Good News as RIAC 24/7 Car Parking & Valet Service Returns this Week

I am delighted to confirm that RIAC Car Parking has been operating successfully and is back to 24/7 opening hours from Monday 22nd June 2020. Our famed Valet Service will return from Tuesday, 23rd June.  

For now, our car park facilities and the toilet area are available for member use, while we intend to re-open the restaurant on the 29th June when we enter phase 3 of the Government Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business. We will communicate more on this later in the week.

While we would ideally like to keep things as normal as possible in the RIAC, we will have to make some changes to the way we operate for the safety of our members and staff. 

Over the last number of weeks, we have been developing the ‘RIAC Member & Staff Safety Programme’ which includes the introduction of a wide range of protocols and systems to ensure, as best as possible, that our members have an enjoyable and safe return to the Club. 

Among many other measures, we have introduced new cleaning procedures for all touch surface areas and toilets to ensure they are cleaned several times throughout the day. New hand sanitiser units have also been installed at all entrances and exits.

Our staff are fully trained and have been piloting this new programme within the club to ensure it will be a success. The protocols that apply to you will equally apply to all our employees both front and back of house. 

RIAC Member & Staff Safety Programme Experience:
The most immediate effect of the Safety Programme for you as a member will be car parking, so please let me walk you through this process.  

When you arrive at the club, you will have the option of parking your own car or availing of our valet parking service. You will be greeted by one of our attendants who will be wearing PPE equipment for safety. Whatever option you choose, our staff will always observe a minimum two-meter distance from you.  

If you wish to park your own car, simply advise our attendant of this and you will be led to a car park space and directed into a parking bay. You will be asked to exit your car and retain your own keys until you choose to collect your car. 

If you decide to avail of valet parking, please advise the attendant who will request that you to stay in your car and open both front windows completely. You will be asked to keep your keys in the car for social distance reasons. You will then be asked several COVID-19 related questions including whether you have had any flu-like symptoms within the last 14 days, a Doctor has advised you to cocoon or self-isolate, or you coughed/sneezed in your car within the last 60 minutes. 

If all your answers are NO, then you can proceed to exit your vehicle once you have turned off all air conditioning and heating. 

If you answer YES to coughing/sneezing in your car but NO to all other questions, you will be asked to return in an hour having ventilated your car with four open windows (medical guidelines state that droplets take one hour to dissipate in a ventilated environment). 

If you answer YES to any question other than coughing/sneezing in your car, our attendants will ask that you exit the car park with your vehicle to protect the health and safety of our members and staff. 

Once you have been granted entry to the car park, the attendant will put on new gloves to apply a disposable seat cover and use anti-Bacterial wipes for your steering wheel, gear stick, hand brake and keys before parking your car. When you decide to collect your car, the attendant on duty will apply new gloves and a new disposable seat cover before bringing your car back to you. Your keys will be wiped clean using an anti-bacterial wipe and left in the ignition for you to exit the garage. 

While we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, I hope these new protocols and procedures will give you confidence that the safety of our members and staff is of paramount importance to us. 

Finally, I would like to restate my pleasure in welcoming you back to the RIAC and remind you that we will provide further safety information prior to re-opening the restaurant and club house. 

Kind regards,

Leo Hassett
CEO, RIAC