Is it safe to travel in a pandemic?

For us lockdown has been an opportunity to take stock, review and improve to make sure that we are providing safe travel in the pandemic. 

Sometimes, in the whirlwind of small business life, you forget how much you've achieved and you forget to improve on what you've already done.  

 

And sometimes you forget to tell customers about the work that you've put in to keep them safe, to keep us safe, to keep our suppliers safe and do everything we can to keep our wider communities safe by preventing the spread of Covid-19. 

 

We are often asked if it is safe to travel in a campervan, or even whether you are allowed to travel in campervans? 

 

Our answer is to change the question and ask 'How can you travel safely in a pandemic?' It's a more empowering and more enabling question that lifts the spirit rather than dampens it. 

 

So we thought we'd summarise the things we've got in place that have earnt us the 'Good To Go' Covid safety kitemark stamp of approval and what better a stamp of approval for a campervan hire business to have, right??  

 

We really are Good to Go in every possible sense! 

 

Our customers have a role to help in this by working with us on the following: 

 

When you arrive on site, please remain in your vehicle until Ian or Jo give you a thumbs up. We are just trying to keep customers, staff and cleaning staff adequately separated that's all! 

 

Please put on a mask before you exit your vehicle - we'll give you a smile and wave then we'll be putting masks on but we feel it's important that you are greeted with a smile before we put our masks on. 

 

Use the hand sanitiser that we direct you to when you do get out of your car. We use a blue one as it shows you more clearly just how well you've covered your hands in the process. 

 

Our cleaners spend 4 hours cleaning the vans before your arrival and they do not stop: they use a checklist for consistency and there are over 100 items on that checklist. Hats off to them. 

 

They are a professional cleaning company trained in reducing transmission, who research the right products to use to make sure the vans aren't just clean but also hygienic too.  

 

All internal equipment such as crockery, cutlery, kettle, games, chairs, tents are rotated so that there is a minimum of 72 hours between different guests using them. 

 

And then, to reduce transmission risk even further, we use an ozone machine to spread ozone gas throughout the van. Ozone is a natural disinfectant that has been strongly proven to kill bacteria and viruses, including Covid-19.  

 

Bear with us if the ozone machine hasn't quite finished when you arrive, better safe than sorry and all that. 

 

If you develop Covid symptoms whilst away in the van we have procedures in place to support you and will work with your campsite to find the best way to keep you, your party and other members of the public safe and determine the best solution to getting you tested and, if necessary, into isolation. 

 

We send details of these procedures to you when your booking is confirmed, again just before you depart and we will also print them off and include them in the Hirers Guide that goes out with every van, with every hire.  

 

If you are using campsites they too should send you advance guidance on what to do in the event that you develop symptoms. In order to open they will have invested in additional freshwater taps, toilets and shower blocks with sanitiser dispensers implemented outside all communal blocks, site entrances and waste disposal facilities. 

 

I've deliberately made it all sound so easy. That's the power of asking 'How' we can enable safe travel in a pandemic. 

 

It's a constant challenge, analysing contact points, figuring out how to keep reducing transmission so that the whole economy can keep turning so that we can travel safely but for us it's now as much part and parcel of running the business as it is to make sure no-one is run over by van whilst they are moving about the site. 

 

It's our new normal. 

 

So we are proud to have achieved the Good To Go standard and you'll find the kitemark on our website and all of our social media platforms. 

 

So. Who's ready to go??  

 

You can see our campervan hire prices and availability and book quickly and easily online; or if you've any questions then contact us or give us a call on 01606 614614. We are always happy to help.