Sask. motel begins screening guests to protect against COVID-19

People trying to reserve a room at the Good Times Motel in Langham are being screened before getting checked in.

The 25-bed motel located along Highway 16 west of Saskatoon is taking extra precautions to keep staff safe during COVID-19.

Manager Sonali Karkra has seen an influx of people travelling from the north and out of province. It has caused her to be concerned about the potential of being exposed to the virus.

“We had many guests coming from Ontario. They wanted a room because they were moving here which is not essential,” she said.

“We request all people to stop non-essential travel and keep yourself and others safe,” she wrote in a community Facebook page.

To keep her staff and guests safe, Karkra is no longer accepting reservations from anyone out of province or from areas in the province with high cases of the virus.

Staff are screening customers by requesting their driver’s licences and asking where they travelled from.

However, Karkra suspects not everyone is being truthful.

“Some of them are lying to us because they actually need the room,” she said. “Either they want to self-isolate themselves or they are infected.”

Jim Bence, president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Hotel and Hospitality Association, said anxiety levels are high across the industry due to the pandemic.

“Hoteliers phone all the time to ask about what are the protocols they should have in place to keep them and their staff safe,” Bence said.

Bence said it’s up to each individual operator to implement their own protocols as there is no blanket industry-wide standard.

Karkra said for the time being the hotel is only accepting people travelling locally around Saskatoon and from southern Saskatchewan.