Coronavirus, guests, cleaners, ...

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
stork
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Coronavirus, guests, cleaners, ...

Post by stork »

Hi there,

Have not been here for ages but can imagine CoViD19 is on your minds too.

We have not had any cancellations so far, and are almost full from when we open until end June. We don't quite know if we should prepare for no season or almost normal season and decided to look to Singapore to see what they recommend - one of our doubts is how to deal with cleaners, guests etc in case we have guests while there is an outbreak.

Here is a link we found: https://sha.org.sg/news_events/news_det ... oronavirus

This is of course for hotels, but there could be useful info.
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AngloDutch
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Post by AngloDutch »

I believe that the fear of coming to Europe and catching COVID-19 has now begun among our guests with bookings for 2020.

We were due a balance payment last week from guests from Canada who have stayed with us before. It is now overdue. They have always answered emails immediately and been on time with their payments. Now nothing but silence. I am going to call them to see what is going on.

I think it's the 'rabbit in the headlight' syndrome. It seems that some people are seeing what is happening in Italy and think that is going to be the rest of Europe in a few weeks' time. They may have not made the decision to cancel but I think a lot of guests are pondering what to do right now. Maybe they think that if they haven't paid the full amount yet, then it would be better just to lose the deposit if and when they do make that decision in the next week or two, while also hoping that the owners will not cancel their booking before they can make that decision themselves.

The problem is made worse when guests just hold off on making payments and coming to a decision. It means even less time for the owners to find guests to fill their week/s of course.

We are now preparing ourselves for more cancellations but have decided to just follow our normal cancellation procedures at the moment (even though ABB/BC expects us just to be lenient and allow everyone to cancel and get their money back).
We intend to still be here as a business for the 2021 season, so until/if we become a no-go area, we will be keeping at least the deposits if guests cancel before paying their balances. If we can resell their bookings, then we will of course refund everything to those that have cancelled out of fear.

It is becoming very worrying. We are practically full until October and 2020 was looking to be one of our best seasons ever. I am not so sure now. We have a lot of bookings from Canada, the USA and from other European countries, including Spain and Germany.

We are also concerned about the possibility of guests bringing the infection with them. Although hand gel, most products with the word 'Dettol' on it has now been stripped from Dutch supermarkets and (online) pharmacies, we have been stocking up on antiseptic cleaning solutions/issues/cloths since last month. We intend to wipe down as much of our surfaces as possible before following guests arrive. But with the time frame most of us have before next guests arrivals, it is pretty much impossible to decontaminate everything (including all cutlery, plates, cups, glasses, etc.)
Sam V
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Post by Sam V »

Yep, now that WHO have declared a pandemic I'm now concerned how to handle bookings if guests start to ask the questions. My first thoughts, like you are to stick with usual cancellation terms. As I see it, as long are flights are still running then so is the booking and if they choose to cancel then it's their choice and I hope they have insurance, which I do clearly state they should have in my T&Cs. My alternative would be to offer a full or partial refund only I can resell the booking, but Id have to re-advertise at a greatly reduced fee, or do I offer my guests a partial 50/50 refund perhaps, as a 'gesture of goodwill' neither the guest or I am at fault.
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stork
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Post by stork »

We keep the same line and stick to our T&Cs, at least until the Portuguese Government decrees us to do something else.

Our reason is simple: We were clear from the beginning, we recommended travel/cancellation insurance, and it is the guest and not us who can take out one. Their money, their choice.

Of course Booking.com complicates things by declaring force majeur and expecting to hosts to refund if there are travel restrictions.
Sam V
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Post by Sam V »

Can guests still claim on insurance if the likes of Booking.com and HA refund them?
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AndrewH
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Post by AndrewH »

Sam V wrote:Can guests still claim on insurance if the likes of Booking.com and HA refund them?
I doubt it, because such guests would not have suffered a loss.
Sam V
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Post by Sam V »

TA lurkers walk among us; the LMH Walking Dead

dont mess in the affairs of cats for they are subtle and will p on your computer.

www.algarvevillatrinity.co.uk
www.facebook.com/villatrinity
www.gardenerscottage.promotemyplace.com
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