Sun City and other resorts are allowed to reopen – here are the proposed rules for casinos, hotels and golf

Sun International says that it plans to reopen its resorts, hotels, casinos and restaurants following the further relaxation of South Africa’s level 3 lockdown rules.

Chief executive officer Anthony Leeming says that once the government announces the official return dates, the group will stagger the reopening of its properties across the country.

“Our leisure attractions, golf courses and swimming pools will also reopen subject to necessary regulatory guidance,” he said.

While the government has not gazetted the official regulations around the reopening of these leisure facilities, Leeming said that the group has put in place ‘world-class health and safety protocols which are considerably beyond what is required’.

He added that the group’s properties will observe strict headcounts and social distancing rules.

“Prior to the lockdown, we had introduced social distancing queue management, while every alternative seat at our casino slot machines and tables was removed to create space between customers.

“Our restaurant layouts were also reconfigured to increase space between tables and meet headcount limits,” he said.

Once the group’s resorts reopen, Leeming said that it will conduct temperature tests for all customers at our hospitality, leisure and gaming operations, and all guests will need to complete a medical screening questionnaire on arrival at hotels, and in advance for casino visitors.

“For the foreseeable future, only members of our loyalty programme – our Most Valued Guests (MVGs) – will be allowed access onto the casino floor. It will be mandatory for all visitors to wear cloth masks at all times.”

Guidelines

Sun International has also published a separate set of guidelines which detail the new rules it plans to put in place in more detail.

The guidelines cover a range of topics including casino safety, safety protocols around hotels as well as the new regulations around golf.

These guidelines are outlined in more detail below. These guidelines are only applicable to Sun Internationa’s resorts and may change depending on government directives.

Casinos

• Employees are required to sanitise their hands before starting their shift, between guest interactions and after handling cash;

• All cash desks, card machines and devices, Cash IOs, promo kiosks and MVG desks will be sanitised after each guest interaction;

• Hand sanitiser will be made available throughout the gaming floors and at tables, for guests to use;

• All tables equipment and furniture will be cleaned on a scheduled basis or between games;

• An ongoing chip-cleaning program will be implemented on a rotational basis. Sanitiser will also be available for guests to clean their chips;

• Only MVG cardholders will be allowed access to the casino;

• Capacity on the gaming floor will be limited to between 33% and 50%;

• Every second slot machine will be turned off or locked to ensure a 1.5-meter distance;

• Blackjack and American Roulette tables will have a maximum of four seats at each table, while Baccarat tables will have five seats;

• Seats, tables and booths will be reconfigured with physical barriers or removed to allow for appropriate physical distancing;

Hotels

• Physical-distancing stickers, bollards and/or tape will be used at all check-in desks;

• Peak-period queuing procedures will be implemented when the number of guests exceeds lobby capacity;

• Check-in/out counters will be re-arranged to ensure physical distancing between guests and employees;

• Capacity in the pools will be limited, and the number of loungers at pool areas will be reduced;

• When arriving, guests must indicate if they want their room serviced during their stay;

• The turn-down service will be terminated at our 3-star Hotels, and will only be available upon request at 4-star and 5-star hotels;

• For long-duration stays, rooms will be cleaned every two to three days;

• Hand sanitiser with 70% alcohol will be added to our range of guest amenities for guest use during their stay;

• Minibars will be stocked with only bottled water. Other beverages and snacks are available upon request;

• Our check-out and check-in times may be amended to ensure housekeeping has sufficient time to thoroughly deep clean rooms.

Golf

• One-tee start only;

• Tee-time intervals between four balls to be limited to a minimum of 10 minutes;

• There will be no congregation of golfers and staff, or both, at any time;

• Walking during play will be encouraged;

• Minimum employment of caddies by golfers to ensure social distancing while on the course;

• Caddies will be required to refrain from handling guest tees, markers, scorecards, pencils and any other small equipment or items;

• Golfers and caddies will be obliged to wear face masks when in 1.5-meter proximity of each other;

• Flag sticks will be regularly sanitised and other options, such as raising the cup, will ensure unnecessary touching of flagsticks or golf holes;

• Sand and seed bottles will be removed from carts;

• Frequent cleaning and sanitising of high-touch areas of golf carts;

• Only one person per cart unless part of a family or small group;

• Bunker rakes must be removed.

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