Preparing your B&B for lockdown

Unfortunately we’ll be starting another month-long  lockdown in England from 01.00 on 5th November.

This means that most B&Bs and hotels will have to close. The current ( 2nd November 2020 ) wording on the GOV.UK website is as follows:

“Hotels, hostels and other accommodation should only open for those who have to travel for work purposes and for a limited number of other exemptions which will be set out in law.”

Please refer to the website for the most up to date information

Many of us who already run B&Bs have already been through one lockdown this year, and have a good idea of the steps to take to prepare our B&Bs. 

But just in case you need a reminder, here’s a list of things to consider. Some actions may not be appropriate to your circumstances, so please adapt as necessary.

I’ve asked our Facebook group for their suggestions. So thank you to everyone that responded.

Taking prompt action now means we'll all be in a good position to open safely as soon as we are able to.

Probably the most important action from a health and safety perspective is to take regular action to prevent Legionnaire’s disease. I wrote a blog post with more detail back in June

B&B Bedrooms

• Strip beds of bed linen and leave unmade beds  to air
• Strip rooms of any dirty crockery/cutlery items
• Empty all bins
• Turn off water to rooms if appropriate
• Turn off heating to rooms if appropriate
• Turn off power to televisions, radios etc
• Turn off power to in room fridges, leaving fridge door open
• Turn off landing lights if appropriate

B&B Bathrooms

• Remove any dirty towels
• Run hot water through all taps and showers and flush toilets weekly (Legionnaire’s disease prevention) 

Suppliers

• Contact any suppliers that deliver regularly to discuss your requirements over the coming weeks, or to put on hold
• Contact your laundry company to discuss your requirements over the coming weeks, or to put a hold on their collection/delivery

In the kitchen and store room

• Check the use by dates on food in cupboards/fridges and freezer

Website/ Third Party Booking

• Close off unavailable nights on your own online booking system
• Update availability on online travel agencies such as bookingdotcom
• Consider creating a blog post explaining current situation and explaining what you are doing with existing bookings

Existing Bookings

• Contact guests with existing bookings during lockdown, offer to move stay to a later date, offer gift voucher or give refund

Social Media

• Put post on social media explaining your current plans
• Consider your social media/marketing strategy for lockdown. It’s a really good idea to keep posting to stay connected with guests but the type of thing you’re posting will need to change. 
• Change your opening hours on social media such as facebook ( from your business page, select edit page info, scroll to temporary service change and select temporarily closed )
• Change your opening hours on Google My Business - from the home or info page there is an option to mark your business as temporarily closed.

General

• Identify any DIY tasks that need to be done
• Buy DIY supplies before lockdown commences