COVID-19 Policy | Pinetrees Lodge

Lord Howe Island is an ideal destination to escape the worries of COVID-19. Our World Heritage listing caps the number of island-wide guests to 400 at any one time, and they scatter through two cafes, eight volcanic peaks, 10 square kilometres of lagoon, 18 surf spots, 20 beaches, 24 kilometres of coastline, and 45 kilometres of hiking track. In reality, you’ll feel like you have the place to yourself. The downside of this seclusion is that we’re 800km from Sydney via a Qantas flight, and you can’t fly home if you need to self-isolate.

Our COVID-19 arrangements are based on a careful balance of health and holiday considerations. Clearly, we want you to come if you’re well, and stay home if you’re unwell. During your travel to Lord Howe, we want you to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission by wearing a mask in confined public spaces, such as planes and buses. Once you’re on the island, we want you to keep your distance from our staff, guests and residents, practice good hygiene and appreciate that our collective health is only as good as the weakest link. Lord Howe has a large number of elderly guests and residents, and it’s critical that we do everything possible to protect them.

Our primary goal is to keep you from becoming a ‘close contact’ of the people around you (except the people sharing your room). You’ll be a ‘close contact’ of someone else if you have 15 minutes of cumulative face-to-face time over five days, or at least two hours with them in a confined space. If we can prevent you from becoming a ‘close contact’ then we reduce the risk of NSW Health requiring you to self-isolate on Lord Howe for 14 days should you briefly cross paths with someone who is COVID-19 positive – as unlikely as this is. So, ideally, you’ll practice some sensible COVID-19 precautions during your stay and depart on time. Hopefully, you’ll feel relaxed, well-hosted, and blissfully unaware of all the extra things we’ll be doing to keep you healthy.

Please note that if community transmission of COVID-19 in NSW remains low, and NSW Health adjusts the Public Health Order that directly relates to how we operate, then we’ll also adjust our practices back towards a more communal lodge.

Before You Travel

Our greatest risk comes from a guest travelling to Lord Howe with COVID-19 and infecting other guests during the flight, at restaurants or cafes, or during tours and group activities. If you’re directly affected by a NSW COVID-19 Health Order (or an equivalent COVID-19 Health Order, Direction or Regulation in QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, WA, NT or ACT) where you have been formally identified as a ‘close contact’ as per the NSW Health definition, or you have tested positive to COVID-19 and are still in mandatory quarantine, or you are legally prevented from travelling outside of you local government area, then you must not come to Lord Howe. We’ll provide a 100% accommodation credit for use by 31 October 2022 – see the cancellation details below.
If you live in QLD, VIC, SA, TAS, WA, NT or ACT and decide not to travel to Lord Howe Island because your state has a COVID-19 border closure, or you’re subject to an Order, Direction or Regulation in your state to self-isolate for 14 days on return to your state, then we’ll provide a 100% accommodation credit for use by 31 October 2022 – see the cancellation details below.
If you develop cold and flu symptoms within three days of your arrival date, you must have a COVID-19 test. If you’re still waiting for your test result, then you must not travel to Lord Howe. We’ll provide a 100% accommodation credit for the nights you are delayed while waiting for your negative test result. The credit is for use by 31 October 2022 – see the cancellation details below. We will not provide a credit for any additional delays due to flight availability.
If you develop cold and flu symptoms within six days of your arrival date, you must have a COVID-19 test. If your test result is positive, then point 1 above will apply. If your test result is negative, then please bring your test result for verification on arrival.
If you have cold and flu symptoms that are explained by another medical condition, then please carry a relevant medical certificate – issued within three days of your arrival date – that verifies your medical condition and clearly states that your symptoms are not from COVID-19.
The best way to minimise the risk to yourself and those around you during your travel, or in situations where you can’t maintain 1.5m of physical distancing, is to wear a face mask. You must purchase a face mask (or multiple disposable masks) and carry it for the duration of your holiday.
If you’re unlucky enough to have overlapped with a COVID-19 positive person at a venue on the mainland before you travel to Lord Howe, then contact tracers will be urgently trying to reach you by phone or email. Given that there is no mobile coverage on Lord Howe, and limited Wi-Fi, it’s essential that you leave a message on your mobile phone and email that advises that you’re staying at Pinetrees Lodge on Lord Howe Island and clearly states your departure date. This will allow contact tracers to find you, if required, and limit the possibility of transmission of COVID-19 to other guests and residents on Lord Howe.
Before you travel, every guest in your group must complete a declaration, under NSW Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order (No 5) 2020, which confirms that you’re: 1. not directly affected by a NSW COVID-19 Health Order (or an equivalent COVID-19 Health Order, Direction or Regulation in QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, WA, NT or ACT); and 2. not experiencing COVID-19 symptoms as per points 3-5 above. We’ll email you the declaration, and instructions to complete it, up to seven days prior to travel.
While travel insurance doesn’t provide coverage for COVID-19 related issues, we strongly recommended that you purchase travel insurance to cover other health issues, delays and complications. Please ensure that your policy covers the cost of additional accommodation or lost accommodation due to weather. Please refer to the Insurance Council of Australia for a list of travel insurance providers to suit your requirements.

During Your Trip

There’s a risk of COVID-19 transmission during your two-hour flight from Sydney to Lord Howe Island. While Qantas advises that the risk of COVID-19 transmission onboard an aircraft is low, we require you to wear a face mask for the duration of the flight.
There’s a risk of COVID-19 transmission during your bus transfer from the airport to Pinetrees. To reduce this risk, we’ll require you to wear a face mask for the five-minute trip.

During Your Stay

We’ll actively encourage physical distancing of at least 1.5m between guests and staff to ensure that we don’t become ‘close contacts’ of each other.
We’ll no longer use our indoor communal spaces – e.g. lounge, pool room, day spa – to ensure that we don’t become ‘close contacts’ of each other, and instead, we’ve increased the number of outdoor communal spaces for couples, friends and families.
We’ll no longer use our lodge verandah for breakfast and lunch. Instead, we’ll be serving a two-course breakfast on your own private deck, and for lunch, you’ll have the choice of a BBQ, picnic, salad or sandwich of the day. You’ll be able to share lunch with your extended family and friends at any one of Lord Howe’s idyllic BBQ and picnic spots.
All of our food service staff will wear masks while serving your meals, except breakfast which is covered.
All of our surfaces and soft furnishings will be treated with the Zoono antimicrobial shield.
All of our outdoor public spaces and high-touch surfaces will be regularly cleaned and disinfected.
We’ll provide hand sanitiser stations around the lodge, but we require you to bring enough hand sanitiser for your activities and adventures beyond the lodge.
We’ll ensure that Pinetrees buildings and grounds are restricted to Pinetrees guests only.
We’ll continue our conservation tour every week, and our daily outdoor yoga class, so long as we can ensure that guests maintain their 1.5m of physical distancing.
We’ll operate in accordance with our NSW COVID-19 Safety Plan for Hotels and Accommodation on Lord Howe Island – the requirements of this plan are more complex and detailed than for other hotels in NSW, given our relative isolation and high proportion of vulnerable guests and residents.

Health

If you develop cold and flu symptoms during your stay, you’ll need to phone our local GP to arrange a COVID-19 test. Depending on the GP’s advice, you may have to self-isolate in your room until you receive a negative result.
The Gower Wilson Memorial Hospital on Lord Howe has facilities to care for a small number of patients with serious COVID-19 symptoms, and Lord Howe is well-serviced by the NSW Air Ambulance should patients need to be evacuated for critical care.

Self-isolation

If you test positive to COVID-19 while staying with us, or if you’re identified by NSW Health as a ‘close contact’ of a COVID-19 positive person, then you’ll be subject to a NSW Health Order and required to self-isolate for 14 days in one of our dedicated quarantine rooms (which are away from other guests and staff, and equipped with Wi-Fi so you can maintain contact with family, friends and health officials). We’ll feed you and check on you, as best as we can for non-health professionals, and in recognition of your terrible holiday, we won’t charge you for your 14 days in our quarantine room. You’ll stay in splendid isolation for free.
If you’re required to self-isolate at Pinetrees, and our quarantine rooms are already occupied, then you’ll need to self-isolate in one of our guest rooms. In this unlikely situation, we’ll provide a 40% discount on your room rate for the duration of your self-isolation period (most likely 14 days) to help cover the costs of your stay and the costs of any cancelled incoming guests.

Additional Cancellation Conditions

Our standard booking conditions apply.
Final payments are required 45 days prior to arrival.
If you cancel your booking with us, within three days of your arrival date, because you’re directly affected by a NSW COVID-19 Health Order (or an equivalent COVID-19 Health Order, Direction or Regulation in QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, WA, NT or ACT) where you have been formally identified as a ‘close contact’ as per the NSW Health definition, or you have tested positive to COVID-19 and are still in mandatory quarantine, or you are legally prevented from travelling outside of you local government area, then we’ll provide a 100% accommodation credit for use by 31 October 2022. The credit will be available for the person who is subject to the NSW COVID-19 Health Order (or equivalent) and his/her partner and dependent children. Written evidence from your state health department, doctor or police will be required before we issue a credit.
If you live in QLD, VIC, SA, TAS, WA, NT or ACT and decide not to travel to Lord Howe Island, within three days of your arrival date, because your state has a COVID-19 border closure, or you’re subject to an Order, Direction or Regulation in your state to self-isolate for 14 days on return to your state, then we’ll provide a 100% accommodation credit for use by 31 October 2022.
If you cancel a portion of your stay with us because you develop cold and flu symptoms, within three days of your arrival date, and you don’t yet have the result of your COVID-19 test, then we’ll provide a 100% accommodation credit for the nights you are delayed while waiting for your negative test result. The credit is for use by 31 October 2022. We will not provide a credit for any additional delays due to flight availability. The credit will be available for the person who had the COVID-19 test and his/her partner and dependent children. We require written evidence of your COVID-19 test, both the test date (within three days of your arrival date) and the date of your negative test result, before we issue a credit – the standard SMS is sufficient.
In the very unlikely event that an existing guest is required to self-isolate in the guest room that you’re booked into, and we’re unable to move you to another room, then we will have to cancel your booking. In this instance, we’ll provide a 100% accommodation credit for use by 31 October 2022. The credit will be available for the person whose room in unavailable and his/her partner and dependent children.
Cancelled flights are subject to Qantas cancellation conditions and fees, and are outside of our control. We won’t pay any fees, charges or additional fares in relation to cancelled flights. Sorry! We encourage you to book refundable airfares.