Remember CBP... no, not Chocolate Biscuit Pudding, but Covid Best Practices
Dear readers, you may recall that around this time last year, we did a 19-part YouTube video series called ’19 Hospitality Questions on Covid 19’, where we took questions from you pertaining to how the hospitality industry could and should adapt in the face of this never before encountered virus. 15 months later, the virus has mutated into more potent forms and is now wide spread amongst global communities. Thus, it is prudent to remind ourselves of the CBP – Covid Best Practices – not Chocolate Biscuit Pudding as CBP is popularly known to represent. You can also CLICK HERE to watch our series.
First and foremost, keep everyone and everything clean, sanitised, and disinfected. Let’s remind ourselves of the difference between these three terms, which you can do so with our article and accompanying video. Basically, cleaning is removing visible dirt and gunk, sanitising focuses on removing the invisible such as bacteria to a great degree (up to 99%), and disinfecting is the full Monty, which is aimed at killing and eliminating bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. You need to ensure that all possible touchpoints in your establishment are disinfected, as the latest variants of Covid can linger for much longer. Don’t just focus on the front-of-house guest-facing areas - the back-of-house and staff-only areas too require the same, if not a greater degree and frequency of disinfection.
Conduct refresher courses regularly with your staff on all there is to know about Covid-19. You can check out our video on how to brief your staff about Covid-19 for tips, and ensure that you are providing them with the latest information including the variants.
Next, focus on how you are going to assure guests that your establishment is a safe place for them? The authorities have set a target for the tourism industry to achieve USD 500 million by end January 2022. I am not sure how achievable that is, but let’s all do our part and assure our guests that our establishments are safe, properly disinfected and the appropriate protocols are in place. Check out our video on that topic for more tips, and if you are worried about how the increased cost will affect your operational budgets, we have a video to help you with that as well.
Remember, you can’t please everyone and there will be the disappointed ones who will take to social media to vent their frustration. We did a video on social media strategy and response, and you would do well to give it a watch.
Restaurateurs, fret not. We have not forgotten you, and our video on ‘How will Sri Lanka’s restaurant scene emerge post-Covid 19’ is still very relevant. We also have a video on how Spas and wellness centres can adjust their operations appropriately.
Finally, let’s not forget the other side of the coin, and that is the tourist, restaurant patron and customer. We made a video appealing to you all on how you should conduct yourselves and adjust your expectations, and one year later, the points still ring true. Covid-19 has dictated that we all exercise some sort of tolerance, as we stumble along the dimly lit corridor of the pandemic whilst the floor seems to keep undulating beneath our feet as new variants keep emerging.
Covid-19 is here to stay, for the short and medium term at least. So, let’s learn to live with it. Watch our series, and if you have more questions, feel free to ask us and we will do our best to answer them. In the meantime, stay safe and get your vaccination as soon as possible if you haven’t already. Staying positive is all well and good as long as you stay alert as well.
Ashraaq Wahab - Technical Director Hospitality Sri Lanka, Automotive Journalist, Marketer and Writer, who enjoys penning his thoughts, insights and ideas on a variety of topics.
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