Hotel meetings and events
UNAsafe Protocol and rules of conduct
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the hospitality industry. It changes the way you work, changes the way you socialise and changes the way you go on holiday. These changes also extend to our guests and how they decide to use our hotel facilities, how they interact with each other and with Gruppo UNA staff, how they manage their activities and use any available services.
Today, Gruppo UNA offers safe hospitality that’s “clean, sanitised and guaranteed“.
For the adequate management of meetings, events, conferences and exhibitions, specific protocols and rules of conduct have been activated, maintaining high hotel standards and careful safety procedures. In particular, we have identified five macro areas of intervention on which we have planned the operation of our hotels, residences and resorts:
- guidelines and obligations;
- catering service management;
- new meeting setups;
- flexible cancellation policies;
- pre-event Covid-19 rapid test.
Gruppo UNA provides:
- respect for social distancing, even in activities relating to events and conferences, persons must be at least 1 metre apart from each other;
- Guests are required to wear protective masks;
- the availability of sanitising gel at the entrance to the meeting room;
- body temperature control checks with thermometer or digital scanner at each input, compatible with regional legislation;
- the cleaning and sanitisation of the meeting venue in compliance with the legal requirements;
- an emergency plan aimed at managing the presence of a Host experiencing a fever above 37.5°C and COVID-19 symptoms;
- separate routes for entry and exit where possible;
- adequate information on prevention measures in several languages, either by the aid of special signage and/or audio-video systems, or by the use of any personnel in charge to monitor and promote compliance with preventive measures. Both solutions provide a clear appeal to the sense of responsibility of the Guests themselves;
- the storage of clothing and personal items in the wardrobe in special clothes bags, subject to agreement with the event organiser;
- the availability of hand hygiene products in several areas of the hotel (e.g. rooms, classrooms, toilets, etc.) and related references to frequent use of the same;
- sanitisation of all devices and equipment available to Speakers, Moderators and Auditors (e.g. microphones, keyboards, mice, laser pointers, etc.) before use;
- the reorganisation of spaces in the exhibition areas, with reference to the sectors occupied by the individual exhibitors, in order to promote the respect of social distancing and evaluating the quota access to individual stands;
- support to the Event Organiser in making available (at any surcharge) paper or digital information media, as well as promotional materials and gadgets to be distributed preferably in exhibitors with self-service mode, which the visitor may access after sanitising their hands;
- the regular cleaning and sanitisation of the rooms, carried out at the end of every Guest activity, with particular attention given to the most frequently touched surfaces, toilets and common areas (e.g. refreshment areas, keyboards of vending machines for drinks and snacks).
Safety
Thanks to the official UNAsafe protocol, the Gruppo UNA hotels and resorts adopted a series of practical measures to guarantee maximum safety for our guests and to offer a safe, clean, sanitized and guaranteed stay.
In 2020, the UNAsafe protocol and its effective application in the involved hotels was subjected to verification by DNV GL - Business Assurance, one of the world's leading certification bodies and leader in the digital evolution of assurance services.
Obligations
Both at the meeting room entrance and inside it there are various obligations including:
- respect of social distancing as per the national directive;
- assessement in advance of any possibility of setting up spaces, guaranteeing access and exit routes;
- increasing of the air flow frequency;
- cleaning and sanitisation of all washable surfaces;
- provision of 50cl disposable water bottles only;
- availability of sanitising gel at the entrance and exit of the conference venue;
- obligation to wear the mask during the event and transfer services;
- identification in advance of all participants attending the event;
- set up pf the registration and reception desks with plexiglass protection and adeguate space to ensure social distancing.
Food Services
For catering services, Gruppo UNA refers to the specific regional standards. Staff will always control and provide service from the administration area. Meals can be served in the form of ready meals; ready-made trays; buffet service.
In the event that long rectangular tables are available, arrangements will be made to ensure diners do not sit directly behind each other. Where tables of four are used, the use will be limited to 2 people. In both cases, the distance of at least 1 metre between diners will always be respected. Where seating can not be arranged, trays or lunch boxes can be delivered to be consumed individually near the meeting areas, maintaining social distancing. In any case, the hotel will handle the management of ordered meals, and ensure social distancing is maintained through the use of ground signage, or tools to encourage distance between Guests. In the event of a large turnout, it is possible to evaluate a turnaround for the administration of meals, following differentiated schedules.
Self-service coffee stations equipped with water dispensers and disposable dishes can be set up within the room. The distance between the water and coffee dispensers must be at least 2 metres, taking care to prepare the signs to manage queuing in compliance with safe social distancing measures. Where requested, assisted, single-serving pastries and biscuits are available to accompany the coffee break. Self-service for coffee breaks is also available, with products individually packaged in single-serve doses.
Meeting Setup
Seating arrangement guarantees the social distancing required by the reference legislation and can be managed as follows:
- in the case of fixed-seat set-up, the use of one seat in every three, in a checkerboard pattern;
- in the case of furniture seating, each seat will be at least one metre from all others, both horizontally and vertically, in a checkerboard pattern;
- non-usable seating will be well identifiable using specific signs;
- the number of seats will be adjusted according to the number of participants;
- the conference organiser is advised to assign a fixed numbered seat to each participant, to be used for the duration of the event;
- where possible, entrances and exits will be separated to manage people flow identified by special signs;
- all speaker podiums will be placed at a distance of at least 2 metres from any other row on the stage and from the first row of the audience;
- where remote controls, laptops or other commonly used devices are needed, they will be sanitised between uses;
- moderators sitting at the table must maintain a minimum social distance of 1 metre;
- the Hotel Director may provide additional supplements for sanitisation activities and any increase equipment or activities (staff) to ensure the health and safety of the Guests to limit the risk of contagion from COVID-19.