Teardrop Hotels is delighted to announce that its collection of hotels reopened their doors from Monday, 1 June 2020. The collection will lead the way in the East in a game-changing move to open up the Indian Ocean once again.
The Teardrop group of modern boutique hotels are intimate properties that give its guests a tranquil escape in unique properties nestled in Sri Lanka’s tea country or along its coast.
The Morning Brunch reached out to the Teardrop team to learn more about how this small, family-run group is going to be welcoming its new guests.
Like all hotel groups, Teardrop ceased operations in the wake of the pandemic. Teardrop took this time and focused on cultivating a mouthwatering selection of herbs, fruit, and vegetables for their restaurants and properties, deep cleaning and maintaining their hotels and bungalows, and above all, safeguarding the livelihoods of their employees.
Teardrop Hotels Managing Director Henry Fitch commented, “Our attention has been on reworking our annual plans and ensuring that we are in a position to secure our employees’ jobs. We’re very hopeful that by the end of June we will start to see the green shoots of local tourism and have a much better understanding of how and when international travel will resume to Sri Lanka.”
For Teardrop, as with other hospitality and leisure businesses, a key challenge in the coming months will be making travellers and guests feel safe during visits to their properties. To this end, Teardrop is diligently implementing checks and measures across all their properties to ensure guests are given the best care.
All Teardrop hotels have engaged the service of a local medical doctor on a 24-hour basis for emergencies.
At check-in, guests will have their temperatures checked and be asked to fill in a health declaration form. Guests will be encouraged to make use of the hand sanitisers that will be available throughout the hotel. All Teardrop staff, as well as other guests, will be practising social distancing of at least one metre at all times.
Guests will also be given the opportunity to handle their own luggage if they prefer, and all luggage handled by Teardrop staff will also be disinfected before and after any contact.
The Teardrop staff will also be equipped with masks and gloves where appropriate, and have been trained to avoid contact with their eyes, nose, and mouth.
Guest rooms and public areas will be frequently sanitised with special attention paid to direct contact surfaces and high-touch items like door handles. Housekeeping and laundry staff will use protective gloves and face masks when cleaning the rooms and sorting guest linen. Public areas will be disinfected frequently and any rubbish will also be handled with caution, being placed into garbage bags and sealed immediately. Housekeeping staff will also be disinfecting all cleaning equipment between each use to ensure maximum health and safety.
Machinery like air conditioning and pool filters have also had their maintenance schedules optimised to reduce risk of infection through air conditioning or pool filters.
Other measures being taken to improve the guests’ experience and safety include additional signage around all property on health and safety protocols and checkpoints being set up to screen the temperatures of all contractors, vendors, and suppliers visiting the property.
Teardrop staff will also be screened twice daily, monitored closely, and seen by a doctor immediately should they display any symptoms of illness. Teardrop staff are also regularly interviewed to check if anyone they know might be infected.
With these strong measures in place, Teardrop looks forward to warmly welcoming its guests. While foreign travel will not be possible until borders reopen, Teardrop remains optimistic that foreign tourism will bounce back sooner than expected, especially as Sri Lanka has been far less affected than other similar tourist destinations.
Teardrop Hotels has also taken over management of the late Geoffrey Bawa’s acclaimed country home, Lunuganga, last month, and hope to welcome many local and foreign guests to this amazing addition to the Teardrop family.
