Introduction
Given the current COVID-19 outbreak, it is important that all hotels, restaurants and other hospitality units take suitable measures to restrict any further transmission of the virus while providing accommodation and other tourist services post lockdown. The guidelines aim to minimize all possible physical contacts between Staff and Guest and maintain social distancing and other preventive and safety measures against COVID-19. It also endeavors to make the traceability of the guests easier, in case a situation in future warrants so. These guidelines are applicable to the Hotels and subject to provisions of any law, rules or any other directions issued by the competent regulatory authorities of the respective State or Central Government from time to time, which will override these guidelines.
Ensure Availability Of Hygiene And Sanitation Equipment.
- Thermal Gun thermometer for temperature checking of staff and guests. §
Hand Sanitizers, Hand Gloves and Masks to be available in the Reception Area.
- Garbage Bags (separate bio-hazard bags for used masks and other PPEs as per CPCB’s guidelines).
- Sufficient disinfectants like sodium hypochlorite (1%).
(iii) It is recommended to have Gowns/ Aprons & Personal Protective Gears available 24/7.
Disinfect
(iv) All touch points in public areas like door handles, elevator buttons, counter tops, tabletops, railings, etc. are cleaned continuously using a sanitizer/disinfectant.
It is advised to use Sodium Hypochlorite 1% solution having at least 70% alcohol to clean these frequently touched points.
General Information
(v) Posters/standees should be displayed at various location for information and awareness:
- Emergency helpline numbers – at the reception.
- Social distancing (6 feet) – Reception & other strategic places.
- General Information – Reception.
- Hand Washing – Reception & Inside the room.
- Respiratory hygiene – Reception & Inside the room.
- Dos & Don’ts – At all appropriate places.
Suspected COVID Guest or Staff
Adequate isolation facilities should be kept ready and made available in case of any requirement for the suspected COVID guest or staff.
Air-Conditioning/Ventilation
(vii) For air-conditioning/ventilation, the guidelines of CPWD shall be followed which inter alia emphasizes that the temperature setting of all air conditioning devices should be in the range of 24-30 C.
Relative humidity should be in the range of 40-70%.
CCTV Cameras
(viii) Ensure the premises has fully functional CCTV cameras to ease tracking and tracing of infected personnel movement.
Staff
2.2 For Staff (i) Ensure all staff wear mask & hand gloves should be changed/ disinfected after handling each customer to avoid cross contamination.
(ii) Ensure daily temperature check via thermal gun thermometer.
(iii) All employees must mandatorily download Aarogya Setu mobile application.
(iv) Ensure all staff maintain respiratory etiquettes i.e covering mouth and nose with bent elbow or tissue when coughing or sneezing.
The used tissue should be disposed of immediately in a bin with a lid.
(v) Ensure social distancing is maintained among staff and guests and staff should refraining from hugging & shaking hands with guests as well as among themselves.
(vi) Ensure that all staff should wear shoes while operating at the property and shoes should not be opened while cleaning the property.
It is advised to wear a disposable shoe cover while cleaning
(vii) Ensure that staff follow restricted movement (only in cases of work) around rooms.
Establishing Rapid Response Team.
- A management team should be constituted, to be headed by “Rapid Response Leader”, ideally an officer from the higher management or a specially appointed officer and “Rapid Response officers” from each operational department.
- The team should be responsible to prevent incidents, effectively manage cases and mitigate impact among guests, staff and other involved parties.
(ix) The rapid response team should circulate relevant communications to guests and staff and all the other stakeholders to make sure the consistency of the alignment.
(x) The rapid response team should ensure training of employees in hygiene and sanitation practices and troubleshooting risks (log of the training/ video record of session to be kept).
Staff–Extra Precaution
(xi) All employees who are at higher risk i.e. older employees, pregnant employees and employees who have underlying medical conditions, to take extra precautions.
They should preferably not be exposed to any front-line work requiring direct contact with the public.
Work At Home
Hotel management to facilitate work from home wherever feasible.
Guests
2.3For guests Following DO’s and DON’Ts should be followed by guests:
(i) Do not step out of the room unnecessarily.
(ii) Wear a mask whenever outside the room.
(iii) Keep the doors closed and avoid any contact with the doorknobs.
(iv) Always keep a safe distance as per social distancing norms.
(v) Wash your hands frequently with the soaps/sanitizers provided.
(vi) Put all disposable plates /cups/ bottles after use in the garbage bag.
(vii) Guests should not visit containment zone.
Specific Guidelines Per Area Of Operation
(i) Reception:
- Ensure check-in formalities are completed in contactless manner (QR code/online forms) to reduce contact and time at the front desk.
- Guests must be requested to maintain a queue with 6 feet distance between them.
Standing Space Signs Will Be Placed On The Floor To Maintain Social Distancing.
- All guests must mandatorily download Aarogya Setu mobile application.
- Guest details to be sent in advance for guest registration along with government approved identity card, any other information required by the hotel via Email/WhatsApp.
- Rooms should be kept ready to avoid any crowd at the reception.
- Details of the guest (Travel history, medical condition etc.) along with ID and Self declaration form must be provided by the guest at the reception (for now).
- Information on travel history & medical condition are recommended to be captured for all guests.
- Self-reporting forms must be filled for International guests and A&D register must be thoroughly maintained.
- Travel itinerary may be sought from the guests to ensure traceability.
- Guests should be briefed about the Do’s & Don’ts while at the hotel.
- Luggage should be disinfected before sending the luggage to room.
(Check-Out:
- Guests should inform at reception using intercom or personal mobile, an hour before the check-out.
- Payments should be made online or via an online platform with cashless transactions only.
Dining / Room Service
- Gloves should be worn when handling used dishes and utensils.
- Communication between guests and in-house staff should be strictly through intercom or mobile phone.
- Any items required such as water bottle/ toiletries/ medicine/ linen should be given to the guests while maintaining 6 feet distance & trays must be used to avoid hand contact.
- Physical distancing of minimum 6 feet should be maintained in dining area/ restaurants as well.
Disposable Cutlery
- It is advisable to use disposable cutlery for all purposes which must be disposed inside a garbage bag.
- In case of non-disposable cutlery, the guests should be advised to keep the used cutlery outside their room.
- The guidelines regarding operation of restaurants and food services are given separately and must be followed.
Repair Or Maintenance
- In case of any repair or maintenance required, staff should get on a video call with the guest to better understand the issue or assist the guest.
- In case it is not possible to resolve via call, maintenance personnel should wear hand gloves and masks while doing the services inside the room.
Guests are advised to stay outside the room.
Cleaning of Common areas and other areas Disinfection of common areas like corridors, elevators, stairs etc. must be done regularly.
General Cleaning R2/ Detergent & Warm Water, Disinfectant Twice a day · Scrub floors with hot water & detergent using minimal water · Clean with plain water · Allow to dry & MOP with disinfectant.
Lockers, Tables Cupboard, Wardrobes Damp Duster with disinfectant Daily · Damp dust with regular disinfectants.
Railings Detergent/ Sanitizer-hot water, Disinfectant Twice a day · Damp dust with warm water & detergent followed by disinfection.
Mirrors & Glass Warm water/ Detergent water/ Cleaning solution damp cloth wiper Daily · Using warm water & a small quantity of detergent & using a damp cloth, wipe over the mirror, then using dry cloth buff the mirror & glass to a clean dry finish.
Furniture & Fittings Disinfectant, Duster Daily · Using disinfectant damp dust furniture & fittings, including chairs, stools, beds, tables etc.
Light Switches/ Over bed lights Disinfectant, Duster Daily · Light switches to be cleaned of dust, spots& finger marks, clean with a damp cloth · Over bed lighting to be damp dusted, clean with damp cloth.
Toilet Pot/ Commode R1/ Soap powder, Long handle angular brush Whenever required · Inside Of toilet pot/ commode · Scrub with the R1/ soap powder & angular brush · Clean with R1/ soap powder & scrubber.
Toilet Floor /Sink R1/ Soap powder, scrubbing brush Whenever required · Scrub with soap powder & the scrubbing brush · Wash with water.
Taps & Fittings/ Shower area Warm water, Detergent powder, Nylon scrubber Whenever required · Wipe over taps & fittings with a damp cloth & detergent · Care should be taken to clean the underside of taps & fittings.
Cleaning Of Rooms:
The Guest will have an option to opt out from daily cleaning.
Linen should be changed as per the request by the guest.
Housekeeping staff must wear masks or PPE (wherever applicable) while cleaning/ deep cleaning.
Staff must sanitize their hands or wash their hands with soap before & after the cleaning process.
During the cleaning process, guests should stay in the lobby near the room without touching anything.
In case of room cleaning after checkout, clean linen and towels to be provided.
Linen Cleaning.
Housekeeping staff should use masks and hand gloves while handling used linen and the same should be kept in a separate place.
Linen must be changed after every checkout and for longer stays as per the request by the guest.
- The garbage needs to be disposed as – dry, wet, glass, biodegradable.
- PPE’s like gloves, masks etc. to be segregated and disposed separately in bio-hazard bags (as per CPCB’s guidelines, available at: (https://cpcb.nic.in/uploads/Projects/Bio-MedicalWaste/BMW-GUIDELINES-COVID_1.pdf).