Regulations on the operation of hotels during COVID-19 pandemics approved

 

 

On August 8, 2020, the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers has approved the "Regulations on the operation of hotels during COVID-19 pandemics in the Republic of Azerbaijan" (hereinafter "the "Regulations"). 

 

The Regulations introduced a vast amount of requirements and standards for the operations of hotels during pandemics, which was lacking until now and the situation had been left to the hotels to be dealt with privately. 

 

The Regulations prescribe the hotels that have more than 80 rooms to set up a Rapid Response Team to supervise the implementation of the Regulations. RRT would be responsible to implement the Regulations and take any necessary steps in order to minimize the spread of the infection. Smaller hotels are required to appoint a coordinator in lieu of RRT. 

 

The hotels must adopt Action Plan to implement the Regulations and the RRT shall supervise the enforcement of the Action Plan. 

 

Alongside such internal corporate and compliance requirements, the Regulations specify detailed rules and procedures regarding the subject-matter in the following directions:

 

- Employees (daily hygiene rules applicable for employees, shift work, hiring new employees, routine COVID-19 testing once a week, etc); 

 

- Training and Information (training for employees, methodological booklets covering full information about COVID -19, informing guests etc); 

 

- hygiene rules for employees and guests; 

 

- Hotel cleaning and disinfection actions (cleaning every 4 hours, disinfecting device and equipment etc); 

 

- Controlling wastes; 

 

- Controlling infected persons (allocation of a specific quarantine room, rules of contact, technical and chemical requirements about cleaning etc)

 

- Technical services (internal hotel services, such as kitchen equipment, laundry etc); 

 

- Specific rules regarding each hotel department (Reception/Registration, Rooms, Kitchen, General Use Places, lobby, entertainment, elevators, cafe/catering, Room service, Sports/Fitness, Pools/beaches, Spa/Sauna)

 

- Delivery and shipment of goods (supply chain, warehouse, transportation etc)

 

Hotels complying with the Regulations would be issued with sanitary and hygienic mark - SAHMAN by the State Tourism Agency upon inspections.