Under Covid-19: How Ireland’s self-catering holiday sector will change

Given the continued uncertainty around international travel and quarantine periods, many people are considering a summer holiday in self-catering accommodation across Ireland.

Guests will notice small changes like a lack of unnecessary soft furnishings and more obvious changes like extended check-in hours.

The main changes include:

* Guests will be told to stand two metres away at all times from other groups of people who are not from the same household.

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* Kits at reception will have germicidal wipes, face and eye masks, gloves, protective aprons and biohazard disposable waste bags.

* An extended check-in window may be provided to help reduce large queues of guests arriving at peak times. One representative from each group will be asked to approach the owner to check in while the others adhere to physical distancing measures.

* When they arrive, guests will be given a sheet of information explaining what is expected of them when interacting with employees and other guests.

* Employees will wear gloves if they need to handle cash.

For the owner or accommodation provider, the new measures include the following requirements.

* To pay particular attention when cleaning frequently touched items including light switches, temperature control panels, door and furniture handles, television remote controls, toilet seats and handles, taps, telephones, kitchen appliances and flooring.

* Soap and shampoo dispensers will have to be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly during the room-cleaning process.

* Where bed linen is provided for guests, it must be washed afterwards at a high temperature and dirty linen must be bagged immediately. This is in order to “eliminate excess contact while it’s transported to the laundry facility. The frequency of cleaning and disinfection must be increased within laundry facilities to at least twice daily”.

* After a guest has left all kitchen equipment eg glasses, cutlery, delph, cooking utensils, etc will have to be washed in the correct temperature.

* Unnecessary throws and cushions will be removed from living spaces.

* In the event of a suspected case of Covid-19, a property must be removed from service until cleaned and disinfected. The property can not be returned to service until it has undergone disinfection.

* Debit and credit card machines will have to be cleaned and disinfected after each use.

* A strict queuing system and limitations on number of users within public toilets will be put in place.