Britons will soon go on holiday again. Hotel and B&B owners tell guests to expect strict rules around face masks, eating areas, and social distancing – but vaccines won’t be mandatory

• Hotels, B&Bs and holiday parks in the UK told Insider how they're preparing for guests this summer.
• Over 27.6 million Brits have had at least one shot but hotel owners said this won't be mandatory.
• Holiday parks will be opening April 12, while hotels and B&Bs will accept guests from May 17.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

The holiday season is nearly upon us. But there's speculation about whether people in the UK will be able to travel abroad due to the increased worry of coronavirus variants spreading and cases rising.

This uncertainty, along with COVID-19 restrictions, is turning more people towards domestic holidays to visit the British coastline, country parks and smaller towns and cities.

In accordance with UK government guidelines, hotels, bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) and other shared accommodation in England are allowed to open on May 17. This is the same date that international travel can continue.

While self-contained accommodation, which requires no shared facilities between guests, can reopen on April 12.

Insider spoke to a range of hotels, holiday parks and B&Bs, which are preparing for guests to come back and how their facilities will be run differently.

Vaccines won't be mandatory

So far, more than 30 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of the vaccine but most owners said they won't make this a requirement for guests.

Travelodge, an independent UK chain hotel, which has more than 570 hotels across the UK, currently only allows keyworkers and those who need to travel for work to stay in its hotels, a spokesperson told Insider.

When asked if Travelodge will make the vaccine mandatory for guests, the spokesperson said: "We will continue to stringently follow government guidelines and policy in regards to operating in the COVID-19 pandemic."

Currently, the government does not require hotel guests to be vaccinated.

The situation is similar in holiday parks. Centre Parcs, which has five short-break holiday villages across the UK, will open on April 12 and have the same COVID-19 safety measures it had in place last year, spokesperson Simon Kay told Insider.

"In line with government guidelines we will not be requiring guests to have been vaccinated," he said.

Haven Holidays, another chain of holiday parks in the UK, told Insider it's planning to reopen all of its locations on April 12. A company spokesperson said the government haven't sent Haven any details about COVID-19 passports and declined to comment on the implementation of them.

Hazelwood Farm B&B in York, in northern England, will also be carrying on with coronavirus measures. The owner, Annette McAnespie described making the vaccine mandatory as a "Catch 22 situation" and could be "construed as discriminatory."

"I am lucky in that most of my gorgeous guests are retirement age so the stats are that most of them would have chosen to have had the vaccine and would have had their first jab, if not their second one too, by the time I can reopen," McAnespie said.

At the other end of the country, the Penellen B&B, based in Cornwall - a popular holiday destination in south-west England - will open on May 17th with COVID-19 practices that were in place last year.

Paul and Barbara Goldingay, owners of The Penellen, told Insider that they are not making the vaccine mandatory because it would be too difficult to police.

Face masks stay on and social distancing remains

Travelodge said, like many other chain hotels, its safety measures include wearing face masks indoors, social distancing, contactless payment and checkout, and no housekeeping teams in guests' rooms during their stay.

The Penellen and Hazelwood Farm's coronavirus measures both include wearing face masks.

McAnespie is using two out of the three rooms available on Hazelwood Farm. She plans to steam-clean the curtains and remove cushions from the bedrooms as part of the B&B's coronavirus policy. She told Insider she hopes to see the back of restrictions in September.

Center Parcs has had a surge in bookings recently, especially from the summer onwards, according to Kay.

COVID-19 safety measures in its holiday parks include fewer guests on-site, wearing face masks where necessary, social distancing in all areas including on beaches and a frequent and improved cleaning regime in the villages.

Haven Holidays, which owns 40 parks across the UK, will bring back the Clean and Safe Charter that it introduced in July. This includes a contactless check-in process, social-distancing measures in all public places, and cleaning teams in the parks.

Eating and dining in accommodation

Guests staying in Travelodge hotels won't be able to dine in the restaurants or bars until June 21, when the rest of hospitality is allowed to open, per the government's roadmap out of lockdown.

Hazelwood Farm B&B in York isn't offering its usual breakfast buffet. McAnespie told Insider guests' cold breakfast orders will be taken the evening before and hot breakfast orders will be taken the same morning with the waitress, Nettie, standing at a distance.

She said the B&B will try to stagger breakfast times for the three rooms as there are only two tables in the dining room with the option to also sit outside. Continental breakfast can also be delivered to the room, as well as any other takeaways from local pubs in the area, McAnespie added.

The Penellen said it will also be serving guests at the table, rather than offering a buffet service.

Holidays parks such as Center Parcs and Haven Holidays offer self-catered accommodation so guests can cook for themselves.

Other restrictions in place

Center Parcs' Book with Confidence guarantee offers guests free cancellation and a full refund within six weeks of the arrival date, if they decide to no longer go on holiday to the village. They can also change the dates of their stay.

"It is clear that people want reassurance about the flexibility to cancel or change dates," said Kay.

As part of Haven's Caravan Cleanliness Guarantee, a specialist team member checks each holiday home after its been disinfected using virus-killing products and seals up the door. Guests are entitled to a full refund if the holiday home isn't cleaned to its standards, the company said in a statement to Insider.

Similar to Center Parcs, the company's Coronavirus Book with Confidence Guarantee means guests can cancel their booking between three and 28 days prior to arrival at no cost and be fully refunded, Haven said.

Paul and Barbara from The Penellen said the majority of bookings for this year are rescheduled from last year.

Their "main worry is people from the UK going on holiday overseas and then returning carrying a new variant," they said.

"In our opinion, all borders should be closed for non-essential travel for the time being," they added.