations;

• minimizing the time guests spend in the reception area.

II. Ensuring safe distances between facility employees, guests and providing hygiene measures for guests and staff as well as disinfection methods

• admitting two guests per room – this reduces the number of guests in the hotel (also those using common areas);

• safe, but also relatively comfortable serving of meals in the restaurant only to the guests of the facility. This is one of the key factors in customers' purchasing decisions (essential at a time when independent restaurants remain closed) - we propose to limit the number of people in the restaurant by half, while maintaining the principles of social distancing and the sanitary regime of serving meals (resignation from the buffet);

• opening conference rooms in the regime of religious buildings (currently 1 person per 15m2) - solutions adopted for religious meetings, although very rigorous, will enable work on rebuilding demand from group clients

• possibility of renting elements of the facility's infrastructure exclusively for people staying together (e.g. sauna, gym) - each time disinfected after use

• hand sanitizer dispensers should be available to guests on the hotel premises, in particular at the entrances to the facility, in the reception area, elevators, and points;

• the need to adapt the operation of facilities to sanitary guidelines, e.g. disinfection, ozonation of rooms, airing the facility;

• an absolute ban on the presence in the facility of persons who are not accommodated there (a ban on “visits” similar to the one currently in place in hospitals);

• cleaning of rooms and common areas in accordance with the hospital regime;

• obligation to provide personal protective equipment to employees and the same obligation on the part of suppliers (masks, face shields, etc.)

• obligation to disinfect equipment made available to guests, such as sports equipment (bicycle, kayak, etc.);

III. Procedures for action in the event of confirmation of COVID-19 infection on the premises:

• establishing a list of people present in the facility at the same time and recommending that they follow the guidelines of the Chief Sanitary Inspector;

• special disinfection of the space where the infected guest / employee / supplier stayed.

Industry Crisis Team