Coronavirus means we are changing how we do some things to help stop the virus spread and look out for the health of our guests and our staff.

We have already put in place enhanced cleaning, social distancing plus specific training and PPE. We promise we will do all we can to follow the latest and most relevant guidance and to keep you fully informed about what we are doing.

Some government guidance means that we cannot offer everything we used to – at least for now. This is constantly changing, and we promise to keep you updated on how this might affect you during your stay.

• It is not possible for us to guarantee that a reservation will be accommodated in a particular pod. If you have any specific requirements please let me know and we’ll certainly do our best to meet them, but at the moment unfortunately we cannot guarantee that a specific pod will be available.
  We are limiting capacity both in terms of number of pods occupied and total number of people staying on the site.
• We have enhanced our cleaning routines for the communal areas of the site (washing-up area, toilets & showers) as well as the changeovers of pods.
  Hand sanitiser will be provided outside the communal areas. (We recommend that guests bring their own hand sanitiser for use when out & about around the island, i.e. after touching gates, stiles, etc.)
• We are sorry that it is not currently possible for us to provide any laundry facilities for guest use.
• Check-in is between 3pm and 7pm. If you are likely to arrive earlier or later than this please let us know and we will try to make arrangements. Check-out is by 11am.

We also have to ask guests to do some things slightly differently:

• Could you provide full names, addresses and contact telephone numbers for all the guests who will be staying in the pods? We will only hold that information till 21 days after the departure date and it will only be used if any contact tracing was required.
• We ask all guests to ensure they bring their own towels (we will still provide all linens, and will provide tea towels and cloths in each pod).
• You are welcome to have visitors in the area outside your pod but we ask that they do not use any of the communal facilities.
• We also ask all guests to follow the current Scottish Government guidance when out and about around the island.

Communal Areas

As of 2nd July, 2 metres remains the benchmark for physical distancing between households in Scotland. The Test and Protect system also uses contact within 2m for 15 minutes or more when considering who would need to self-isolate as a close contact of someone who contracts COVID-19.

When using communal facilities we ask all guests to please be aware and respectful of others, and to maintain a 2m distance whenever possible.

We will be propping communal doors open as much as possible to help with ventilation and to avoid the need to touch door handles. We’d be grateful if you could help with this and also with closing external doors overnight and in wet weather.

Washing-up Area

This area can accommodate one household at the sinks at any one time.

Staff may occasionally need to enter (i.e. to access the tumble dryer, bins, etc.). If we do, we will be as quick as possible and will be wearing a face covering.

Toilets and Showers

We have separate ladies and gents facilities with toilet and shower cubicles as well as a unisex accessible shower room.

We recommend that no more than 2 people use the ladies or gents facilities at any one time (unless they are all from the same household).

We have not closed off access to any of the toilet or shower cubicles or the sinks as it may be helpful for members of the same household to be able to use the facilities at the same time.

We’d appreciate it if guests who are able to could use the shower cubicles in the ladies and gents facilities to leave the shower in the accessible shower room available for those who may require it for any reason.

We also have some additional requirements on check-out:

• Please strip the beds and place all linens (unfolded) into a laundry bag (which will be provided)
• Please ensure all cutlery, dishes, etc. used are washed-up, dried and replaced back in the pod
• Rubbish bags from the pod should be tied and placed into the wheelie bin at the gate (they should not be placed in any of the inside communal bins)
• Recycling should be rinsed if necessary and placed in the bins in the washing-up area

Self-Isolating

If any guest develops symptoms they must alert us straight away. As the pods have communal facilities they are not suitable for anyone needing to self-isolate and people with symptoms cannot currently travel on public transport (including ferries). We will therefore arrange alternative accommodation on the island and guests will be liable for the cost of their stay there plus 4 days for cleaning purposes. (It might be worth checking if your travel insurance will cover this.) This issue is currently being looked at by CalMac and Transport Scotland so it’s possible a solution may shortly be found to allow guests to travel home.

If anyone is contacted and told they should self-isolate due to being in contact with someone who has tested positive they should also alert us immediately. In this case the recommendation is that guests must return home straight away.

If you have any questions about any of this, or more general questions about the island, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! We’d also welcome feedback, either on this information or on your experience at the pods. This situation is new to us all and we may have to make further changes over the next few weeks and months.

Many thanks

The Iona Pods Team