July 4 Updated Guest Care Guidelines
Our commitment to your health and safety is a priority. We are closely monitoring the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization statements regarding the coronavirus. Our industry is regulated by strict local, state and federal guidelines.
In addition to these guidelines, we have put the following steps in place in an effort to best take care of our team and our guests health and well-being. We will continue to adjust our behavior and operation as the situation evolves.
TO OUR GUESTS
- We kindly request that if you have traveled through an airport in the last two weeks, have a cold, a sniffle, a cough, fever or are feeling unwell, please stay home. We are waiving all cancellation fees during this time of heightened personal responsibility.
- All hotel guests are required to complete a health declaration form prior to checking in.
- All guests to The Willcox must wear a face mask upon entering, checking-in and while moving through all indoor public areas of the hotel. Face masks can be removed once seated to dine and during specified spa services.
- We are providing more room between gathering areas in the lobbies, living rooms and dining rooms. We kindly ask that guests abide by social distancing recommendations, wave hello to friends from a distance and respect others’ personal space at all times.
- Many of the amenities typically found in our guestrooms have been removed to provide a more personal and safe experience for all guests. It will be our pleasure to set up prior to your arrival or deliver to your room, the following fresh and sanitized items: coffee machine and coffee set up, bath robes, water glasses, wine glasses, ice bucket, Bible, sewing kit, and yoga mat, and sewing kit.
- Hotel guests will be given the option for housekeeping service during their stay. For guests who prefer housekeepers do not enter their rooms during their stay, we will pick up trash and deliver additional linens, towels, and amenities in plastic bags upon request.
OUR EMPLOYEES
- All employees returning to work must be able to sign a declaration form confirming they have and will continue to follow the personal guidelines to stop the spread of coronavirus.
- Prior to returning to work, all employees go through a thorough Covid-19 training program which includes training on new protocols at work and personal hygiene requirements.
- We reinforce training and the steps we are taking to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at daily meetings and on our communication boards which are prominently displayed in each department.
- All employees have completed the ServSafe Takeout, Delivery, and Reopening Guidance: COVID-19 precautions programs.
- Employees with cold or flu like symptoms are required to stay home.
- All employees have their temperature taken and recorded prior to starting work each day. Employees with a temperature of 100 or greater are sent home.
- We have enforced a no-handshake and no-hug policy when greeting each other and our guests.
- All employees are trained on enhanced cleaning and sanitizing practices specific to their departments that include but are not limited to disinfecting surfaces, pens and keys between each guests use and frequent cleaning of work spaces including desks, keyboards, telephones, radios, keys, mouse, mouse pads and cell phones.
HOUSEKEEPING
- High touch point areas throughout the public areas in the hotel, restaurant and spa are being sanitized at regular intervals throughout the day.
- Covered garbage cans with foot pedals to open are spread throughout the public areas for guests to discard their tissues and other items they’ve touched and wish to discard.
- Houseman are wearing gloves when they’re assisting housekeeping in stripping beds and carrying linens. Houseman are sanitizing their hands between guest interactions.
- Our housekeepers are wearing masks and a clean pair of gloves for each guest room they clean and sanitize. All housekeepers are using safe practices to change their gloves after they clean each room.
- Prior to check-in, each guest room is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. Touchpoint sanitation includes, but is not limited to: door handles, head boards, desks, tables, chairs, lamps, light switches, thermostats, drapery pull handles, mini-fridges, room collateral, telephone and keypad, television remote control, alarm clock, trash receptacle touch points, umbrella handle, iron handle, ironing board, hangers, luggage rack, towel rails, makeup mirror and switch, faucet and toilet handles.
- Stayover service is available for guests. No contact delivery of linens, towels and bath amenities are available for guests who prefer to not have stay-over service.
- Housekeeping carts are disinfected several times throughout the day.
- Cleaning products used are approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use against emerging viral pathogens.
- UV light is used to enhance sanitation in all areas of the hotel including but not limited to antique furniture, fabric, carpet and draperies.
- An electrostatic misting machine with hospital grade disinfectant will be used to sanitize guest rooms after guests check-out and all public areas each evening (anticipated arrival June 12th)
- We use the MondoVap 2400 Vapor Steam cleaner and disinfectant in all areas of the hotel and as our green alternative for guests who prefer chemical free cleaning and disinfecting.
THE RESTAURANT
- The Willcox is a proud participant in the Palmetto Priority program, a formal commitment made by SC restaurateurs to provide a clean and safe environment for our staff and guests through extensive precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
- Our restaurant is open for socially distanced outdoor and indoor dining.
- Managers, servers, hosts and bartenders wear masks.
- Restaurant patrons arriving with masks will be given an envelope to safely store their mask while dining.
- All dining menus are single use. Each menu is also available by scanning our QR codes on your personal device for no-contact menus.
- Table cloths are changed after each customer. Condiments, silverware, flatware, glassware, and other traditional tabletop items are provided upon request, sanitized between guests, and left off tables when unoccupied.
- Guest checks are being presented with the pen wrapped in a sanitary wipe.
- Each shift has a designated employee overseeing safety and sanitation. They are responsible for observing and ensuring that hand washing is done appropriately, and sanitation of dining room areas, restrooms, lobbies, doors, and other high-contact areas is done regularly and consistently (minimum of hourly).
- Our Chef is ServSafe certified as are all the managers in the kitchen, in the areas of food safety and restaurant sanitation. Our Chef ensures his team maintains rigorous ServSafe operational practices, which include proper hand-washing and safe practices for wearing gloves.
- Sanitizer buckets have been set up at each food preparation station and are being changed multiple times during shifts according to recommended guidelines.
- We work with some of the best food suppliers in the country who are proactively following CDC guidelines and aligning themselves with current best practices some of which include having drivers wear gloves that are changed with each delivery and doing health checks on drivers before deliveries.
- Our kitchen proudly submits to voluntary DHEC Retail Food Covid-19 Safety Checks.
GROCERY MARKET & RESTAURANT TAKEAWAY
- Restaurant orders and payment are taken over the phone. Guest can choose from curbside pick-up, non-contact curbside pick-up or non-contact delivery
- Curbside pick-up – If there is no one in the front seat, the order is placed through the guest window on the seat. If there is someone in the passenger seat, the order is placed in the back seat through the window. We will also put the order in a guest’s trunk if preferred. This service allows distance and does not require our staff to touch the car. Hands are sanitized and gloves are worn by our staff and changed between each transaction.
- No Contact curbside pick-up – A six-foot table is set up by our pool gate where the take-away items will be waiting for the guest to pick up. Our staff watch the items on the table to ensure their safety until the guest arrives. Hands are sanitized and gloves are worn by our staff and changed between each transaction.
- No Contact deliveries – We will call as we’re pulling up and put the delivery outside the front door and wait in the car until we see the guest has retrieved their food. Hands are sanitized and gloves are worn by our staff and changed between each transaction.
- Our takeaway menus are single use.
SALON & SPA
- Our therapists are certified with Dermalogica’s Covid-19 Clean Touch certification
- Our hair stylists are certified in Barbicide’s Covid-19 program
- Like all employees, spa therapists must complete a health declaration form and have their temperature checked prior to being permitted to work
- Therapists wash and sanitize their hands prior to service, wear a clean disposable apron for each service, and wear a mask and/or face shield during service.
- All clients must have their temperature taken and complete a health declaration prior to service.
- Limited contact and no contact check-in and check-out available for clients.
- It is recommended that spa clients wear a mask for their safety.
- A 30-minute gap between therapists’ appointments will be scheduled to allow adequate times to sanitize rooms and limit the number of guests in the Zen room at one time.
- Hair and nail clients will go directly to the salon to assist in keeping clients comfortably distanced.
- Magazines and blankets are available upon request. Neither will be left out.
- Testers have been taken off the shelves and are available upon request.
- Our printed spa menus are single use. No contact spa menus are also available by scanning our Spa Menu QR code on guests’ personal devices.
- We have adapted our cancellation policy during this time of heightened personal responsibility. If a guest is feeling unwell, they can cancel their appointment four hours prior to service without penalty.
Please note that these steps are in addition to local, state and federal guidelines already in place to guarantee a safe lodging, dining and spa experience.