Covid-19 updates

CoronaVirus (COVID-19) is a real concern for everyone alike. We all share the responsibility towards the health and safety of ourselves and others.

Helpfully, both accommodations only serve your group during your booking, meaning you don’t share with other guests! (Fabulous!) 👏

Some measures we have taken:

• We’ve produced a robust risk assessment of each of our premises.
• We’ve worked with industry bodies, local businesses and community organisations, and our staff to agree upon a joint approach.
• We’ve changed our booking processes to request Test and Protect contact information and to provide Covid-19 information packs relevant for each accommodation.
• We’ve reduced the cancellation requirement policy to one day. Reducing the cancellation notice lowers the financial risk to you in case your plans need to change. 🥳
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Using the risk assessment:

• Our standard processes and standards are high, but we’ve also introduced an enhanced cleaning and disinfectant regime at our properties, including certified virucidal disinfectants and UV-C protocols to address Covid-19 specifically. ✨
• We’ve reduced the opportunity for the spread of the virus by changing some service processes.
• We’ve implemented air gaps between bookings.
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All of these are in line and some cases above the UK and Scottish Government guidelines and industry guidelines. 👍

Together, using these guidelines, we can all still enjoy tourism and travel safely.

• UK Government Guidance
• Scottish Government Guidance
• UK Border Controls

Published 25 September 2020

Current status: Phase 3 of the lockdown framework (modified)

Announced 22nd September and now law from 25th September, new rules surrounding Covid-10 protections have been put in place.

https://www.gov.scot/news/new-measures-to-drive-down-infection-rate/

We already comply with most of these and in fairness our self-catering accommodation and the sole suite in the B&B lend themselves well toward this. However the rules that have changed can affect you and you need to ensure you understand them.

The rules affecting you and our accommodations are:

Cuilidh self-catering holiday home:

People from more than one household must not stay in self-catered accommodation together, while the current restrictions on indoor private gatherings are in place. This includes accommodation such as a caravans, flats and holiday cottages.

Gowanlea B&B:

If staying in a hotel, bed and breakfast or similar accommodation, you should not have more than one household / extended household staying in each room booked.

The Scottish Government has released its plan for coming out of lockdown. Accommodation providers are within PHASE 3 of the plan. 

Here is the plan detail: 

https://www.gov.scot/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-scotlands-route-map/

Published: 12th March 2020:

We have contacted all of our customers who have bookings in April and May 2020 and informed them that we are prepared to offer no quibble refunds to all of those that have booked with us prior to the WHO pandemic announcement of 11th March 2020.

If you booked directly with us after that date, use this contact form or email us, quote your booking details and we will cancel for you, ensuring a full refund. This must happen at least two weeks before the check-in date or the selected terms will apply.

If you booked through an OTA, please contact the relevant Online Travel Agency as they control their cancellation policies, many of which have new policies in place to support refunds. (OTA’s, such as Booking.com, Airbnb, Trip Advisor and Expedia). If you need us to vouch for your cancellation and support a refund, let us know through the OTA messaging platform and we will gladly assist.

All bookings are subject to ongoing review and may be cancelled depending on government directives, by which time we’d expect all OTA’s to have supportive policies in place and the Government to have proper legislation.

Many have already cancelled and have been refunded. We’ve also offered our customers great incentives to book again! We hope to welcome all of our customers back once the emergency is over.

Published: 21st March 2020

Kintyre is a small community with limited resources. To reduce the risk of burdening the local health and food supply services, we are closing our availability as follows:

Gowanlea B&B – closed to bookings until 1st August 2020
Cuilidh self-catering – closed to bookings until 1st August 2020

Without any official guidance available, we have chosen these dates as they seem to make sense with regard to current circumstances and events around the globe. This is in line with the recent comments of the Scottish Tourism Minister and both UK and Scottish government guidelines advising essential travel only.

This arrangement is subject to extension or change according to legislation and government directives.

Again, there is no supporting legislation as yet which makes things difficult for everyone. Without legislation, accommodation providers and customers alike are currently being penalised for cancelling advance bookings made months ago through OTA’s. Not just through loss of income or inconvenience, but actual penalty charges levied by the OTA’s! What is needed is specific Corona Virus government policy regarding accommodation providers similar to “close down the pubs”.

In the good news bracket, we hope this will be corrected then customers and accommodation providers will be able to cancel using OTA’s without penalty. In preparation, we have written to all customers with bookings up to August advising them of this, urging they contact their booking agencies for support.

It is also likely accommodation providers will be legislated to close to all but essential travellers only.

We have created a telephone and email booking process specifically for essential workers only. Call us on 01586 643404.

Published: 22nd March 2020

Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, gave this speech. The salient advisory points being:

• From now on ferries will be for those who live on our islands, who have an essential need to travel to or from the mainland and for essential supplies or business. Nothing else.
• To our hotels, B&Bs and self-catering accommodation – you should not be accepting visitors. Provide accommodation for your staff and make yourselves available to help essential workers and support essential services – that is all.