Hotels offer their guests many amenities, but perhaps no amenity has more influence on where guests stay than a swimming pool. Whether your hotel pool is indoors or outdoors, it acts as the magnet that draws your guests together.
It can also be a source of safety issues.
Hotel pools present several potential safety concerns that, if left unaddressed, can lead to physical injuries to guests. How does your hotel improve its commitment to water safety, especially when it comes to preventing drowning incidents?
How to Protect Your Hotel Guests Poolside
If you employ lifeguards, you want every member of your lifeguard team to receive the proper certifications, as well as undergo guest service training to improve their communication skills. As we are about to see, guest education is one of the most important strategies to enhance water safety and thus, reduce the likelihood of a drowning incident.
You should appoint a member of the management team to review the daily inspection form and implement any corrective actions when necessary. Make sure the hotel pool is completely enclosed and has keyless self-locking mechanisms at each point of entrance. Many water safety issues that arise at hotels are caused by non-guests. An eight-foot or taller wrought iron fence can be an effective way to keep out midnight swimmers. Asking hotel employees not assigned to the swimming pool area to monitor the area after hours is another way to bolster water safety.
Water Quality Matters
Water safety at hotel pools is not all about the conduct of guests. It is also important to ensure optimal water quality around the clock by following each of the following tips.
- Test pool water every day for pH and chlorine residual levels
- Maintain pool water pH levels between 7.2 and 7.8
- Maintain chlorine residual levels at least at 1.0 ppm for pool water
- Ensure water remains clear enough to detect a six-inch black disc that is placed at the deepest end of the pool
- Follow the recommended pool water filtration and disinfection schedule
Educate Your Guests
Pool safety at hotels also involves educating your guests about protecting themselves poolside. Not only should you post signs at the hotel pool’s exits and entrances, but you should also consider handing out pool safety guides to every guest when they check into your property.
Let’s review important water safety tips that will encourage your guests to make good pool safety decisions.
Never Swim Alone
Even if you staff a team of certified lifeguards, there will be times when the lifeguard stand is unattended. It is essential that every guest at your hotel understand the importance of swimming with a friend or a family member.
Wear Slip Resistant Footwear
Although water safety often involves discussing issues that develop in the water, the fact remains that hotels have to deal with slip and fall incidents. Not only does wearing slip-resistant footwear help prevent accidents, but it also does a good job of protecting the feet against bacteria.
Warm Up Before Swimming
Some pool safety issues develop because swimmers did not properly warm up before getting into the water. Unready muscles can cramp up and when that happens at the deep end of a hotel pool, trouble can ensue for the swimmer. It takes just a few minutes to loosen the muscles that hotel guests use to swim in your pool.
Encourage the Use of Flotation Devices
As a precautionary tactic, make it mandatory for children under the age of 12 to wear a flotation device while swimming in the hotel pool. Encourage novice swimmers to do the same, especially when they venture into the deep end of the water.
Children Should Stay in Shallow Water
The floating rope placed near the middle of the hotel pool lets guests know when they are about to enter deeper water. Keep children under the age of 12 in the shallow end of the pool to help prevent drowning incidents.
Walk, Don’t Run
Even if guests wear slip-resistant shoes, running poolside can lead to slip and falls. Slipping and falling on a hard surface can result in serious injuries. .
There for You: Acadia Insurance
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Acadia Insurance is pleased to share this material with its customers. Please note, however, that nothing in this blog should be construed as legal advice or the provision of professional consulting services. This material is for general informational purposes only, and while reasonable care has been utilized in compiling this information, no warranty or representation is made as to accuracy or completeness.
