St. Johns County

CORONAVIRUS: Hospitality, tourism business work to keep employees, guests safe

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The local hospitality and tourism industries are not taking any chances when it comes to keeping their employees and guests safe, especially during one of the busier weeks of the year with The Players.

QUICK NOTES:

  • Right now it’s tough find any type of disinfectants due to the coronavirus.  
  • The St. Augustine Distillery is actually using the alcohol they make everyday to create their own hand sanitizer.
  • Other local hotels and inns are also taking extra precautions by upping their cleaning in and around their facilities.

The local hospitality and tourism industries are not taking any chances when it comes to keeping their employees and guests safe, especially during one of the busier weeks of the year with the players.

Right now it’s tough find any type of disinfectants due to the coronavirus.

So the St Augustine Distillery is actually using the alcohol they make every day to create their hand sanitizer.

“When we recognized that the prime ingredient in things like Purell was alcohol, we said ‘hey perfect we will use it to step up our game here and keep the distillery clean,” explains Phil McDaniel, co-founder and CEO of St. Augustine Distillery.

They’ve also added hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the building and increasing the number of times they’re cleaning common spaces.

“We’ve really ramped up our cleaning procedures here at the distillery. So every hour we’re going around and wiping down the surfaces that are the most common visited and potentially touched by our guests.”

They’re hoping to sell their new hand sanitizer to the public, and hopefully soon with so many stores being out of stock.

Several other local hotels and inns, like the 44th Spanish Street Inn are also taking extra precautions to keep their guests safe especially during The Players this week.

“We’ve notified our guests that their door knobs might juggle several times a day or into the early evening. That’s just us. We’re sanitizing door knobs and any surfaces that are touched,” explains Brian Funk, owner of 44th Spanish Street Inn.

Bigger hotel chains like Marriott and Hilton are doing the same. They’re adding more training for their staff and keeping hygiene and cleanliness as the main focus. ​