TODAY, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to give the hospitality industry the green light to re-open on July 4.

Here, we take a look at what a few of our businesses have been doing in the background to make sure they are ready for D-Day having been closed for three months. 

Hotel is ready to open

BOSSES at luxury hotel Seven, in Southend, have given it a revamp in the run up to the Prime Minister’s highly anticipated announcement.

The plush four-star hotel will be taking bookings from July 4.

Managing director, Javed Rashid, said: “We have done a lot of work to the hotel to prepare - we have re-painted the whole hotel and all of the rooms and bathrooms, and the restaurant have been disinfected.

“We have screens up at the reception and there are social distancing measures in place.

“If anyone in the rooms need anything they can call down and we can leave it outside.

“When someone leaves we will deep clean before the next person arrives, but we will be doing this continuously in the whole of the hotel and the restaurant.

“We are waiting for the Government announcement, we will be following that.”Mr Rashid, added: “Staff who have been on furlough will be back on July 4th regardless.

“We were affected very badly by three months of closure, even two weeks prior as customers weren’t coming in because of the virus.”

Guest safety is a priority

A PLUSH Southend seafront hotel has announced plans to re-open from July 4.

Jacqui Dallimore, managing director at the Roslin Beach Hotel in Thorpe Bay, is planning to kickstart the business if the Government gives the industry the green light.

Posting on Facebook, the Roslin said: “Your Roslin Summer Starts Here...

“By closely following the current Government guidelines, we are delighted to announce that we are preparing to open our hotel doors on Saturday July 4.

“Our guests’ safety is our main priority and we are committed to ensuring the measures put in place will make your visit as safe and pleasant as possible.

“Over the past few months we have all faced very uncertain times but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“Back in March, we followed the Government guidelines and closed our hotel doors to help tackle the spread of Covid-19, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our employees and guests was at the forefront of our priorities.

“Three months later and the world is a better and safer place, meaning we can slowly but surely welcome back our delightful guests to the Roslin Beach Hotel.”

Staff training for 3 weeks

TEAMS at Mecca Bingo have been working around the clock to give customers the highest standards of health and safety ahead of the chain re-opening.

Teams have undergone training on safety measures, including social distancing, hand sanitiser stations, going contactless where possible, and protective screens.

Prior to lockdown, branch managers were helping their councils feed the homeless by cooking hundreds of meals.

A spokesman for Mecca Bingo said: “We are encouraging all customers to use contactless payment wherever possible, but we will still accept cash.

“We will have signage throughout the club to help direct you. and some tables and slot machine may not be in use, but there will be signs to show which ones can be used.

“There will be an enhanced cleaning regime in place with our team cleaning on the go with all touch points such as tables and machines cleaned.

“To ensure social distancing within the club, there may be times when customers are asked to queue outside to respect this and we would recommend that people arrive in good time ahead of their preferred session.”

We're ready as soon as it's legal

A FAMILY-run pub in Basildon will be offering takeaways as of next week in a bid to keep afloat after pubs were forced to close back in March.

The Castlemayne pub, at The Knares, have not put any measures in place in the run up to Boris’ announcement until they know exactly what the PM advises in terms of outdoor and indoor drinking.

Pub owner, Keli Timms, said: “We can’t wait to re-open. Everyone’s been asking when we’re going to.

“All our staff have been furloughed but are all ready to come back as soon as we are ready to legally open.”

The pub also has a hut next to it called Afro Jerk, which sells takeaway Carribean food, which has still been operating. Keli has been serving breakfast muffins from the hut.

In terms of re-opening, Keli is unsure on how the Table App would work for her customer base, many of whom are older and don’t take a phone out with them, and aren’t up to speed on the latest technology.

She added: “I don’t know how well it work for a lot of the older guys that come in who don’t even bring their phones out.

“I can see it working for the younger lot and we will probably run a table service to stop people congregating at the bar.

“We know what most of regulars drink anyway so all they’ll have to do is put their hands up and we’ll bring it over to them.”