covid-19

Interview with Amanda our assistant manager for TLK Apartment & Hotel

Interview with Amanda our assistant manager for TLK Apartment & Hotel

We at TLK group and the TLK Apartment & Hotel in London are proud to have supported our key workers including NHS staff during the Covid-19 crisis.

We’ve made changes in our hotels to keep our customers and teams safe, such as introducing special procedures and social distancing and safety advice notices throughout the hotel and apartments.

We speak to Amanda who is Assistant Manager at our hotel and short stay apartments in south London.

Hello Amanda, What does your job currently entail at TLK Apartments & Hotel in London?

Main task has been effectively communicating with my team and our customers on the importance on staying safe in these critical times. We as an organisation have been following public health and government guidelines. It was initially challenging incorporating all of the health and safety procedures aligned with Covid-19, but now it has become a way of everyday life.

Are you and your team working extra hours at the moment?

It has been challenging and we have had to amend our hours with the increased cleaning schedules and change of room procedures, but as a team we have made it work. In fact it is working so well this will be our new procedure. We are unique as all our rooms have a kitchenette , bathroom and are almost like flats, effectively enabling us to continue this procedure very successfully.

What kind of guest are staying in your Hotel and Apartments at the moment?

We have a variety of guests with us at the moment. They include NHS key workers and other critical workers such as emergency service workers, carers and tradesmen who are retro fitting local shops for the covid-19.

Is your TLK Apartment & Hotel team doing anything different currently?

From the start of the outbreak we have had strict procedures in place to ensure that we are all following public health and government guidelines which was difficult to start with but now is just business as usual.

This includes a daily meetings I give to my team on the importance of social distancing and the importance of hygiene procedures. We have signage advising customers and staff on the importance of washing hands and social distancing.

SAFETY OF OUR RESIDENTS AND AND STAFF WILL ALWAYS BE OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY

SAFETY OF OUR RESIDENTS AND AND STAFF WILL ALWAYS BE OUR NUMBER ONE PRIORITY

Safety at TLK Apartment and Hotel will always be our first priority . Throughout the pandemic we as an organisation have taken swift and immediate action to keep our residents and staff as safe as possible.

The changes that have been implemented were significant to our business at the start of the pandemic, both in terms of our operations and how our staff operate in our rental properties.

We have been maintaining social distancing in our offices with reduced staff and levels of strict hygiene have been adhered to by our front facing staff in our hotels who have been issued with correct and sufficient PPE.

We will continue this while we carry on during these trying times for customers across London where are flats and hotels are located, including priority rentals for key worker staff. We are proud to be hosting many NHS staff who we offer special discount for during this pandemic.

We are slowly starting to see signs of companies planning gradual return to work, and slow introduction of employees back into the workplace. A gradual return will help maintain social distancing in early days and give companies enough time to require employees to fill out health assessments and get tested if necessary.

Rest assured meticulous planning is in place for all of the companies working under TLK Property who are our parent company and steps are being taken to ensure safety of both customers and employees.

Some of the big housebuilding companies like Taylor Wimpey will be starting to build again shortly and car firms such as Nissan and Jaguar Land Rover are preparing to resume production in their factories.

These are all positive signs for the economy and our amazing country. This does not mean battle against COVID-19, which is by no means close to ending yet.

The way we live and work will be quite different from what we are used to for many months to come or maybe longer. The Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty said during one of the recent government daily press conferences that social distancing will need to be in place for ‘some considerable time’.If that is the case, the country and its business community have to be able to adapt. The health of the nation is, undoubtedly, the first priority, but having an active economy filled with businesses that create employment, follows a close second.

We know the lockdown as it is now cannot continue for the long term, and there are reports that the pandemic has reached its peak and has levelled off, but the same time, we can’t risk ruining the hard work we have all put in to stop the virus spreading further with a second spike.

Therefore, we have to adapt and evolve, which is something entrepreneurial businesses in the UK have been doing for generations as we have at TLK Apartment and Hotel when we opened our first rental property back in 2009.

As a business that provides an essential residence for workers and people that still have to work in London like our NHS nurses that cannot work from home, we are doing our best to offer clean and safe place to stay in.

We will continue to apply these processes for the foreseeable future as we return to providing stay for our holiday maker and those attending business events in London.

We too will be looking forward to getting back to normal working conditions, but until then we have to work together as a country to beat this, only together can this be achieved.

Stay Safe!

TLK Apartment & Hotel