Adjusting to the new travel norms and expectations

Petousis Family Holdings, which incorporates The Vineyard, The Townhouse and Oude Werf hotels continues to navigate its way through the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

With the announcement that the whole of South Africa has moved from Level 4 to Level 3, limited domestic travel is now permitted. The Vineyard and The Townhouse have already welcomed their first business travellers and Oude Werf is scheduled to reopen on 1 July.

The group has worked hard to develop a re-opening plan that takes the best practices from the World Health Organisation and South Africa’s Department of Health to ensure that its guests will feel safe and secure staying at the various properties.

While the travel environment is changing and the group’s service offering will be different to comply with the Disaster Management Act, its commitment to making the guest’s stay as comfortable as possible remains the same. 

One can expect to see evolved COVID-19 procedures in every area of the hotels, including:

• Arrival at the hotel: On arrival at the hotel guests will be asked to sanitise shoes, get themselves and luggage fogged, sanitise their hands and then proceed to Reception.
• Reception: Reduced contact at check-in, touchless transactions, front desk screens, sanitiser stations, sanitised registration and key-cards, paperless check-out, temperature check and health questionnaire conducted during stay as per legislative requirements
• Guest Room: Reduction of in-room furnishings/high-touch items, new laundry protocols, advanced cleaning products effective against viruses and these are used to disinfect guest rooms during stay if requested and after check-out each room is fogged.
• Public Spaces and Facilities: Social distancing and the wearing of masks observed in all public areas and when interacting with staff.  Increased frequency and deep cleaning of high touch surfaces. Hand sanitisers will be available in all public areas.
• Food & Beverage: New standards and service approach to room service delivery for breakfast and dinner.
• Staff: For the safety of guests and colleagues’ health, the staff has been through enhanced COVID-19 awareness training as well as comprehensive hygiene and prevention training programmes. Personal protective equipment have been given to all staff members.
• Hand sanitizer. Dispensers — touchless whenever possible — will be placed at key guest and employee entrances, and other contact areas throughout the facilities.
• Visitors and Meetings.  Currently visitors will not be allowed into the hotels unless they are registered guests as per regulations and the group will amend this as per guidance from Government.