Covid-19 prevention guide for your tourist accommodation

Keeping a safe distance and maximising both hygiene and cleanliness measures are the general rules applied to avoid covid 19 contagion in hotels and tourist establishments

In addition to determine the maximum capacity of common areas such as the reception or other spaces to ensure safety and security. 

The reactivation of the tourism sector is getting closer and closer, therefore it is essential to establish the necessary protocols so that the reopening of tourist facilities does not increase the risk of contagion.

We are talking about developing a protocol that allows you to guarantee the confidence and safety of your guests as well as a guide to help you act in case of contagion in your accommodation. 

In this article, we have compiled some of the recommendations and standards that you should take into account, based on the generic guidelines that are made by the authorities for all tourist accommodations. Especially, so hotels and other accommodation establishments can prepare for the situation of recovery of the tourism sector..

Below you will find a brief description of some infection prevention and control measures that should be implemented, as well as some general recommendations that should be highlighted to ensure the safety of your guests.

1. Safety distance:

It is recommended to establish specific social distancing measures between employees and guests in the different spaces where they may coincide to ensure compliance with the social distancing measures of at least 2 meters. 

2. Personal hygiene measures:

The tourist accommodation shall make available to guests materials such as hydro-alcoholic gels or disinfectant dispensers registered by the Ministry of Health. 

These must be located, in any case, at the entrance and exit of the tourist accommodation. In addition, it will be necessary to recommend to the clients to use them both when entering and leaving the establishment.

Remember that hand hygiene is an essential control measure and should therefore be informed to guests by means of informative infographics or posters in main areas or facilities.

3. Use of face masks

The use of facemasks to prevent contagion for clients and employees should be considered as a mandatory and complementary measure, not as a substitute for fundamental preventive measures. 

Proper use of masks is important and should be communicated to customers and staff. 

4. Cleanliness and ventilation of the establishment

In addition to physical distancing, specific individual protection measures and cleaning protocols should be considered.

These measures should be communicated to guests and properly implemented by the tourist accommodation.

This includes cleaning and disinfecting as well as ventilating common areas, recreation areas, rooms, etc.

It is recommended to increase the number of air renewals per hour and to bring in outside air as much as possible, either through natural or mechanical ventilation, depending on the establishment. 

After guests have left the accommodation, it is recommended to ventilate the room for at least one hour. 

5. Limited capacity

Respect the capacities of common areas and respect health recommendations to ensure a maximum density of 4 persons per 10 square metres.

Keep in mind that hotels and accommodation establishments are places where there is a high degree of interaction between guests and employees, so setting capacity limits and respecting the safety distance will help enormously to avoid cases of contagion in your establishment. 

An example of an informative poster with all the safety measures that must be implemented and respected by guests, owners and employees.

Automation of processes as a preventive measure

An innovative way to avoid 100% the spread of the virus is to implement a tool which automates all check-in processes, from booking confirmation till the check-out, in order to guarantee the security of all guests.

How? Very easy, by implementing automated check-in and completely avoiding contact. 

Your guests will register themselves through online check-in so, once the booking is confirmed, a link is automatically sent to their phone which will lead them to a registration form (easy, convenient and secure) and you can even provide remote access to the property, allowing guests to access the accommodation independently, without the need for contact between guest and host. 

To do this, the guest’s identity is previously verified with an online biometric facial recognition process and the access code is automatically sent to the property.