Holiday letting sector seeks govt approval of new Covid protocols

The sector’s protocols focus on three main considerations: ensuring each property is subject to a thorough risk assessment; developing recommended cleaning regimes; and how to safely manage any contact with guests.

It recommends cleaners wear appropriate PPE; use cleaning products that both sanitise and disinfect, including disposable wipes; and work to a clear cleaning checklist. Additionally, the protocols recommend providing guests a cleaning ticklist on arrivals showing what has been cleaned.

To mitigate risks arising from guest contact, the protocols advise operators to wear PPE when checking passports and IDs, and maintain two metres’ social distance.

Check-in should, to the greatest extent possible, be contactless, while guests should be sent any relevant information in advance of their stay, including practical instructions on how to operate systems like heating, as well as details of local walks and attractions.

STAA chair Merilee Karr urged operators and hosts to seek independent "Safe, Clean and Legal" accreditation by industry partner Quality in Tourism.

"We have a responsibility to reassure guests about the safety of short-term rental accommodation. These protocols should provide consumers with the confidence to travel safely to any property that meets them."

A risk matrix drawn up by Quality in Tourism, in partnership with Cornwall Council, said short-term rentals and other similar properties such as serviced apartments posed a "relatively low" coronavirus risk as they allowed for social distancing, and had a low number of touchpoints.

It also stressed many short-term rentals were self-contained properties accessible via car, therefore minimising use of public transport and contact with others.