COVID Holiday Home Management – NetLet UK

COVID Holiday Home Management

The following policy has been designed based on in-depth research and guidelines, to provide our guests and holiday homeowners with peace of mind that all aspects COVID Holiday Home Management. Cross contamination has been considered and the following will be implemented in preparation for the re-opening of our holiday homes.

NetLet UK will be taking the following steps to minimise the level of risk to their staff guests and yourselves while in your property. This section has been broken into the key areas we feel need to be addressed, mapped and managed very closely.

Proper use of PPE

NetLet UK have distributed the correct level of PPE to all staff members to reduce the potential risk of exposure to COVID-19.

All NetLet UK staff have undergone training in mask and glove usage. Under this policy all disposable gloves will be changed between each property and after certain in-property tasks.

• On entry to any property the staff will wash their hands or use hand sanitiser before gloving and after the removal of the disposable gloves.
• All staff have been instructed to wear a disposable mask while in the property and to monitor the condition of the mask they are wearing. If at any point the masks start to absorb any liquid or become damp, they will be removed immediately and replace with a new one.
• As staff members are still operating under strict social distancing guidelines whilst on-site, NetLet UK have not deemed that the use of shields or protective eye wear is essential and this will remain as a personal preference to all members of staff.

Products, Cleaning Agents, and Equipment

NetLet UK has always used a high-quality range of sanitisation and disinfecting products as standard protocol when operating in your holiday homes.

Following the two-phase cleaning procedure outlined above, NetLet UK staff will be using the following items clean your holiday home.

Sanitise

• Clean Fast – Antibacterial Spray for all bathrooms
• Lift RFU – Degreaser for kitchen areas to remove all residual grease/fat
• Spray and Wipe – Multi-purpose for all surface areas

Disinfect

• Safe Zone – Viral disinfectant: Broad spectrum activity against viruses, bacteria, fungi & spores. It kills Norovirus, Influenza, MRSA & C. diff. Passes EN 14476 & EN 1276
• Fogging canisters – refer below for more information

With the recent Pandemic, we have introduced an additional phase to the cleaning/changeover process. This is a final additional disinfecting stage to ensure the sterilisation of potentially harmful viral, bacterial, fungal, or microbial particles in the atmosphere. As highlighted above, even with thorough surface cleaning some particle elements especially larger particles, can remain airborne for longer periods of time. This phase, called fogging, will release a canister into the environment and clear all residual pathogens.

Each property has its own designated cleaning equipment and supplies. Most of the equipment required remains in the holiday home permanently such as vacuum, mop and brooms. These will be disinfected after every use and vacuum changes/emptied per clean.  This includes the vacuum filter that is designed to capture smaller particles, dust and debris.

Per property as a standard procedure single use reusable items such as microfibre, dusting and buffing cloths are sterilised between every use. In addition to standard protocol we are introducing dissolvable laundry bags in which each cloth will be placed after use and not directly touched until they have undergone our sterilisation program in our in-house laundry.

Cleaning and Inspections

NetLet UK train all their Housekeepers to the highest levels in respect of cleanliness and presentation of your property. As standard, all properties are check by one of our Head Housekeepers to ensure that expectations are met and maintained. This policy has not changed; however, our Head Housekeepers will be on hand to ensure that all disinfecting and sanitisation has been carried out correctly.

Due to the extra level of cleaning and inspection required, cleaning time of each property will naturally increase. Research suggest that COVID 19 particles can take up to 3 hours to fully settle to the ground and suggest that the safes course of action would be to leave window of 24 hours between guest if possible.

This is not always going to be a practicable so for those properties that have a same day turn around (change over) the following will apply.

• Housekeepers will follow PPE best practices to ensure the risk of any possible contamination is reduced.
• In larger properties where more than one Housekeeper is required, strict social distancing procedures will apply, remaining a least 6’ apart at all times whilst wearing gloves and masks.
• Departing guest will be asked, where possible, to leave extractor fans on and windows open.

Soft Surfaces and Upholstery

Current research on how long COVID 19 can live on fabrics and soft furnishings is limited. Most soft furnishings like sofas can only be sanitised and not disinfected.

NetLet UK recommend that fogging is carried out after each departing guest. The agents in the fogging systems will settle on all soft furnishings and fabric, along with all other surfaces, without causing any damage. The agents within the fogging systems is active for 7 days which we believe is paramount to post-Covid Holiday Home Management.

Linen and Bedding

There are multiple ways that dirty linen can be removed from the property and placed in a vehicle. NetLet UK Housekeepers have been trained to carry out the following steps to ensure the safe removal of dirty linen to reduce the risk of cross contamination:

• Linens and bedding will not be shaken, so as not to disperse viral particulates into the air.
• Dirty linens will be placed into a dissolvable laundry bag. The dissolvable bag will then be tied closed and placed inside a regular linen bag. Once at the laundry, the dissolvable bag will be removed and placed directly in the washing machine.
• All linen will be washed at a high temperature on our own HACCAP accredited laundry and will be disinfected.
• All regular laundry bags will also be washed to disinfect and to safeguard against cross contamination.

Refuse Removal

NetLet UK are licensed for the removal and disposal of refuse from your property. Whilst removing refuse our Housekeepers will.

• Wear gloves and masks always.
• Be aware of the risks that sharp or jagged pieces of rubbish may be in the bag which could cause injury.
• Will never use their hands to push “compact” refuse into bins
• Disinfectant will be used on all bins, including the lid before the liner or bag is replaced.

Maintenance

During this pandemic, maintenance issue that may arise while a guest is in your property. NetLet UK will ensure that any issues raised by the guest will be dealt with effectively and promptly, however we also must ensure the safety of our staff, third party contractors and the guests.

Once an issue has been raised, it may not always be possible to address it within the standard timeframe that is NetLet UK policy. To ensure that this does not affect the guest the following will apply.

• Guest will be made aware that some smaller request will be dealt with one they have departed, for example a blown light bulb.
• We will only dispatch third-party contractor if the issue is something that needs to be handled immediately, while the guest is still in residence. Non-essential visits will be severely limited or restricted.
• If a third-party contractor must attend your property, the guest will be asked to ensure that they leave the property whilst the contractor is on site and will be discourage from re-entry until the contractor has left.
• All NetLet UK third party contractors will wear gloves and masks while in the property.

Owner and Guest Policies

As part of our COVID Holiday Home Management and the stringent cleaning protocols, NetLet UK does not recommend that owners or guests be allowed to clean with no follow-up work from one of our Head Housekeepers.

• If an owner or guest offers to clean NetLet UK will implement a “Professional Disinfection Cleaning” that does a once-over with disinfecting products.
• Net Let UK recommends that all extra throw blankets, decorative pillows, or other soft objects should be boxed or bagged up and put away until further notice
• Net Let UK recommend that additional pillow protectors, pillows and mattress protectors should be purchased so they can be easily changed and laundered.

Useful Links:

• https://www.vrma.org/page/vrhp/vrma-cleaning-guidelines-for-covid-19
• https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/modes-of-transmission-of-virus-causing-covid-19-implications-for-ipc-precaution-recommendations
• https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2004973
• https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html
• https://vimeo.com/400609879
• https://vimeo.com/400609879
• https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2