Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Staying at hotels and accommodation establishments

Everyone should follow basic precautions:

• Wash all parts of your hands frequently (at least 20 seconds if using an alcohol-based hand rub, and at least 40 seconds with soap and water), including after exchanging objects such as money or credit cards. Look for hand sanitizer stations and use them before going into dining halls, restaurants or bars.
• Cover a cough or sneeze with a bent elbow or tissue, and throw away the tissue in a closed bin.
• Maintain at least a 1 metre distance from staff and other guests. This includes avoiding hugging, kissing, or shaking hands. If you can’t guarantee the distance, wear a mask. Be sure to check local and national guidelines on the use of masks.  

Gym, beach, swimming pool, spa, sauna and steam bath facilities can be used safely with certain restrictions, as determined by national guidelines.  In particular, look for the following measures:

• a maximum number of people allowed to ensure adequate physical distancing
• fabric mask policies required by local or national regulations
• hand washing stations, especially in the toilet and change room areas
• single use towels only 
• a bin for guests to place their towel after use for laundering
• individual use drinking water
• tissues and waste containers with lids
• high touch areas such as door handles disinfected regularly throughout the day

There is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 is transmitted by food, including fresh fruits and vegetables. The virus can be killed while cooking food at temperatures of at least 70°C.

Food buffets are not recommended because of the risk of close physical contact with others, shared serving implements and multiple people touching the surfaces on the buffet. Indoor dining spaces should have a maximum of 4 people in 10 square metres. The distance from the back of one chair to the back of another chair should be at least 1 metre apart for both indoor and outdoor dining, and guests that face each other should also be at this distance.

Guests should be reminded when entering and leaving the area to clean their hands. When the physical distance of at least 1 metre cannot be guaranteed, masks are recommended to be worn by staff and guests.

More on masks, including who should wear what kind and when, is available here. 

Ventilation is an important factor in preventing the virus that causes COVID-19 from spreading. Recirculated air from split air conditioning units, fan coils or any system that runs with a recirculation mode should be avoided where possible, unless in a single occupancy room with no one else present. If recirculation is unavoidable, increase outdoor air exchange by opening windows, if possible and safe to do so, and minimize air blowing from one person directly at another.

Floor or ceiling fans can provide ventilation when the people occupying the room are from the same household, but are not recommended when travelers from different households are together.

Hotels and other accommodations should have procedures for cleaning, disinfecting and ventilating the room properly between every guest’s stay. These processes allow the accommodations to be used immediately afterward. If these procedures are followed, there is no need to leave the room empty between guests.

If a guest develops symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, dry cough or tiredness, they should notify the facility manager and seek medical advice by contacting local health authorities.

The guest should isolate from others, including fellow travellers. If the guest cannot be isolated or staff need to enter the room, the ill person should put on a medical mask, and people nearby should also wear a mask.  If the medical mask cannot be tolerated by the ill person, then he or she should cough or sneeze into a bent elbow or use tissues to cover the mouth, and discard the tissue immediately into a closed waste bag.