TUCSON, Ariz. - Hotel Congress is opening its doors Thursday after closing for months because of the pandemic.
Hotels were deemed essential through the quarantine, but management at Hotel Congress decided to close the hotel on March 28 for safety reasons.
Assistant Room Manager at Hotel Congress Abraham Cooper said hotel management furloughed all part-time employees during this time and had to make a plan for the future.
"It was very difficult, but we’ve been able to rehire back more than half the staff," Cooper said.
The new safety protocols in place are:
- When they arrive, guest will get their temperature checked. If it's above 100, they'll be asked to leave.
- All rooms have a bag with hand sanitizer and masks to be used in open areas of the hotel.
- All rooms will be cleaned with UV lamps, as well as the prior cleaning practices.
- Each room will be given a 24 hour rest day between guest.
- They will only been booking at half capacity.
"Keeping in mind guest safety is just part of who we are, and how we’ve always operated," Cooper said. "I think what is different is just the level of frequency that we will be implementing moving forward."
The hotel has already booked 22 reservations for June.
"We want our guest to feel safe when they come to the hotel, but also to feel like they’re able to have a good time and they’re comfortable," Cooper said.
