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...

As B&B owners prepared to open and think about their post lockdown B&B cleaning we were bombarded with risk assessments and checklists from well meaning organisations. And reading these in detail was really quite scary from a B&B owner’s perspective.

One of the problems with risk assessments prepared by organisations such as this is that they look to address every single risk. One suggested that you should wrap sofas in communal areas in clear plastic. That’s not to say they aren’t very useful – and I’ve included some links to them in the notes for this lesson. But each business needs to assess the risk for their  own situation.

You should also note, that the health and safety executive says that you should take REASONABLE precautions to reduce the risk.

Do a risk assessment and identify where the high risk areas are and look to focus your attention there.  For example, you need to identify the points in a room that guests are...

Many showers in B&B bathrooms having been standing unused over the past few months during the COVID lockdown. There is a big risk that the legionella bacteria could be in the system.

If you haven’t been running water through the taps and showers regularly, then you need to take steps to ensure it’s safe before you welcome back guests.

The good news is that it’s not a difficult thing to sort out. The South West Tourism Association have kindly allowed me to share their step by step guide. Here’s what they have to say:

“

Firstly, with our properties having been standing empty for months now, we all need to be aware of the risk of Legionella in the water systems. This is a HUGE RISK.

Standing water presents a risk of Legionella bacteria accumulating, and is particularly high risk in showers, as Legionella bacteria is dispersed in airborne water droplets, so the spray created by a shower is the perfect delivery mechanism.

Anyone using a contaminated...