Northampton hotelier thrilled and hopes public will feel confident to stay again after official reopening date

A Northampton hotelier said being officially told they can reopen next month was a huge boost personally, for her industry and for the country.

The Poplars Hotel boss Susan Henderson said customers have started to make bookings after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announcement yesterday (Tuesday, June 23).

"I'm thrilled, all of my staff are jumping for joy and we've actually had a few bookings for later in July so I'm feeling optimistic," she told the Chronicle & Echo.

"I think it's good and I think it has cheered the nation up."

Hotels, like every other business in the hospitality industry, have been closed since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The prime minister gave hope to the industry by telling the House of Commons they will be able to welcome back guests from July 4, with guidance on how to operate being published this week.

Susan has already been thinking about how they will navigate the social distancing and hygiene rules but said the reduction to 'one-metre plus' is a big help in a 320-year-old building and cleaning is something every hotel does already.

"We will have to stagger housekeeping but it's just a new working formula, we will have training days and extra cleaning but we're pretty vigilant here," she said.

"I don't have a big turnover in staff so I'm confident due diligence is done all the time.

"Soaps will have disinfectant in them rather than perfume and there will be hand sanisters in reception, but I think people have come to expect that."

Another measure The Poplars, based in Cross Street, Moulton, will take to start with is to have a 24-hour break between rooms being used where possible.

Susan's main uncertainty is her restaurant which is only open for weekday guests but is quite small so social distancing would be difficult.

Her plan is to serve guests their breakfast either in their rooms or as a takeaway for the first month.

"I think it will be fine it's what we do anyway but we'll do extra things to make the guests feel better," she said.

Susan said customers were delighted when they found out they were accepting bookings again with most wanting to see family members.

The hotelier hopes more people will feel confident to stay at a hotel again as the lockdown continues to ease.

"We want to get cracking again and life has to come back to some form of normality," she said.