Co-founder of Sun and Co. Jon Hormaetxe sent us a 20 minute video via Loom about how they have responded to coronavirus. As an innovative hostel - coliving hybrid, Sun and Co has unfortunately had to close down temporarily due to Spanish safety regulations closing all hotels throughout the country. Feel free to dive into Jon’s insightful video, and some highlights below. Thanks Jon!
Video Highlights & Quotes
One of the first steps was to call a house meeting with the guests and team to go over the new guidelines. Jon communicated what actions Sun and Co. had to take, explaining what quarantine was and why it was really important not to go out. They also asked the community what they felt they needed/wanted to increase the hygiene in the house and provided the following items for all guests:
- Hand sanitizer
- Paper towels and disposable cloths instead of bathroom/kitchen towels
- Digital thermometer
- Extra attention to cleaning door handles and common areas
In the video Jon told us: "Something that is super important in these situations is the role of the hosts. The staff was informed and given officials numbers and statistics from reliable sources, as it’s easy to get lost with all the information around. Context and perspective are important elements to keep calm and avoid panicking, so we could make sure the guests also felt calm and supported".
Strategies for the future
“It would have been good for us to get a better understanding of the official government policies for hostels / hotels - and in our case, for coliving spaces. There was some lack of clarity around ‘cluster sizes’ and how many people could share a bathroom and/or kitchen in quarantine. As for future strategies, we are now thinking of launching a crowdfunding campaign asking our guests to book and pay now for a future date reservation for a future date".
