Nick Castaneda shut down his Lincoln hotel March 15, saying he wanted to see where things were going to go with the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It went where I thought it was going. It got worse," said Castaneda, who owns The Kindler Hotel at 11th and P streets along with his wife, Brook.
But now things have improved, cases in the Lincoln area have been slowly declining and directed health measures have been loosened.
So Castaneda is ready to reopen his boutique hotel Wednesday.
Things will look a lot different than they did before March 15, he said.
Like many businesses are doing, The Kindler is requiring employees to wear masks. They also will have their temperatures checked before each shift, be tested for COVID-19 and told to self-quarantine if they show any symptoms, Castaneda said.
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There also is an enhanced focus on cleaning and disinfecting the hotel.
"We always keep things really clean, but we've been doing extra," Castaneda said.
That includes disinfecting high-touch surfaces such as door handles and elevator buttons every day.
On the other hand, rooms are going to be cleaned less, but that's by design.
Castaneda said hotel staff will not enter guests' rooms during their stays unless requested to. After people check out, rooms will be left alone for 48 hours, after which staff will enter and clean them.
That means there will be at least three days between when a guest leaves and when another stays in the same room.
Castaneda said the hotel plans to continue that policy for a while but will reevaluate if the hotel starts to get busy, something he doesn't foresee happening for at least a few weeks.
As of Monday, about 20% of the hotel's rooms were booked for Wednesday, he said, although he is getting lots of calls about hosting weddings later this summer and fall.
Castaneda said the hotel also plans to utilize more outdoor space and got approval Monday from the City Council for an expansion of its liquor license to cover outdoor seating areas along 11th Street.
The Kindler isn't the only hotel that shut down that has plans to reopen in July.
The Graduate at Ninth and P streets plans to reopen July 15, according to information posted on the company's website.
The Graduate, which has been closed since March 20, also outlines on its website the steps it is taking to increase safety for guests, including having staff wear masks and gloves, offering masks to guests upon request, closing fitness centers and temporarily eliminating the use of ice machines.
The company said it developed its health and safety measures in conjunction with the Cleveland Clinic and Procter & Gamble.
"We remain steadfast in our commitment to Graduate Hotels and look forward to safely welcoming you back to your campus," Ben Weprin, founder and CEO, said in an email sent June 18.
One hotel that has not yet announced a reopening date is The Marriott Cornhusker.
Marcus Hotels & Resorts, which owns the hotel, has announced reopening dates for a number of its other properties, including the Omaha Marriott Downtown at the Capitol District, which reopened Monday.
However, Marcus has not yet announced a date for The Cornhusker, and a company spokeswoman did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Many local hotels remained open over the past few months, but they didn't do much business.
Jeff Maul, executive director of the Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau, said lodging tax collections for April, May and June have been down anywhere from 30%-50% compared with last year.
Though just about every major meeting and convention scheduled in Lincoln for the rest of the year has been canceled or postponed, Maul said things such as business travel and youth sporting events have led to increased stays in local hotels over the past few weeks.
"Things like that are starting to come back slowly," he said.