Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam-The Kilimanjaro reopens amid tight virus measures

Dar es Salaam. Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam Hotel is reopening today after closing for over two months due to Covid-19.The decision to reopen the hotel, which was closed on April 6, 2020, comes just three weeks after the government lifted a ban on both scheduled and non-scheduled international commercial passenger flights.
 The government also lifted a 14-day quarantine requirement for travellers coming to visit Tanzania’s tourist attractions.
The lifting of the ban on non-scheduled international commercial passenger flights means that hotels will now be able to receive visitors.
Among the hotels that also closed their businesses as a measure to control the spread of Covid-19 included: Hyatt Regency, Southern Sun, Serena and Onomo, formerly known as Ramada Encore.
“We will reopen tomorrow at 10 am to a ‘new normal’ of strict health and safety protocols,” Hyatt Regency Dar es Salaam general manager Gar-ry Friend told The Citizen yesterday.
Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Paul Makonda will grace the hotel reopening today June 10.The hotel, said Mr Friend, will continue to work with players in the sanitisation industry to identify enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures as a way of ensuring the health security and helping restore customers’ confidence.
“At this time, current efforts are designed to ensure our colleagues and guests remain in a healthy, safe and comfortable environment,” noted Mr Friend.
 The hotel would enhance personal hygiene and protection protocols for its various stakeholders, including frequent hand washing and use of alcohol-based hand sanitiser.
Employees will have to be reporting any cold or flu-like symptoms and also refrain from coming to work when they feel unwell.
Employees would be required to produce health checks regularly. They will also be required to under-take checks and additional precautionary measures based on local situations that could include mandatory temperature and wellbeing checks of guests during check-in.

The measures also includes increased frequency of cleaning with hospital-grade disinfectants on all high-touch surfaces, guest rooms and shared spaces as well as minimisation of a number of times hotel teams enter guestrooms.
 “We also ensure availability of protective masks and other personal protective equipment for colleagues and customers wherever required,” said Mr Friend.
“We have put in place additional precautionary measures in shared spaces that could include protective screens at front desks or limiting capacity in elevators.“We will remove all high-touch hotel collateral and other materials that could increase risks and utilise contactless technology instead.”
Furthermore, the hotel is assess-ing new approaches to meetings and events, such as seating configu-ration, food and beverage serving options and colleague uniforms.