You may have heard that coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the hotel industry—and indeed, that’s true. Flights have been grounded. Weddings postponed. Girls weekends put on hold. These decisions haven’t been easy, but they’ve been necessary if we’re to curb the spread of COVID-19. Several Maine hotels have been forced to close as a result.
But we want you to know that Kittery Inn & Suites remains open in accordance with Governor Janet Mill’s Executive Order issued April 3, 2020. Per this Executive Order, guests will only be allowed to stay for certain purposes. Click here for more information.
WAIT – didn’t the Governor issue an order to close all “non-essential” businesses? Yes, she did. But what many people don’t realize is that Maine hotels like ours are considered essential. We continue to host several essential workers, like those doing critical work at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard or for oil, gas and utility companies. Some people stay for a night or two. Others stay for a few weeks. Many of these workers would love to be at home, social distancing with their families right now. But for one reason or another, they need to be in town for their essential duties.
So that’s one of the reasons why we’re committed to keeping our doors open. We don’t want to downplay the COVID-19 crisis. We take it very seriously, and as such, have implemented several new policies and procedures to keep our guests and staff both safe and healthy. These measures include:
Contact-less check in. It goes against our warm and friendly nature, but we realize the importance of maintaining the CDC-recommended 6’ distance between individuals. Therefore, we have implemented new procedures that require contact-less check in (and out). This will help limit direct interaction between guests, staff and each other (even though this pains our front desk staff who can’t wait to strike up a conversation with you!).
Revamped breakfast. We know that our breakfast is one of guests’ favorite amenities, so we’re dishing up tasty meals from 6:30-9:30am, but with a few changes. For the time being, we are no longer allowing guests to dine-in. We have purchased recyclable to-go containers, cups and silverware to allow you to come in – one party at a time – to pack a breakfast to go. We’re providing more single-serve breakfast options (think: yogurts and Kashi cereal boxes) than we might otherwise, but we realize these individually packaged items offer an extra layer of protection. We’re also happy to package a breakfast and leave at your room, upon request.
Deep cleaning x10. We’ve always been proud of the hotel’s exceptional cleanliness, from individual rooms to common areas, indoor and outdoor areas alike. But we realize the coronavirus pandemic is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, and as such, we’re taking our cleaning to another level. We’ve been working closely with our cleaning supply vendor, EcoLab (the gold-standard in the hotel industry), to enhance our cleaning procedures. Rooms are deep cleaned upon turnover, with staff paying extra close attention to anything that anyone would touch. Every guest can rest assured knowing their room has been thoroughly sanitized prior to their arrival.
Linens. We use duvet covers which are washed clean for every guest. No unwashed blankets or bedspreads. Laundry continues to be done on-site. Our commercial-grade propane-fired high-heat machines kill any lingering germs. And no extra things like throw pillows for the time being. Nothing on your bed will have been touched by a previous guest.
We’re in uncharted territory here. We’re doing our best to roll with the punches. We expect that things will continue to evolve in the days, weeks, even months to come. We’ll continue to monitor the situation closely and will adjust as needed. Any and all decisions will be made in the context of putting guest/staff health and safety at the forefront.
And remember: this too shall pass! We’re optimistic about what the future holds. We hope it’s back to business-as-usual by late spring or early summer. We’re using a bit of this downtime to dream up which flowers we’ll plant and how soon we’ll open the pool once the weather gets nicer.
In the meantime, we want to thank you for your continued support. We are a small, family-owned Maine hotel with a wonderful, dedicated staff. Your support during these challenging times helps us make the payroll so our staff can support themselves and their families. So please, stay healthy – and come stay with us again as soon as you’re able to do so!