By Paula DiPaola, president, Magic Tree Resort
Magic Tree Resort is in Kissimmee, FL, near Walt Disney World. The news that Disney was closing due to the COVID-19 virus was one of the biggest shocks! March traditionally is the busiest month of our entire year.
We now have 10 rooms occupied out of 92. The guests we have on property are ALL owners and they keep extending their stays. They say they feel SAFE here. They have spacious accommodations, a full kitchen to cook all their meals, and gas grills for barbecues. I offered a special to them: buy one week, get one week free. Who better to be on property!
We set a limit of 10 people at a time in the pool. We have closed the owners’ lounge, spa, gym, and game room. We encourage people to adhere to the six-foot “social distance” space between each other.
Needed maintenance
Our limited housekeeping staff is changing out towels and sheets at the front door of each unit, so no one enters the residence. Our staff has been cut in front desk and housekeeping, but maintenance is full-blown working hard. We have started many projects that would have been done in May, our slowest month.
One building is down right now. There we are deep-cleaning 25 units, painting all bathrooms, steam-cleaning our furniture, stripping the tile floors, overhauling all air-conditioning, replacing all white appliances with brand-new stainless steel, and installing a backsplash in 25 kitchens. Meanwhile, we are installing a tar and gravel roof on this same building.
This place is busy with needed maintenance that was all scheduled for April 20 to June 15. At this rate, we may get an additional building done!
Safety is main concern
Our main concern is to keep our owners and staff safe. We have a good supply of masks, gloves, and antibacterial gel. The team laughed at me in January when I bought 12 gallons at Sam’s Club. Be prepared! Our laundry man now wipes down every door handle, elevator buttons, washers and dryers on the laundry, and railings throughout the resort. This happens about every two hours from 8 AM to 6 PM. Our hours have also changed, closing at 6 PM, when we used to stay open until midnight. Things change each day, but staying positive, showing our team and guests that we care, is working well here at Magic Tree.
Oh, yes, and we limit toilet paper to one role at a time.
So far everyone is safe, happy, and relaxing. Lots of great smells around the resort reflect lots of great cooking and baking. Walmart being next door, which we thought would be a detriment, has turned out to be a blessing.