What Holiday Park Owners Should Be Doing to Prepare for the Return of Holiday Makers for Summer 2020
It almost goes without saying that our nation of keen holidaymakers and budding travellers are eagerly waiting to be told that they can confirm those hopeful holiday bookings which they made earlier this year.
As a holiday park, leisure park, hotel or spa retreat owner, you have a responsibility to ensure the safety of your visitors and maintain the highest levels of cleanliness in your facilities to prevent the spread of viruses and keep your visitors and staff safe.
As we approach the holiday season, much of your equipment may have been lying dormant for a long period of time and will need to be serviced, repaired, decontaminated and thoroughly cleaned before it sees new or returning holidaymakers again.
Maintaining your Spa Facilities
It is possible that after not being used for a while, some of the working parts may need to be serviced to ensure they are free from damage, residue build-up and debris. It is recommended that you use this time, prior to the return of holidaymakers or visitors/guests, to make any repairs needed to your equipment and also to ensure that everything is in good working order.
You should regularly service your spa and hot tub equipment to prevent costly damage later, similar to that of a vehicle where you would normally have at least an annual service and MOT.
You can book an appointment with one of our engineers and we can work with you to ensure that all the appropriate measures are in place for any work which may need to be carried out at your premises. Contact us or call us on 01980 611555.
Decontaminating Your Spa Facilities
It is likely that the water in your pools, hot tubs and spa’s will need to be replenished or filtered and cleaned having not been in use for an unusually long period of time and your facilities will possibly need a thorough ‘spring clean’ before they are put back into operation.
Whilst it is currently not recommended that you share a hot tub or spa with anyone other than those in your household, there are talks of holiday parks and alike being reopened soon meaning that measures must be taken to ensure the safety of visitors and guests.
BISHTA have addresses points such as empty pools and their safety, social distancing, measures for the facility users and how to keep the water sanitized. When it comes to keeping the water bacteria and virus free, BISHTA claim:
“The virus is not actually killed (as it is not a living organism), but BISHTA is aware of information from UK and American colleagues that their respective public health advice is that the Coronavirus would be deactivated in properly sanitised water, at the correct pH value.”
It is recommended that your facility is thoroughly cleaned to ensure that every surface has been scrubbed with the appropriate cleaning solution. There is a possibility that some parts of your equipment may have developed mould when not active, so it is important that this issue is also dealt with and that your filter systems are also cleaned and given a thorough flush through before frequented by the public. You can buy a range of cleaning materials here to help with these tasks.
Once your cleaning strategy is nearly complete, you will be able to prepare the water and establish the correct chemical balance to keep the water clean and sanitized. You can purchase a new set of chemicals here and sanitizer products for your hot tub or spa here.
What advice should you give to holidaymakers and guests on using spa facilities?
We are unable to advise on exactly what you should do, as this will vary from place to place and business to business. But we have been able to highlight some of the advice given by BISHTA and the government at this time.
- Provide hand sanitizer and disposable tissues around commonplace areas of your premises for people to keep their hands clean and prevent the spread of germs from coughs and sneezes
- You can ask that if anyone thinks they may be ill, to avoid visiting your premises. You may even wish to take their temperature upon entry to check that they do not have a fever which could be a sign of being ill
- You should ask guests to shower before and after entering a pool or other part of your facilities to ensure that they can minimise the transfer of germs, inside and outside of your holiday park or spa
- You should ask guests to maintain a safe distance from other guests and limit the use of the spa or hot tub facilities to small groups from the same household or family – you may wish to ask guests to reserve a time slot or limit the number of time people can spend for any given session, and to also allow time to clean down any surfaces in between uses which are not covered by chemically balanced and sanitized water
Although we don’t advertise it, we are able to provide stocks of hand sanitizer and other items required for your premises to help you provide adequate sanitizer stations for your visitors and some items of PPE if required. Please get in touch with our team to find out more about our range of sanitizer and PPE products or to ask any questions about keeping your spa equipment in good working order and ready for the holiday season.
Update 09/07/2020: ** Government Guidance on Hot Tubs in Business Settings **
Following last week’s update on hot tubs, the current government guidance (in England) is now available and BISHTA & SPATA would like to draw your attention to the wording in the 4th bullet point within section 2.2.2, which refers to ‘Indoor and outdoor attractions’.
“Some indoor and outdoor event venues - e.g. those being permitted to open include cinemas, bingo halls, social clubs, amusement arcades, theatres and concert halls (no live performances) will be covered by guidance that the government is currently developing. The following venues remain closed: nightclubs, casinos, bowling alleys and indoor skating rinks, indoor play areas including soft-play, spas, swimming pools (including pools, hot tubs in self-catered accommodation) and water parks”.
