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Durham Royal County hotel remained open through two world Wars - But when the coronavirus hat moved its historic house doors in March, maintenance manager, Whelan in to help prepare you for a new normal.

the guests are Long Gone and bookings suspended, for the foreseeable future. But four times on the day, Whelan is examining the water quality in The Royal County hotel pool. It is all about ensuring The Right balance of chemicals for if, sometime in The Future , The Next person dips their toes.

It's anyone's guess when that might be. Across the country, Most of the UK's 10,000 hotels are empty. Although some remained open to key workers and The Homeless , who were a majority, shut down during the hectic Two Weeks in mid-March, when many parts of British life came to a standstill because of the blocking.

With his 100 other members of staff furloughed, Will , 56, is one of eight maintenance personnel maintaining the monument-protected hotel in The Heart of Durham alive. At The Height of the lockdown, he moved to one of 150 four-star rooms. "I was," he says. "But not so. "

performs a minimum of two walks in the grade II Durham Marriott Royal County hotel to be listed every day

"in isolation, would be here for Some People is a blessing. If I locked first, and the stay in The Hotel the full time, it was all somehow a little bit exciting, like someone who goes to a hotel," he says. to play

and a colleague used furniture from the Banquet hall, Table Tennis , and he moved a Bicycle from The Hotel and a gym to workout-next to the reception. But soon wore thin.

"It's spooky. It is not very Shiny, it is More like Home Alone . You can scream as loud as you want, No One Will hear you," he says.

"Really, what you want is Other People . As nice as the beds, and The Showers and the tellies and the fluffy towels and bathrobes and the Slippers, you can only so Much . "

"I know every corner and every angle of The Hotel ," Will says had to live there for weeks at The Height of lockdown

Hotels everywhere, The Task of the building to hold even More secure than the sales stopped virtually overnight. Marriott, the global giant that is in the possession of The Royal County, and has around 650 employees are still working More Than 60 managed hotels in the UK.

Simple Things like keep the water running through the pipes is a Herculean effort as the guests are not there to take a shower or brush their teeth.

It is the reason why once a week to each of The Royal County 600 taps up to Five Minutes to release water. It could easily take A Day of his time, But prevents the bacteria that can cause life-threatening Legionnaires ' disease from the building.

The Hotel is 170 toilets have to be flushed twice a week, and shower heads Will need to install disinfection and hoses. The Ice machines be cleaned, each drawer Will stay open and the rooms are kept accurately 16C, in order to prevent the formation of mould, the thickness of the curtains tightly closed.

Most People live lockdown would see in a posh hotel as a blessing, says

The British hospitality Industry , is worth over £20bn in 2018, together with the wide hospitality Industry , has, So Far , the main burden of the coronavirus. Almost 90% of the employees in the sector have been furloughed, according to Industry body, the UK hospitality, equal to 2. 7 million People - More Than any other.

About a third of the accommodation and the food companies think it is More Than four weeks, before you open again, according to a recent Office for National Statistics. The same study showed that 60% of companies in the hospitality sector that are still trading have the reduction of working time.

the Industry -leader, call to confirm the government's re-opening may start at the 4. July - The Next date for possible further easing of closure restrictions. You say, which Will secure the jobs, as the escalation of the vacation scheme is approaching.

"If we don't get that confirmation, then there is a very real concern that we Will see job losses in August, because these companies can't afford anything in that direction," said Kate Nicholls , The Chief executive of UK hospitality.

The Royal County is one of the thousands of hotels in the UK still, during a hectic few weeks in March

One of the biggest problems for hotels, pensions and holiday parks, offering you enough notice, guests booking start again. In Northern Ireland , the companies have said, you can definitely accept bookings from 20. July - even though they open earlier.

It is the kind of message that wants to hear from Ms Nicholls, from the British government in Westminster. "We need certainty for consumers that you book your hotel break as of a certain date," she says.

The 2m rule for social distancing could also cut vital revenue for hotels through the reduction of the capacity of food and beverages.

Another headwind for the sector of the government's plan to impose a 14-day quarantine on arrival in the UK from Monday. Marriott, which attracts foreign travelers to their hotels in the UK, the worldwide loyalty program, describes the policy as "another blow" for the Industry .

The government has by way of experiment, said some of the guest open can friendship on 4. July , But it is by no means sure of

And Ms Nicholls fears of the quarantine Will be closed for a longer-lasting effect by sending The Message that "the UK". "Not only does this take three weeks, Six Weeks , however long the quarantine is in force, But they have a longer lasting effect right The Way through the rest of this year"

But back in the County of Durham, Is optimistic The Royal County lobby is filled with a buzz someday soon.

"the People Will always travel," he says, "I just want to make sure when the day comes, the People go, and it has that wow factor. "

image editor: Emma Lynch .

hospitality industry, uk economy, travel & leisure industry, coronavirus pandemic, hotels, durham, tourism

Source of news: bbc.com