Changes Made To The Motel Following Covid-19
Covid-19 has affected almost every industry around the world. The hospitality industry is no different as they’ve seen a series of turbulent events since the spread of the pandemic. As hotels and motels received a lot of revenue through tourism, there is a heavy reliance on domestic travelers. Even with the support of New Zealanders taking their “staycation” the accommodation industry has had to make sacrifices to reduce job losses and survive the pandemic induced recession.
As life in New Zealand returns to a sense of normality, motels and hotels are making the relevant changes to cater for all the returning travelers to ensure guest and staff safety. We at Auckland Airport Motel believe the safer we and our industry can make you feel the more secure you will be in visiting new places.
Improved Focus On Health And Cleanliness
Keeping a high standard of cleanliness has always been a driving factor for us. This is especially so while the pandemic has swept the world into chaos. The use of an appropriate disinfectant to decontaminate high touch areas such as hand rails, light switches and door handles will be one of the biggest safety measures we take. Our cleaning cloths have been colour coded and labeled to reduce cross contamination from surfaces such as the kitchen and living area, toilets and glass. The disinfectant we use is coloured blue as green or red coloured residue can often be mistaken for something else.
Every time a guest checks out, our experienced housekeepers thoroughly clean the room to ensure your safety. Our sheets are sent off site, where they are sanitized in hot water, and steam pressed via an automatic steaming and folding machine to reduce handling.
Sneeze Screens at the Reception
An extra large sneeze screen, otherwise known as a sneeze shield, has been fitted on our reception desk that not only protect our receptionist but to protect you. This enables a face to face connection upon check in and allows each guest to quickly gather information about amenities, internet, shuttle services or services and attractions outside of the motel.
Face Masks
Regardless on your opinion of whether face masks work or not, we have a large stock of face masks ready for use when threats of transmissions are elevated. New Zealand’s active COVID cases are nearing zero because of the sacrifices we made during lockdown and we now able to benefit by living in our very own secure bubble. Housekeepers are given the option to wear a face mask or not depending on their comfort level. When we do open our boarders to tourist, face masks will be worn by housekeepers to not only protect them but to protect our guests.
Use of single use Amenities
The removal of shampoo and conditioning dispensers and reverting back to single use amenities is an effective way to be able to provide an extra sense of security for our guest in regards to personal health. Ensuring minimal amount of handling to each product is the ultimate goal to reduce the spread.
Hand sanitizer and Hand wash
Hand sanitizer is available for use at reception where hand washing facilities are not available. Regular hand washing with hot soapy water for 20 seconds or more is recommended to keep hands clean and limit the spread of germs.
Clear instructions for all staff
When the infection was at the peak and the weeks that followed after alert level 4 we at Auckland Airport Motel came up with a strategy to ensure we could come back to a safe working environment.
- We ensured staff has ready access to personal protective equipments (PPE) such as face masks and latex gloves.
- We provided instructions on best practices while using PPE such as in not touching the mask or face unless absolutely necessary and frequently replacing gloves especially before cleaning a new room.
- High touch areas such as switches, handles, phones, keys and even the vacuum cleaner should be disinfected
- Regular hand washing with hot soapy water for a minimum of 20 seconds followed by thoroughly drying with clean hand towel.
- Social distances between co-workers and guest especially when taking breaks and lunch where possible
- Advice on who to contact when feeling ill and who to notify.