A MANAGER of a York hotel used to accommodate NHS staff said the biggest challenge of lockdown had been keeping spirits up.

Giving an insight into being a frontline worker at a busy hotel during the pandemic, Jules Wan said: “You have to come to work with an extra burst of energy to ensure team morale is high.”

Jules manages the team at Monks Cross Travelodge, the sixth in the city, and said their guests this lockdown included NHS and critical workers and business guests, allowed to travel for work purposes.

“We are operating in unprecedented and uncertain times. This is very tough. We have to keep positive, be safe and focus on moving ahead.”

Jules said the stringent cleaning and safety measures had seemed strange initially, but had become the ‘new way of life’ - one she predicts is here to stay.

With guests checking in at all hours, depending on shifts, Jules said: “Our mission is to ensure that they have a comfortable stay and get a good sleep and leave our hotel feeling revitalised.”

She added: “I never thought that I would experience a global pandemic and that we would have to go into several lockdowns. I do feel extremely proud to be part of Travelodge’s front line team and to be supporting my community, especially our local NHS workers and other critical group workers.

“The company is stringent on health and safety and we have the correct policies in place to ensure everyone is safe which gives you the confidence to come into work. We love going the extra mile and putting a smile on our customers’ faces.”

She praised her colleagues, some of whom are working parents, taking advantage of Travelodge's flexible working hours to support home schooling.

“They have all gone the extra mile to support me and our customers and have remained very positive through the pandemic,"

No two days working in a hotel are the same, Jules added. However, one key consistency during the pandemic has been following Covid19 safety steps, such as regular cleaning of all high touch points. “I do believe the measures in place will remain indefinitely to protect and save lives against existing and future strains of the virus. It is the new normal and I am very happy to see our guests are responding very well to it."