Path to Reopening Update

Time for a status check. This is the kind of thing where you, our loyal hydronauts, will wait and wait and then a lot of things will happen all at once. We really appreciate your patience!

As a reminder, here’s the general checklist we’re following. (It’s the one we’re sharing, anyway. The actual checklists are LONG and INVOLVED and nobody wants to see that if they don’t have to.)

• Sanitation supplies (toilet paper, disinfectant, gloves, etc) are easy to source. [Looking good!]
• New equipment has arrived, including safety equipment for staff.
• UV sanitation lights have arrived and are in working order.
• Repairs are finished.
• Staff-only soft opening to practice new procedures.
• Soft opening for members.
• Opening to the general public.

At our last update, I felt like we had a good handle on sourcing sanitation supplies, we had ordered a lot of new equipment, and were working on new procedures. Today, the last of my new equipment orders arrived (filter inserts for staff masks)! I’m crossing off the “new equipment has arrived” item. Hooray! As for the rest? The UV lights, a crucial part of our safety plan, are still in transit. Repairs are in progress, and with luck will be done by the end of the week. Once those two are accomplished, we can move on to the staff practice item.

Quick heads-up: you’ll notice some new procedures when we reopen. For instance:

• For our staff’s safety, we’ll be going touchless as much as possible for transactions: all appointments must be prepaid online or over the phone.
• We’ll be staggering start times to minimize cross-traffic. FLOAT’s front door will be locked until we’re ready for you.
• Masks will be required in the common areas. No masks while you’re floating, though; it’s hard to breathe through wet fabric. If you misplace your mask, we’ll provide a disposable one to you.

Unfortunately, while the pandemic is still active we’ll have to limit some of the little touches we like to provide that make your visit extra enjoyable: the relax area will be closed, for example, and we won’t have tea available or post-float shared toiletries. This is to limit cross-contamination opportunities. We’ll still have drinking water, and while we’ll have disposable cups available, I’d encourage you to bring your own bottle from home. We’ll look forward to getting back to our normal high standards of hospitality, but in the meantime, I’m sure you can understand that safety has to be prioritized. We’re looking forward to reopening, and we want to STAY open! 🙂

Thanks again for your patience as we adjust to the regulations, and move through new issues and considerations.