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Countrywide Hotels Update

After the Government announcement we felt we needed to confirm Countrywide Hotels trading position.

ALL our hotels with the exception of Stoke Rochford Hall remain open for Business Travel and Key workers – further details of which I have outlined below for clarification.

Overnight stays
Hotels and accommodation businesses may remain open for specific reasons, such as where these act as someone’s main residence, where the person cannot return home, for providing accommodation or support to the homeless, or where it is essential to stay there for work purposes.
• Where someone is visiting their support bubble
• NHS and Key Workers
• Where someone is unable to return to their main residence
• Where someone needs accommodation while moving house
• Where someone needs accommodation to attend a funeral or related commemorative event
• Requiring accommodation for work purposes or to provide voluntary services
• Where a child requires accommodation for school or care
• Where someone is homeless, seeking asylum, a vulnerable person seeking refuge, or if escaping harm (including domestic abuse)
• Where someone is an elite athlete or their support staff or parent, if the athlete is under 18 and it is necessary to be outside of the home for training or competition

Meetings & Conferences
There are still circumstances in which you are allowed to meet others from outside your household, This includes:
• Work & business needs, Training
• Government projects
• Providing voluntary or charitable services,
• Education
These meetings should only be for up to a maximum of 30 people and should follow social distancing rules.

Over the past few weeks at Countrywide Hotels we have been thinking ahead to brighter days, when the country starts to go back to semi-normality or what for now could be “The New Normal” All of our hotels have remained open throughout the lockdown period for our National Heroes, the NHS and Key Workers. Because of this we have already put into place all the recommendations from the Government and Public Health England that protect our customers and team members during this lockdown time, including but not limited to:
• Social Distancing – 2 Meters distance between our Front of House teams and our guests at Reception, Public Areas, Lifts and Corridors
• Bedrooms have the 5 Key Critical Touch Point Cleaning touchpoints including, handles, switches, remote controls, and high contact furniture
• Enhanced cleaning practices in conjunction with Diversey our chemical provider in all public areas, washrooms and lifts.
• Our teams have been provided with the relevant PPE in each of the hotels departments.
• All our team members have access to COVID-19 testing, as part of the Government Key Worker initiative for testing.

Looking forward, when we can re-open fully, we will be undertaking intensive preparations & cleaning procedures to ensure all our Hotels are in the best possible condition.
This is an ongoing process and will be updated along with government announcements, guidelines, and industry best practice.

The procedures we are already following will continue and then enhanced when we are able to open further areas, this will include such practices as:-
• Restaurants and Lounge areas will also follow the social distancing guidelines, our restaurants will be open for longer hours if necessary to accommodate all diners whilst ensuring social distancing is practiced at all times. Table service only, with all meals being served to the tables, no buffets in place.
• All furniture in our Restaurants, Lounges and Meeting Rooms will be disinfected twice a day
• DISINFECTION STATIONS: Provision of stations at primary entrances and key high traffic areas, for instance, a station to allow guests to wipe the elevator button before pressing.
• ANTIBAC hand gel to be available for all guests to pick up from reception included in the toiletry’s amenities pack, as well as been available at the disinfection stations, public washrooms, and locker rooms.
• Guests will be asked to USE CARD PAYMENTS ONLY- PDQ machines will be wiped down with a disinfectant wipe after each guest use.
• Dedicated rubbish bins for disposal of used PPE at exit points and staff areas.
• BEDROOM ENTRY RESTRICTED. No access will be made to the bedroom during a guest stay. Housekeeping or Maintenance team members will only enter the bedroom on the guests request, to service the bedroom or fix a reported maintenance issue. If a member of staff is requested to enter a bedroom whilst the room is occupied the team member will be wearing PPE and the guest will be asked to leave the room so social distancing can be maintained.
• We will work with our guests to prevent congestion whether at arrival or departure with the use of pre check in and express check out. Dining times will be staggered to ensure social distancing can be adhered to.
• All team members have been retrained in line with Diversey UK (part of the JohnsonDiversey Group) the new cleaning process for hygiene and cleanliness in all areas of the hotel.
• All team members have completed recertification of H&S Levels 1& 2, Food Safety Levels 1& 2 and Covid-19 Awareness Training in conjunction with Flow Hospitality.
• We have sufficient car parking and bike racks to ensure that team members can travel into work on their own, to prevent the need for car sharing
• We will continue to monitor the health of our team and our guests. Any team member with symptoms or someone in their household who has symptoms will self-isolate in line with PHE guidelines. All our booking channels and areas in the hotel will follow the same actions, with each hotel reserving the right to ask a guest to leave if a guest is showing signs and symptoms of COVID-19 for the security and protection of its guests and team members.

As government guidelines continue to change and develop we will review, refresh and update our H&S Guidelines.

We all, as a team look forward to welcoming you back to Countrywide Hotels in the very near future

Hotels available for this article