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Our Health and Safety Message - COVID-19

Updated: Jul 28, 2020

Welcome Back




We are delighted to announce the re-opening of our cottage on the 4th July 2020. We wish only for you to have a good time whilst you are at our little cottage and in return, we hope that we will find that your comeback and stay with us again!


WE WANTED TO UPDATE OU ON THE PRECAUTIONS WE ARE TAKING TO ENSURE THAT OUR COTTAGE REMAINS A SAFE SPACE FOR OUR GUESTS AND OURSELVES. WE HAVE STEPPED UP HEALTH & SAFETY MEASURES AT THE COTTAGE AND HIGHLIGHT THESE BELOW:


IMPORTANT CORONAVIRUS – Covid-19 INFORMATION FOR OUR GUESTS DURING THEIR STAY


As your hosts here in the UK, we are aware of the concerns of all our guests relating to the CORONAVIRUS – Covid-19 and how we are responding in relation to the cleanliness of our accommodation. You should be ensured that we are taking careful note of UK government policy on the CORONAVIRUS – Covid-19, keeping abreast of developments and are taking all the necessary steps to ensure excellent hygiene to protect our guests as well as ourselves.

Our main agent has set out a “SAFER STAYS” guiding principles for all its owners and we have agreed to adopt and implement ALL principles for every guest arrival and confirmed this in writing to you our guests here and our agents. See the principles below:




We know one of the first questions you will ask is “What will these principles mean to us as a guest whilst staying at 18 in the Corner?”, let us try and address this as follows:

1. 1. House Keeping procedures - All surfaces and heavy use items in our property will be sanitised with warm soapy water and anti-viral disinfectant before your stay with us and will be allowed to sit for the recommended period, appropriate PPE equipment will be provided to our cleaners and will be worn at all times while cleaning the cottage and collecting the bedding and towels (at a minimum face mask and gloves will be used, which will be disposed of safely (double bagged and left for 72hrs before disposing) to avoid cross contamination in its own waste bag), we will pay particular attention to surfaces which are most regularly used and which have been identified as High-touch Deep Clean Points and we will ensure that only cleaners that understand the correct guidelines to work safely will be employed to clean the property. Cleaning of each room will be done in such a way around the room to avoid retouching of any surfaces. The cottage will be well ventilated during the process of cleaning and windows will be left open in readiness for your arrival.


High-touch Deep Clean Points on our property will be as follows but not limited to:


a. Door Handles

All door handles throughout the property are cleaned first and last thing before guests arrive.


b. Bathroom Surfaces

All bathroom hard surfaces, taps, controls and toiletries are thoroughly cleaned.


c. a. TV and Sound Bar remote controls and the TV’s are cleaned and bagged in disposable sealed bags.


d. Lamps & Switches

The lamps, lamp switches, all sockets, light switches and the wall mounted thermostat are cleaned.


e. Cupboard & Drawer Handles

All cupboard and drawer handles, doors and shelves are cleaned.


f. Hard Surfaces

All hard surfaces are thoroughly cleaned.


g. All Dining Room/Living Room and Kitchen Items / Appliances

All Dining Room/Living Room and Kitchen and appliances will be cleaned thoroughly.


h. Bed Linen & Towels

All bed linen and towels are washedat temperatures above 60 degrees Celsius.


i. Cottage Keys

The cottage keys and key safe are sanitised at the end of each stay.


2. Our usual little luxuries at the cottage I am afraid will have to be removed such as our board games, books, CDs & DVDs incl players, hair dryers, iron/ironing board, umbrellas, extra (crockery, cutlery & glasses) and soft furnishings such as cushions and throws. Don’t worry though as we will still provide you with our welcome basket to start you off on your stay with us at the cottage . We will ensure all our suppliers of locally produced items in our basket carry out their own risk assessment.


3. Check in (5 pm) and Check out (9 am) times to allow our cleaners adequate time to clean the property will have to be strictly adhered too we have been flexible in the past but disinfectants will need at least 1 hour to dry and the property will need to be aired once cleaners have left.


4. Notifications on your bedrooms will be left on the doors and in our bathroom to reassure you as guests that additional care and attention has been taken by us when cleaning the cottage.


5. We will be supplying additional hand sanitising facilities (both soap and wall mounted hand sanitiser) at the cottage for you during your stay, please use accordingly, particularly as you come and go from the property, we have made some friendly signage to help remind you of this  This will help to protect you as well as ourselves and our cleaners. Wall mounted hand sanitiser is located by the access to the kitchen/back exit and just inside at the front door, we ask that you all use these facilities as you come and go.


6. Key collection will remain the same with no face to face contact, that is: the keys for the cottage will be left in our key safe at the front of the property for which you will have received the code for at the same time as this document.The keys are high touch items and therefore we will ensure that they and the key safe are sanitised appropriately at the beginning and end of each stay at the property. However, should you need our assistance regarding getting access to the keys, then do not hesitate to reach out to us and we will be there to assist you (maintaining social distancing measures accordingly).


7. We ask that you adhere to government guidelines in relation to CORONAVIRUS – Covid-19 at all times during your stay and weadvise all our guests to check the UK government and NHS websites for further information before their stay at the cottage.


a. This is a link to the government website with the most up-to-date information:


b. and the NHS’ frequently asked questions page relating to CORONAVIRUS – Covid-19


8. Importantly we ask that you remind yourselves of the current government advice in England on the maximum number of households that can be together in an indoor setting and therefore at our cottage; as well as the current guidelines on social distancing see:


9. We do request that all our guests will adhere to washing hands more often than usual, for 20 seconds using soap and water or hand sanitiser, particularly after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose, as you come and go from the property, before you eat or handle food, we have friendly signage around the property reminding you to do this whilst staying in the property.


10. We ask that our guests please use tissues for cold like symptoms and place them in the bins provided throughout the cottage (ensuring that the contents of these bins are disposed of safely and contained at the end of your stay (double bagged and placed in the bins outside) and immediately afterwards wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser.

N.B. we will provide an initial supply of tissues in each of the bedrooms at the cottage, but thereafter you will need to obtain more yourselves should you want more, please follow government advice should you not purchase any further yourself, i.e. should no tissues be available and you need to cough or sneeze that you do so in the crease of your arm not in your hands.


11. What would be most helpful to us at the end of your stay and what we would be grateful for is the following and will help us maintain safety of future guests and ourselves/cleaners:


a. That you clean and disinfect any high touch items and surfaces to reduce the risk of spreading on any germs to other people after you have left.


b. You do not leave any dirty dishes for our cleaners, there is a dishwasher, dishwasher tablets and washing up liquid provided for your use in the cottage. You can at a minimum leave dishes still being washed in the dishwasher.


c. Please remove all used bedding including the pillow and mattress protectors from the beds you have used and place in the blue laundry bags hung on the back of bedroom doors that were there when you arrived.All used towels and shower mats should also be placed in the bags. Our cleaners will remove these from the property as part of the cleaning process. Any unused beds and towels should be left untouched as is with the signage provided.


d. On leaving the property place back sanitised keys in the key safe at the front door.


e. Ensure windows that can be opened are left open and all internal doors left open when you leave


f. Finally, could you also ensure that all your rubbish, used disposable cleaning cloths and tea towels are properly/safely bagged and disposed of, taken out of the property and placed in the refuse and/or recycle bins provided by us outside and at the back of the cottage. Our bins are clearly marked with the number 18.


As you can see ensuring the health and safety of you our guests and us is paramount and as of the present date, we have had no outbreaks of CORONAVIRUS – Covid-19 in our cottage and with your help during your stay, we hope this is maintained; we are following government and NHS advice with respect to cleaning and hygiene in order to prevent the spread of germs 




As a holiday cottage business here in the Lake District, to reassure you our guests about our strategy for your enjoyment of your next stay with us we have signed up to the Visit England “We’re Good to go” Scheme and acquired the Industry Standard mark (see certification below) showing you that as a business we are taking things seriously about all our well-being by:


· following government and industry COVID-19 guidelines, 

· us having a Risk Assessment in place (this can be found on our website's COVID-19 Safety specific page) that has been carried out in line with the guidelines on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website, and 

· us having a process to maintain cleanliness and aid social distancing.


Rest assured we are #wearegoodtogo

Furthermore, we have also achieved the AA Covid Confident accreditation.

  •   Social distancing and safety measures in place

  •   Follows government and industry guidelines for COVID-19

  •   Signed up to the AA COVID Confident Charter

As you know from above we can confirm our COVID-19 measures include: We are asking guests to strip their own beds, place in laundry bags provided along with towels and shower mats at the end of their stay. We ask them to dispose of their own refuse. We are providing disposable cleaning cloths, tea towels and cleaning equipment at the start of their stay, asking to clean high touch items at the end of stay, ask they ventilate the property by leaving windows and internal doors open. We will have two sets of crockery, cutlery and glasses which we will clean ourselves and exchange after each stay and we ask the guests to clean all kitchen items they use. We ourselves will be following all the steps of our risk assessment.


We highly recommend that you pack essential items such as toilet rolls, additional tissues, hand sanitising products, nappies, face masks and disposable gloves. Any used items of this type should be disposed of and contained accordingly by yourself safely at the end of your stay at the cottage.


We understand that you our guests may have concerns regarding CORONAVIRUS – Covid-19 and its impact on your holiday and in this respect please feel free to get in touch with us either via email at 18inthecorner@gmail.com or by calling us on 07768278734 if we can answer any questions regarding the above or help out in any way in advance of or during your holiday at the cottage.


Finally, and an Important one for us all!


Should one of your party feel unwell during your stay at the cottage please follow the advice below:


If you or a member of your party show symptoms that could be related to CORONAVIRUS – Covid-19, we recommend that you review first the current and standard NHS guidance found at:



In addition, for our safety and any future guests please then contact the Agency where you booked our cottage and advise them of your situation. We would also be grateful if you could subsequently inform us also and we will try of course to assist where we can with your situation.


Government guidance on People staying in accommodation that have symptoms of COVID-19 is as follows:


“If a guest is displaying signs of the COVID-19 virus (see NHS guidance above) while staying in overnight accommodation for a permitted reason, they should inform the accommodation provider, immediately self-isolate where they are to minimise any risk of transmission, and request a test. If they are confirmed to have COVID-19, they should return home if they reasonably can. They should use private transport but only drive themselves if they can do so safely. If a guest cannot reasonably return home (for example because they are not well enough to travel or do not have the means to arrange transport), their circumstances should be discussed with an appropriate health care professional and, if necessary, the local authority.”


These procedures may all seem very regimental and we don’t want them to ruin your stay with us, but as you can imagine we want to ensure you, ourselves and any future guests are safe and sound at our cottage.


We do apologise in advance for the somewhat extensive list of requests for you to follow but we see it necessary for our guests “Safer Stay” at 18 in the Corner.


It may be also worth your while checking out our new web page on the website that talks about all thing regarding  Covid-19 Coronavirus Safety at the Cottage:


SAFER STAYS

GENERAL SAFETY INFORMATION:


Electricity

Should there be a power cut you should be aware that there are 4 torches to be found in each of the 3 main bedrooms and in the dining room.

Should the electricity trip for any reason e.g. burst bulb, just let us know by calling Tim and he will help out, our fuse box is located in the basement and you will not have access to this. If it is just the lighting and it can wait til the morning locate the torches provided and leave us with a message and we will come attend first thing.

There are spare bulbs are located in the draws of the welsh dresser in the dining room.


Gas

The only gas appliance in the house is the gas boiler for the central heating and hot water. The boiler is regularly serviced and maintained on an annual basis. The boiler is located in the basement but you will not have access to it as the basement is locked to guests.

If you smell gas, and/or think you have a gas leak, or are worried that fumes containing carbon monoxide are escaping, please call the free Gas Emergency Services emergency line immediately on 0800 111 999, and Tim too as we would not expect for you to handle this alone.


Also ensure that you:


· Open all doors and windows to ventilate the property.

· Do not turn on/off any electrical switches.

· Extinguish all naked flames, do not smoke, strike matches or do anything, which could cause ignition.


British Gas Homecare covers us so we can always get an engineer out to the property as soon as possible to cover central heating and hot water issues. So call Tim immediately if you have any problems regarding these matters and we will take care of them.


Water

Any problems with the pluming then we have British Gas Homecare cover and so we can always get an engineer out to the property as soon as possible to cover any issues relating to water. The stopcock is situated in the basement which you do not have access too so call Tim immediately if you need to isolate water. Anyway call Tim if you have any problems regarding any matters relating to water supply or plumbing and we will take care of them.


Smoke Detectors and Fire Safety

18 in the corner is fitted with smoke detectors. These are Fire brigade approved smoke alarms can be found in the three hallways for your safety i.e. one in the ground floor hallway, first floor hallway and second floor landing.

A carbon monoxide detector is fitted in the dining area by the door leading to the locked basement. All windows can be opened as fire exits. The small first floor rear bedroom window drops onto the kitchen extension roof and may be an easier option of exit. Doors can be found to the front and rear of the property.

The 2nd floor rear bedroom has a velux window where exit onto the roof is possible.

There is a fire blanket and fire extinguisher located in the kitchen area

Keep in mind that the most vulnerable of you are young children, elderly and those with mobility difficulties that may be with you who will be unable to escape without assistance so please ensure you consider all of you accordingly.


Smoking

Please do not smoke inside the cottage this is a non-smoking property throughout this includes e-cigarettes. Please feel free to smoke outside but please dispose of cigarette ends responsibly.

Please familiarise yourself with the fire safety procedures for the property which can be found in the information booklet in the dining room and on the notice board in the kitchen by the back door.


First Aid Kit 

A small first aid kit is provide in the house and provides you with the basic plasters and bandages. This can be found in the drawer of the welsh dresser in the dining room area. Please make sure you do not throw the card away that is in the kit listing items in the kit as we use this as an inventory check and replenish what we can see is missing.


Looking forward to seeing you all and you enjoying your stay at the cottage

Tim and Kimberley xx




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