Greece’s Tourism Ministry has prepared a safety and hygiene “protocol for hotels and tourist accommodations” that will have to be implemented during this year’s season amid the coronavirus pandemic. The 16-page long protocol has been based on recommendations of the Greek National Health Organization EODY.
The protocol covers all sectors of hotels operation service from reception area and check-in, to restaurants and bars, swimming pools and sunbeds, floor service such as rooms and common areas cleaning up to customers transfer.
The strict measures have to be implemented at all levels of operation of hotels and other tourist facilities.
Each tourist accommodation, regardless of size and specifications, must set its own protocol following the general instructions of the ministry, daily ethnos reports.
Tourists will be surprised that they will not experience the same service as they had in the past. Aim of the strict implementation is the protection of both the staff and the visitors.
Cleaning Service
Among other things, the ministry and the EODY experts suggest:
- “no frequent cleaning of the room to avoid contact of the cleaning personnel with a potential infected cases and possible transmission of the coronavirus.
- “abolition of daily change of bed sheets and towels” and of “preparation for the night unless customer requests it.”
- Removal of all decorative and objects for common use (pillows, printed menus, magazines, etc.) as well as coffee appliances, kettles and all products from the mini bar.
- a single-use cover should be installed on remote controls devices of TV air conditioner controls.
- Textile surfaces (eg furniture upholstery) must be cleaned in a steam appliance with temperature > 70°C.
The management of the hotel must use a sign indicating when and how room was cleaned, but also to place antiseptic liquids or an antiseptic device in each room.
Cleaning staff are advised to use a simple surgical mask (in the case of surgical mask availability, the use of canvas is recommended), gloves and a disposable waterproof robe. During the work, the cleaning staff should not touch the mouth, nose, or eyes with their hands, smoke, or eat.
The management must keep a record of both the employees and all the people living in the hotel (name, nationality, arrival and departure details, contact details such as address, telephone and e-mail), in order to facilitate communication with the close contracts in case any Covid-19 infection may be identified afterwards.
Reception, Check-in
Recommended is the use of plexiglass in the reception area for tourist accommodation with a capacity of 60 beds and above as well as floor marking at a distance of two meters where the customer will stand.
Recommended is the development of alternatives to traditional check-in with the use of portable devices that can be more easily disinfected after each use or other automatic devices and the placing of portable POS in a point near the customer for the exclusive use of payment cards.
Proposed is to consider the possibility of check-in in the open air.
- Those who do not live there will be barred from entering the accommodation.
Restaurants
For the operation of the restaurants, proposed is the intensive washing of hand towels, tablecloths and all the cutlery even of those not used. Alternatively is the use of packed cutlery and one use tablecloths, packed food portions, where it is possible.
For the arrangement of the tables and chairs (except for families) recommended is a distance bigger than 1.5 meters (chairs back to back). Distance between customers sitting face to face distance of 1.5 meters is recommended.
To avoid crowding, it is recommended to extend the hours of restaurants operation and with rotating attendance of customers.
Hotels should emphasize and encourage room service at no extra charge.
Buffets are not recommended, hence serving of new meals.
For the consumption of beverages at the bars, nuts etc should be offered only in individual packages.
- For playgrounds and other facilities for children, it is recommended that their suspension be considered on a case-by-case basis. In the event that they operate, there should be a restriction on the number of children in outdoor playgrounds.
Swimming pools
Layout of seats such as sunbeds, chairs, etc. should be with a distance of 2 meters and it depends whether people share the same room or not.
Sunbeds should be disinfected after each use. They should be covered with a special disposable cloth before placing the towel which also should cover the whole surface.
Restricted is the number of swimmers in the outdoor pools, that is one swimmer per 2.5 cubic meters. In indoor pools the proportion is 2 swimmers per 20 square meters.
Passengers’ transport
A special protocol will also be applied for hotel customer transport services.
For vehicles up to 5 seats: one customer plus the driver. exception: second passenger permitted if accompanies a person in need of assistance.
Vehicles with 6 or 7 seats: two passengers plus driver
Vehicles with 8 or 9 seats: three passengers plus driver.
Exceptions are made only if passengers are parents with minor children.
The use of medical protection masks is mandatory for both the passengers and the driver.
See also ⇒ Greece reveals health protocols for flights and hotels
All-year hotels are scheduled to open on June 1, seasonal accommodation facilities on July 1.
These restrictions above the restrictions for entering Greece …. Bye bye season 2020
Is someone having a laugh. Why not just say you won’t open hotels this year. All you are doing is creating an environment where people will not want to visit Greece. Hotels. No cleaning, no towel changing. No buffets for gusts who have paid for this service. Treating visitors like lepers. What happened to Filoxenia. I fully understand protecting the economy and people but these rules, together with the 72 hour tests prior to flying are ridiculous.
Labour market catastrophe. The confirmation that non-farm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April, with job losses in every sector underlines just how deep and widespread the economic shock over the past six weeks has been.
Graag hoor ik de instructie voor het reizen en bezoeken voor buitenlandse gasten welke een eigen vakantiewoning hebben in Griekenland.
Voostellen zijn gedaan : https://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2020/05/12/greece-proposals-eu-commission-test-quarantine-travel-june15/
It’s not a happy prospect, to put it mildly! The proposed tests within 72 hours of departure have zero chance of implementation in the UK. Even if tests and certificates were available, which they are not, it normally takes five days to get the results of a swab test and 72 hours is three days. Even if it were possible, who wants to jump through these hoops to experience something resembling Guantanamo?
Greece, like everywhere else, is facing impossible dilemmas. Given the UK’s shambolic handling of the pandemic, it might be simpler just to say that there will be no UK tourists until further notice. That, at least, would be clear.
I’m trying hard to visualise a holiday on the Corfu village I’ve been visiting for many years under these rules. It’s a nightmare vision. In fact, impossible. The essence of a Greek holiday is relaxation, the welcoming hugs of the local people when you return, buzzing tavernas, sociability. None of these seems possible under the proposed regime.
What about travelling with my family and renting a car to gi to my holiday house?