Business association details how to reopen businesses safety in pandemic
By JACK FICHTER/Sentinel staff
The pool may be closed, the complimentary breakfast gone, the fitness center dark and the coffeemaker removed from the hotel room, and you’ll need to bring your own pillows, blankets and paper products to your rental home. Welcome to the shore during summer 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) hosted a webinar May 29 called “The Safe Opening of Tourism at the Shore” featuring NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka as moderator. Panelists were Allan Dechert of Ferguson Dechert Real Estate in Avalon; Joann Delvescio, executive director of the New Jersey Campground Owners and Outdoor Lodging Association; and Mayur R. Chheda, principal and chief development officer of Infinity Hotel Group.
“When we talk about recovery, we have to talk about reinvention because we know that everyone’s business model is going to be very different on the other side of this,” Siekerka said.
She said first and foremost is the health, safety and welfare of the workforce, customers, vendors and all with whom business owners and employees come in contact.
Dechert said the real estate rental industry initially was hit with a wave of cancellations but that has slowed and his office was receiving rental inquiries and writing leases.
Chheda said his hotel group also saw many cancellations.
“We do not see the demand; we see local people who now want to move around out of their houses,” he said.
Conversely, Delvescio said campground reservations were outpacing cancellations and the recreational vehicle rental market was very strong.
“There’s about 19,000 campsites in the shore area of New Jersey,” she said.
The panel fielded questions from participants. Asked whether a rental property owner should assume cleaning company personnel are aware of the best methods of cleaning a property or if they should be given a list of sanitizing activities to perform, Dechert advised providing a list. He said his correspondence with cleaning companies included providing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
“Develop a strong relationship with your cleaner this summer,” Dechert said.
Chheda said he also owns rental properties and purchased the preferred cleaning agent for COVID-19-SARS disinfecting. He said he was providing that to his cleaners.
At his hotels, shields have been placed at the front desk along with hand-sanitizing stations for both guests and staff, he said. Signs have been placed in hotel rooms reminding guests to frequently wash their hands, wear a mask when outside the room and stay 6 feet away from other guests.
Delvescio said campgrounds have been following the American Hotel and Lodging Association guidelines for sanitizing.
Cleaning and safety are the top priorities, Chheda said.
For best practices for owners of rental properties, Dechert said check-in has been pushed two hours later to 3 p.m.
“It’s going to give the cleaners five hours to really get in and prepare the properties, which we think we need to do,” he said. “We’ve also asked our owners to remove all bedding from their bedrooms, remove the pillows, the blankets … traditionally the tenants supply the sheets and linens.”
Owners are being advised to encapsulate mattresses in plastic so they can be cleaned and sanitized. It has also been suggested owners install hand sanitizers by the front door and in the kitchen, Dechert said.
“Our first advisement to all the tenants is ‘the summer of 2020 ain’t going to be like the summer of 2019,’” he said.
Dechert said check-ins are being conducted outdoors and payments are not being accepted at check-in to avoid exchange of currency. Renters are also being advised to provide their own paper products due to high demand for toilet paper and paper towels.
Cleaning is less of an issue at campgrounds since most guests arrive in their own self-contained units, Delvescio said. For cabin and other campground rental units, the trend is to leave them empty for 24 hours between guests, she said.
Check-ins are being handled online. Campgrounds will offer fewer activities and have events such as virtual scavenger hunts, and instead of gathering for arts and crafts, the art supplies will be delivered to campsites, Delvescio said.
Gov. Phil Murphy has not ruled on opening swimming pools at hotels or campgrounds. Chheda said indoor pools at his properties have remained closed due to inadequate deck space to allow social distancing and allowing monitoring of guest access. He said Murphy needs to provide direction on the opening of hotel and campground pools.
Chheda said he is keeping lobbies and breakfast spaces empty at his hotels.
“There are no public gathering areas anywhere within our hotels currently,” he said.
Picnic areas and pavilions are closed at campgrounds, according to Delvescio.
“There’s going to be things that are going to be in the campground that are going to be off-limits right now until we’re able to get some further guidance from the state,” she said.
A participant asked where to purchase professional-strength cleaning products that are not available from cleaning supply stores. Delvescio said the products are available online and the American Hotel and Lodging Association has links to suppliers on its website.
“Please make sure the products you buy are properly EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) registered and labeled for the purpose you are buying them for,” Chheda said.
Siekerka asked if hold-harmless agreements are being used for house and condominium rentals to shift the burden to tenants. Dechert said it would be difficult for someone to prove they caught coronavirus from the house they rented when they were visiting a number of businesses while on vacation.
“We haven’t done anything with that,” he said. “We did when this whole pandemic first started, we changed some wording in our lease, put a COVID-19 clause in there which works to protect both the owners and the tenants to a degree.”
Chheda said signs at his hotels state guests are entering at their own risk.
Enforcing social distancing at a hotel or condominium can be difficult. Chheda said because a guest is paying to stay at a property, they may feel they have the right to do as they please. He said if someone enters one of his hotels without a mask, they are asked “gently” if they would like to have a mask, which the hotel will provide.
Siekerka asked if campgrounds considered the use of safety officers. Delvescio said most campgrounds are gated and arrivals are monitored.
Fitness centers are closed in Chheda’s hotels and complimentary breakfasts are shut down. He said a prepackaged breakfast bag may be offered to guests.
“Let’s keep this simple; our focus this year is safe and cleaning. We don’t need to offer extra amenities, extra wow factors to the guests,” he said.
Coffeemakers have been removed from hotel rooms because they are difficult to clean, Chheda said.
He said the accommodations industry needs to build confidence in its customers and make sure they feel safe and comfortable.
