We would like to keep you fully informed of how things have changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and what we have done and what you can do to ensure your safety and that of our staff. Our priority is your safety but also your holiday enjoyment!
Please do rest assured that if you are unable to stay at Hall Farm Cottages due to a full Lockdown in your area (you can’t leave) or a full Lockdown in our area (you can’t stay) then we will either move your booking to another suitable date or refund your booking.
- General
- Before your arrival we have thoroughly cleaned and disinfected the cottage. This includes disinfecting the door handles (indoor and outdoor), chairs, table surfaces and kitchen/counter surfaces, as well as furniture handles, bannisters and all light switches. The bathrooms and toilets have also been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
- We have provided you with hand-gel for you to use during your stay
- We have also provided you with cleaning items and disinfectant for your use
Revised check-in times
The keys to your cottage have been disinfected before your arrival and are left in the door.
We have changed check-in and check-out times in order to allow more time for cleaning between each group of guests:
- Check-in: From 4.00pm
- Check-out: By 10.00am please
Guests with COVID-19 symptoms
- No guests should travel to the cottage if they have COVID-19 symptoms, and they should self-isolate in their own homes. If your symptoms develop in the two weeks leading up to your arrival, please contact Rebecca immediately.
- Please let us know if any of your party develop Covid-19 symptoms during your stay.
- If any of your party develop symptoms, self-isolate where you are to minimise any risk of transmission and request a test:
- Call 111 to speak to NHS
- Contact 119 regarding testing
- or contact www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavuris-test
- If they are confirmed to have COVID-19, they should return home if they reasonably can. If a guest cannot reasonably return home (for example because they are not well enough to travel or do not have the means to arrange transport), their circumstances should be discussed with an appropriate health care professional and, if necessary, the local authority.
- If any of your party leaves at any point during their stay due to someone displaying symptoms, please inform Rebecca immediately. Guests should follow “Government guidance” on dealing with possible or confirmed COVID-19 infection.
Entertainment:
For guests’ safety we have regrettably had to remove all DVDs, books, children’s toys, board-games and puzzles, so please bring your own if needed.
To Reassure you of our committment:
- We want you to know that, in order to keep our guests safe, we have added to our normal cleaning regime with an enhanced Covid-19 protocol. We request that where possible you assist us by ensuring the following:
- Please take note of the information we have left in the house in lieu of a standard welcome book and remember that we have removed certain items from the house such as DVDs, books and puzzles, to reduce the number of touchpoints that are harder to deep clean before your stay. We’re sorry about this, but we hope you understand that this is based on advice we received to protect you in these times.
- Arrangements on the day you depart:
- Check-out time: Please could you promptly leave your cottage by 10:00am on the day of your departure. We’re sorry this may earlier than usual, but in the circumstances we want to allow enough time to fully clean and disinfect the cottages before the next guests arrive later in the day.
- Please bag up all rubbish and place it in the relevant outdoor wheelie bins on departure
- Please leave windows open on departure (unless it’s raining!)
- Please could you put all your towels at the bottom of the big laundry bag we have left in the hall for you, then please could you take the sheets, pillow-cases, and duvet-covers off all the beds on your final morning (even if you haven’t used them).
- Provision of hand-sanitiser, soaps and disinfectant materials
- We have provided these items for your use during your stay. If you run out while you are here then just let Rebecca know and we’ll give you some more!
Cleaning Protocols
Whilst we can’t list every single thing we have done below is the highlighted information:
- High Touch Points
- All touch points such as door keys, light switches and door handles have been cleaned and sanitised
- Kitchen utensils, including crockery & cutlery
- All kitchen utensils, crockery and cutlery have been thoroughly cleaned in advance of your arrival
- Bathrooms and toiletries
- Please enjoy these toiletries with our compliments. They are new (straight from the supplier) and have not been opened or touched for at least 72hrs before your arrival.
- Sorry for all the notices, but just to let you know: The toilet rolls haven’t been touched for at least 72hrs prior to your arrival! 🙂
- Bedrooms
- All bed linen has been cleaned and unused for more than 72hrs
- Remote-controls
- The TV remote-controls have been disinfected before your arrival.
- Leaflets
- We hope you enjoy looking through these leaflets – there’s lots to do in the local area! The leaflets have not been touched for at least 72hrs before your arrival (since we keep duplicate copies to swap-in each week).
- Welcome pack
- We hope you enjoy these items with our compliments. They haven’t been touched for 72hrs prior to your arrival. In addition there is a pint of milk in the fridge (we have wiped it clean when we put it there) and also a bottle of wine for you (also wiped-down).
- Garden furniture and play equipment
- We have cleaned and disinfected the cushions for the garden furniture and have thoroughly cleaned the outdoor table and chairs. The swings and slide have also been cleaned each week prior to your arrival.
Use of swimming pool – please contact Rebecca regarding use of the pool
Thank you for your cooperation in fighting this Virus and please do enjoy your stay!
Below is our Covid-19 Risk Assessment
| Property Name | Hall Farm Cottages | Date of Next Review: | 09/07/2021 | |
| Date of Assessment | 07/07/2020 | Notes: | ||
| Assessment Carried out by | Rebecca Barclay |
| What are the Hazards? | Who Might Be Harmed and How? | What are you already doing to control the Risk? | What further action do you need to take to control the risk? | Risk Factor / Urgency | |||||
| High | Medium | Low | |||||||
| Person to person contact during COVID 19 pandemic (Host and guest) | Becoming infected with COVID19 and further spread the infection | · Minimise contact between the two parties. · Provide a pre-arrival/ departure pack for guests explaining procedures. · Use self-check in approaches where appropriate such as lock boxes with Host to video call or phone the guests after guest arrival to ensure customer satisfaction and to answer all queries · Ensure guests are not present during interim cleans · Any issues needing a maintenance visit to be arranged when guests are out of the property where possible (unless an emergency) · Provide a FAQ document on all aspects of the property for example: · When bin day is · How the boiler works · How to switch the heating on · How the cooker works · This will minimise any visit to the property · Ensure all amenities packs are single packaged items · Have an illness during stay reporting procedure and useful contact numbers in the property | · Consider protective clothing for any welcome staff and ensure guests and welcome staff understand social distancing guidelines. N/A – self entry to accommodation. | ||||||
| Cleaner / housekeeper not fit for work and infected with COVID 19 | Could spread COVID 19 through cleaning within the property | · Create an ongoing checking system and document for staff health / wellbeing | |||||||
| Cleaning regimes not effective / fit for purpose | Contaminated accommodation / spread of COVID 19 | · Create a cleaning checklist that all cleaning staff must fill in · All guests are provided with appropriate information regarding cleaning and sanitising of the property · Create a maintenance checklist that all cleaning staff have to sign for on each clean, any issues to be flagged and dealt with before the guests arrival · in-depth ongoing staff training to ensure knowledge, clear understanding, and skills of every task undertaken · Cleaning standards checked periodically by supervisors or external 3rd parties (e.g. accreditation) · All cleaning team members are given the correct protective clothing and training on how to use correctly and instructions on handwashing, protective clothing disposal and their well being | · Create a cleaning plan that all cleaning staff must adhere to and sign for each clean N/A as only one cleaner and owner | ||||||
| Incorrect / ineffective cleaning materials used / Cleaning regimes not recorded | Not cleaning or sanitising the property correctly | · Put a cleaning requirement document together, clearly stating what should be sanitised within the property for example · Touch points, door handles, banisters, surfaces, bathrooms · What should be disinfected, floors, walls · Ensure all cleaning materials are clean and fit for purpose · Ensure all cleaning equipment is PAT tested and fit for purpose and the being used in the correct way · Put a health & safety file together with all cleaning products used and for what purpose, COSHH sheets if required, all previous cleaning / maintenance schedules for the accommodation and all risk assessments | |||||||
| Dealing with a guest who is unwell or infectious outbreak in your property | The spread of an infection outbreak | · Place a what to do if you suspect you as a guest are ill or have an infectious outbreak document in the property including relevant phone numbers and actions required · Video call/ call the guests to clearly understand the situation and if the guests need to extend their stay and for how long · Build into terms and conditions the cost and requirements if a guest has to extend their stay through illness for self-quarantine · Build a relationship with fellow property owners (buddy system) to see if arriving guests can be relocated into one of these properties if original booking cannot be fulfilled due to guest illness · Deliver clean linen and linen bag for the guests to place used linen in (leave this in the property) · Deliver, medicines, food supplies and extra cleaning materials to the outside of the property · | |||||||
| Incorrectly laundered bedding | Bacteria not killed off properly | · Use cotton/ linen bedding and wash on a full 60 degree wash cycle if being used again immediately. Otherwise wash on normal 40 degrees if not being used for further 72 hours · | |||||||
| Changeover clean | Contaminated accommodation / spread of COVID 19 | · All changeover cleans can only be completed once the guests have left the property · All protective clothing is available to cleaner · All cleaning / maintenance procedures are adhered to and documented accordingly | · Cleaner has filled out the fit for work document N/A as has been discussed with owner to notify if not FFW | ||||||
| Legionella | Infection of Legionella from standing water if the property has been lying empty | · Flush the whole water system for two minutes or more. First flush your toilet, then let the kitchen taps and the hand basin taps run for two minutes or more to let both hot and cold water pass through. · Flush the shower through If your shower has not been used for two weeks or more, disinfect the showerhead. The showerhead should be removed and the shower run for two minutes. The showerhead should be disinfected before being re-fitted by immersing for at least an hour in any solution designed for cleaning baby feeding bottles (e.g. Milton). Showerheads should be regularly disinfected about four times a year. · Finally, let any other taps run for two minutes. | |||||||
| Notes on completion | |||||||||