Florence County WI Hotels & Motels Safety Checklist

What this checklist is for

This checklist supports a COVID-19 safety and sanitation inspection of hotels and motels in Florence County, Wisconsin. It is organized into four sections: Inspection, Protect Your Staff, Protect Your Guests, and Housekeeping, Cleaning & Sanitizing. Its 27 items walk you through employee health screening and illness policy, physical distancing, personal protective equipment distribution, enhanced housekeeping procedures, high-touch surface disinfection schedules, safe laundry handling, front desk hygiene, handwashing station maintenance, and facility-wide informational signage. Use it to verify compliance with public health best practices at your property and to coordinate effectively with local health authorities when managing symptomatic guests or staff. While the checklist focuses on COVID-19 protections, the practices it covers—such as disinfection schedules, handwashing infrastructure, and clear signage—are fundamental to any lodging operation's sanitation program.

Why it matters

Hotels and motels host a constantly changing population of guests and rely on staff who move across shared spaces throughout the day. That combination makes consistent sanitation and health practices central to protecting both groups. A structured inspection helps you catch gaps—whether in PPE supply, surface disinfection frequency, or handwashing facilities—before they become a risk. Because the checklist includes items that you document and describe, it also creates a record that shows what was done, when, and by whom, which is useful when you need to speak with local health authorities about a symptomatic guest or staff member.

What a good inspection covers

A thorough inspection addresses three areas: - **Staff protection.** This includes staggered break schedules that support physical distancing, a strict illness policy that prohibits symptomatic employees from working until they have been fever-free for at least 72 hours without medication, protective partitions such as sneeze guards or plexiglass at face-to-face workstations, and the use of disposable gloves during all cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting. You also record how many PPE kits—masks, gloves, and face shields—were distributed. - **Guest protection.** This covers contactless check-in and online payment, advance notice for special requests, a minimum 24-hour vacancy between guest stays to allow for ventilation and sanitization of soft surfaces, and replacement and laundering of all bedding between stays. The checklist also calls for removing non-essential decorative bedding, pillows, and throws, and replacing reusable in-room amenities and serving items with individually wrapped, single-service alternatives wherever practical. - **Cleaning, disinfection, and hygiene infrastructure.** This includes disinfection of high-contact surfaces after each guest departure—remote controls, light switches, lamps, telephones, doorknobs, cabinet handles, refrigerator doors, handrails, hair dryers, and the like—as well as hourly disinfection of high-touch common area surfaces such as door handles, lobby furniture, elevator buttons, water fountain surfaces, ice and vending machine buttons, front desk pens, and room keys. You document your disinfecting solution preparation method, including any commercial products and manufacturer-recommended dilution ratios. The checklist also asks for fully stocked handwashing stations with liquid soap, running water, disposable paper towels, waste receptacles, and alcohol-based hand sanitizer of at least 60% alcohol, plus a description of your handwashing training program and the signage that teaches guests and staff about handwashing, respiratory etiquette, and physical distancing.

How to carry it out

Work through the checklist in order. Start with the Inspection section to record who is conducting the inspection, where, and when. Move into Protect Your Staff and Protect Your Guests, verifying each practice against what you observe on site and noting counts such as PPE kits distributed and hand sanitizer dispensers installed. For the items that ask you to describe a protocol—dirty laundry handling, handwashing training, laundry processing, high-contact surface disinfection, and disinfecting solution preparation—write down what you actually do, including specifics like water temperature, dryer heat, products, and dilution ratios. Finish with Housekeeping, Cleaning & Sanitizing to confirm your schedules, stock levels, and signage. Rate each item as Fully Implemented, Partially Implemented, Not Yet Started, or Not Applicable so you can see at a glance where to focus next. Sign the checklist and note the finish time when you are done.

Frequently Asked Questions

The checklist lists many high-contact surfaces, including but not limited to remote controls, light switches, lamps, telephones, doorknobs, cabinet handles, refrigerator doors, handrails, and hair dryers. It asks you to list all high-contact surfaces that are disinfected after each guest departure and to describe the disinfection method and products used. It also calls for disinfecting high-touch common area surfaces at least once per hour, such as entrance and exit door handles, lobby tables and chairs, elevator buttons, water fountain surfaces, ice and vending machine buttons, front desk pens, and room keys or key cards.

The checklist directs you to maintain fully stocked handwashing stations at all times, with continuous availability of liquid hand soap, running water, disposable paper towels, waste receptacles, and alcohol-based hand sanitizer with a minimum of 60% alcohol content. It also asks you to document the handwashing training program conducted with employees, including the frequency of training sessions, topics covered, and verification methods used to confirm staff compliance with mandatory handwashing after cleaning tasks, before eating, and before drinking.

The checklist asks you to enforce a strict illness policy prohibiting symptomatic employees from reporting to work, and to require a minimum of 72 hours fever-free without medication before permitting an employee to return to work. It also asks you to document how you coordinate with local health authorities when managing symptomatic guests or staff.

The checklist asks you to promote contactless check-in by encouraging guests to make reservations and process payments online, and to advise guests to call ahead for any special accommodations or requests. It also calls for maintaining a minimum 24-hour room vacancy period between consecutive guest stays to allow for thorough ventilation and additional sanitization of soft surfaces that are difficult to disinfect.

The checklist asks you to describe the protocol for handling dirty laundry without shaking, including transportation in sealed bags and measures to prevent airborne particle dispersion. It also asks you to describe the laundry processing protocol, including water temperature settings, dryer heat levels, and detergent products used, and to confirm alignment with manufacturer care instructions for all linens, towels, and bedding items.

Written by

Arne Reis

Founder

Process optimizer with 25 years of expertise, focused on operational excellence in quality, maintenance, EHS, and commissioning. Emphasizes innovative solutions and top-quality standards.

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