Guest Requirements
We prefer only fully vaccinated guests staying in our beautiful home. Please consider another property if you are unable to comply.
Out of respect to our Sea Ranch community and our staff, we request all guests in the booking party to demonstrate they are fully vaccinated two weeks prior to their arrival.
Keep Our Community and Yourself Safe
In general, people are considered fully vaccinated:
- 2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
- 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine
If you don’t meet these requirements, regardless of your age, you are NOT fully vaccinated. Keep taking all precautions until you are fully vaccinated.
What to Know Before You Book
We recommend you fully understand our cancellation policy. If you have any questions be sure to contact us prior to confirming your booking.
Cancellation Policy
At this point, given our anticipated reopening in the Fall of 2021, we do not expect to alter our previous cancellation policy. This policy may change as we get closer to our reopening date.
- For guests making new reservations for any future arrival date, including reservations with pre-paid rates, once we reopen our booking calendar, we will allow the reservation to be changed or canceled at no charge up to twenty-one (21) days prior to your arrival date.
- Reservations made for all holiday periods are subject to Forty-five (45) days if you need to cancel.
- Reservations canceled with advance notice meeting the Twenty-one (21) and Forty-five (45 ) day cancellation requirement, will be refunded less a $30 processing fee.
- Cancelations received within Twenty-one (21) days (Forty-five (45) days for all holiday periods) will result in full payment/forfeiture of reservation unless we are able to rebook the canceled reservation dates for Abalone Bay.
Please note that changes to the reservation will be subject to availability and any rate differences.
Travel insurance
We require that if you are feeling sick in any way, or have been around anyone exposed to COVID-19, to please not visit The Sea Ranch and surrounding communities. If you are not feeling well, please stay home. We are instructing the same of our employees.
Therefore we strongly advise that when you book your vacation you also purchase Travel Insurance that includes a Cancel for Any Reason clause. Note that travel insurance is a contract between you the guest and the insurance company. We just provide you the ability to buy it as a convenience. We aren’t involved in making, receiving, or approving any claims, and the travel insurance won’t be sending us any money.
Two Types of Insurance
Our booking service offers the ability to purchase two different types of travel insurance. The guest is given the option to choose which type they wish to purchase through Rental Guardian.
- Traditional travel insurance. This fully reimburses the cost of the booking, if a covered event occurs that forces you to cancel the trip. These are things like being hospitalized. This can be purchased by citizens of almost any country.Note: As travel insurance policies typically exclude epidemics and pandemics, changes in plans or cancellations due to COVID-19 are unlikely to be covered under a travel insurance policy as COVID-19 is now a known event.
- Cancel For Any Reason (CFAR) insurance. This is what it sounds like – it pays out if you cancel the trip for any reason at all, even one that isn’t covered. The catch is that it only pays out 60% of the costs if you don’t have a covered reason. At the moment, this can be purchased only by U.S. citizens.
California’s Regulations on Travel, Gatherings
On June 15, 2021, the state of California moved beyond the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and its color-coded activity tiers. This means that all industry and business sectors may return to normal operations with no capacity limits or physical distancing requirements, with limited exceptions for “mega” events.
In order to reopen, businesses must commit to meeting or exceeding the requirements of the Business Mitigation Practices put into place by the County of Sonoma to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Guidance
With the loosening of restrictions, we are still required to follow the current Cal/OSHA COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards (ETS).
The California Department of Public Health released guidance including a Q&A regarding the June 15 reopening. This move aligns California with the federal Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Visit Cal/OSHA’s COVID-19 resources webpage for more information, including updated FAQs.
Masks
Currently, face coverings in California are no longer required outdoors except at crowded events and for unvaccinated people when physical distancing cannot be maintained. Fully vaccinated people in California still need to wear a mask indoors unless meeting with other vaccinated people.
Local Businesses
However, some businesses may have their own protocols in place for the safety and well-being of their staff and visitors. You may find these posted at the entrance of these businesses, or on their website, or on social media pages. We kindly ask visitors to respect the wishes and policies that businesses have in place.
Our Response to COVID-19
With our W2-S Plans: Wait, Wash, Sanitize in place you can fully expect to receive exceptional service in a safe environment.
Our new standards-based plan is based on current research that not only works but also gives our guests a sense of peace while staying at our Sea Ranch Abalone Bay Vacation Rental. Our staff and I remain alert to current research and best practice, use products that meet or exceed industry standards and continue to work diligently to incorporate new products and practices within our W2-S Plan. We discuss this plan in greater detail below.
Our Response: W2-S Plan of Wait-Wash-Sanitize
As we welcome you back to The Sea Ranch our priority is to provide comfort, safety, and peace of mind during your stay at Abalone Bay. We assure you of our commitment to providing you with a safe and clean environment using our W2-S Plan of Wait, Wash, and Sanitize. These based on California’s COVID-19 Industry Guidance and VRMA’s SafeHome Guidelines are well above industry standards in our effort to defeat COVID-19.
Step 1 of W2-S: Wait
Recent CDC Guidelines indicate COVID-19 spreads mainly through close contact from person to person. Small viral particles can hang in the air for many hours. The currently available WHO information suggests that respiratory droplets can last up to 3 hours in the air. After a person with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 has been in an indoor space, the risk of transmission from any surfaces is minor after 3 days (72 hours).
Therefore, our staff will wait at least 24 hours before entering Abalone Bay using appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE) to initiate cleaning protocols. The washing and cleaning of our home, as well as its disinfecting, will add at least another full work-day.
Step 2 of W2-S: Wash (and clean)
Our cleaning staff with appropriate PPE thoroughly washes and cleans all surfaces presumed touched by our guests, washes all linens and towels, and thoroughly cleans the entire house, and the property surrounding it. By washing away dirt, and impurities from surfaces during this cleaning period lowers the number of germs and the risk of spreading infection.
Staff will:
- Wear masks when required
- Wear disposable gloves to clean and disinfect.
- Clean surfaces using soap and water.
- Wash linens, robes, and towels according to the manufacturer’s instructions using the warmest appropriate water setting. They then completely dry our linen.
This process can take up to 4 hours.
Step 3 of W2-S: Sanitize
During this last step, our cleaning staff will Sanitize all touchpoints within the house with hospital-grade disinfectants specifically designed as a germicide to kill viruses and bacteria, including the Coronavirus. Cleaning with soap and water reduces the number of germs, dirt, and impurities on the surface. Disinfecting kills germs on surfaces.
NOTE: While our process sanitizes our home by reducing the number of germs to a safe level by cleaning, it does not completely disinfect our home 100%.
High touch surfaces include:
- Countertops, faucets, sinks
- Tables, desks, bedside tables chairs, lamps, phones
- Door knobs and handles for doors, shower, and toilet
- Remote controls for television and garage- disinfected and placed in sealed bags
- Switches for lights and ventilation fans (in summer)
- Handles and controls for range, dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, washer, and dryer
- Soft surfaces including upholstered furniture, beds and bedding, towels, and shades.
This process can take up to 1 hour.
Products used will be appropriate for the various surfaces throughout the house. For example, our butcher block countertops will have a hydrogen peroxide-based cleaner to kill the virus. The method involves leaving the cleaner on the wooden surface for a good 10 minutes and following it up by wiping it off with a wet cloth. A dry cloth will dry the surface, completing the process.
Protecting You, Our Guests
Evidence has shown that creating physical distancing decreases the spread of COVID-19. As a mitigation measure we will minimize face-to-face interactions by the following:
- Provide information and guides via email, phone text, and a variety of communication applications
- Provide remote check-in services
Protecting our Staff
Steps we will take to protect our staff include:
- Working remotely to promote social distancing in the workplace, when feasible.
- Re-engineer/restructured operations to provide for six feet distancing- for example, cleaning staff will work in separate areas of our home
- Daily Monitoring of Employee Health Requirements including
- Verify the employee’s temperature is below 100.00 Fahrenheit before entry into the workplace.
- Each day upon entry into our home, we will verify that an employee is wearing an appropriate face covering
- Require our staff to conduct self-assessments for COVID-19 symptoms using the Sonoma County SoCoCOVID-19 Check
- Implement the use of personal protective equipment such as gloves, masks, and other protective measures deemed appropriate for the nature of the business operations
- Communicate and educate staff to carry out COVID-19 mitigation plans and protocols
- Make available to all employees hand sanitizer and other sanitation products for the frequent cleaning
- Provide training to employees on COVID-19 mitigation measures for customer-facing activities (e.g., cleaning and sanitizing standards, etc.)
Protecting our Community
We provide upon entry into our home face masks for each guest. Please wear them if you have yet to be vaccinated. We also provide a family-size pump bottle of hand sanitizer as well as individual bottles for your use and as a memento of your stay with us at Abalone Bay.
