Many small businesses (but not all) are welcoming visitors
Visit Lindsborg this summer
or this weekend,
but keep in mind that
it's not quite the same.
Lindsborg Vacation Rentals have welcomed
three couples and families this week alone
(individuals are always welcome too)
Visitors from out-of-state, a couple celebrating their anniversary and former guests have stayed with us. They appreciate our enhanced cleaning, called QCD Protocol, which gives peace-of-mind to our guests and our cleaning staff.
Most small businesses are open, but some are closed
Lindsborg's coffee shops and retail stores are open, but not every day. But small business owners, such as Hemslojd, are opening carefully. If a shop appears to be closed, simply call them and ask if they would be willing to open just for you. Lindsborg is a small town - it's who we are and what we do.
Recently a couple of art galleries closed permanently: Courtyard Gallery and Hands of Time.
But local museums are open. Enjoy original artwork at the Sandzen Gallery. Take a drive to Hutchinson to the Kansas Cosmosphere to see the largest collection of American and Russian space memorabilia outside of the Smithsonian, including the Apollo 13 capsule: Odyssey.
If you're looking to dine in a restaurant, please adjust your expectations. The Swedish Crown and Farley's are closed for now. But grab-and-go options are available at Blacksmith Coffee, The White Peacock, Ol' Stuga, Jalisco's, China, Subway and Pizza Hut. Yes, we know this isn't ideal. More options can be found in nearby Salina.
The properties at Lindsborg Vacation Rentals have their own kitchens, so guests can make their own meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks - even a picnic at Coronado Heights or a local park. Be sure to stop by Scott's Hometown Foods for your supplies and Swedish delicacies.
At Lindsborg Vacation Rentals, our priority is to provide comfort, safety and peace-of-mind for our guests and professional cleaning staff. We have combined the best practices recommended by leaders in the vacation rental community to create our QCD Protocol.
Quarantine: After guests check out of a property, it will sit untouched for three full days. Clean: Our cleaning staff will perform their cleaning procedures, taking about 3 hours. Disinfect: Every surface the could have been touched by guests will be treated with a Lysol-equivalent disinfectant.
Please review the four-minute video below to learn more.
Holly Lofton, Lindsborg CVB, interviews Tisha Beckman, Property Manager about our new cleaning procedures. Many thanks for Jim Richardson, National Geographic photographer, for filming and editing. Enjoy his daily "Scotland Fix" on Instagram!
Road Trip / QCD Protocol / A Plan to Reopen Kansas
We're ready when you are!
We know that travel is a luxury, not a necessity. Right now, many of us have much higher priorities: putting food on the table, paying the rent or mortgage, keeping up on the bills and putting aside some money for emergencies.
As spring turns into summer, we believe that travelers will rediscover road trips. Lindsborg has been, and will always be, a welcoming destination. When you feel comfortable and confident to venture out, please remember us.
After guests check out of a property, it will go under quarantine, staying vacant for three days. Our professional cleaning staff, wearing masks and gloves, will clean and launder for up to three hours as they always have. They will then disinfect with a Lysol-equivalent germicide. These enhanced cleaning procedures will help provide comfort, safety and peace-of-mind for our cleaning staff and our valued guests.
Some important information to know before traveling
Here is a map of the United States showing the impact of Coronavirus that can be searched by STATE and COUNTY - these can be found on in the upper right corner.
On April 30, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly released Ad Astra: A Plan to Reopen Kansas, a three-phase plan that allows each country to implement a "safer at home" policy.
Be sure to check the Travel-Related Quarantine Guidelines if you're traveling from one of eight US states, five foreign countries and if you took a cruise.
As travelers begin to consider where they might like to travel, Adam Sacks, president of the consulting firm Tourism Economics, stated (WSJ on April 24):
(I expect) people will travel domestically, much more than internationally, choose places they can drive to instead of flying, take shorter, less expensive trips and opt for second homes and rental properties over hotels.
By early May, Lindsborg Vacation and Executive Rentals will announce our QCD protocol to assure our guests. After each guests checks out, the property will sit in quarantine for three days to ensure that the Coronavirus has dissipated. Then our professional cleaning staff will clean every surface and launder all towels and sheets, taking up to 3 hours. Then they will disinfect all surfaces that may have been touched by guests. With this QCD protocol, all of our guests should feel comfortable staying at our studio apartments and detached homes.
Yes! Lindsborg Vacation and Executive Rentals are still open!
However……starting Tuesday, April 7th through Sunday, May 3rdour properties will not be available for guests, out of an abundance of caution.
Several guests were looking forward to stay at our vacation rentals in March and April. As the COVID-19 pandemic grew, so did their concerns. When asked, we cancelled their reservations and returned 100% of their deposits. It was simply the right thing to do.
Given the current stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions, everyone from out-of-state would have to self-quarantine for 14 days in one of our properties. While we would love to help, we simply aren't set up right now to host those who may be unknowingly carrying the virus.
We are taking this time to enhance our two-hour-long cleaning procedures, to improve our outreach to Lindsborg's small businesses and to refresh our marketing.
As we make these important changes, we fully understand that you have much higher priorities: putting food on the table, paying the rent or mortgage, finding ways to keep up on the bills and putting aside some money for emergencies.
Lindsborg Vacation and Executive Rentals know that travel is a luxury, not a necessity. When you feel comfortable and confident to venture out, please remember us.
We believe that travelers worldwide will rediscover road trips – Lindsborg has been, and will always be, a welcoming destination.
If you would like to stay with us after concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic subside, please contact us lindsborgvacationrentals@gmail.com or 855-872-3487.
Lindsborg Vacation Rentals: Our Response to COVID-19
COVID-19 (coronavirus) and Travel
Now What?
We have received so many emails recently about COVID-19. From our bank to our favorite local restaurant chain, they are thoughtfully sharing their response, concern and best practices to the coronavirus.
Because you have stayed with Lindsborg Vacation Rentals, we want to let you know that this outbreak is affecting us too, while assuring you that our high-quality properties are awaiting your arrival, whenever you choose to visit.
As a guest with a confirmed reservation or one who is considering staying with us, we're sure you're having conversations about what to do. Should you cancel your trip or not? Should you book a "home away from home" when asked to "shelter in place"?
We at Lindsborg Vacation Rentals believe that facts conquer fear, so that all of us can make informed decisions.
The most up-to-date information comes from the Centers for Disease Control "CDC" and the World Health Organization "WHO".
The Centers for Disease Control has recently stated:
"For most people in most locations the risk of catching COVID-19 is still low. However, there are now places around the world (cities or areas) where the disease is spreading. For people living in, or visiting, these areas the risk of catching COVID-19 is higher. Governments and health authorities are taking vigorous action every time a new case of COVID-19 is identified. Be sure to comply with any local restrictions on travel, movement or large gatherings. Cooperating with disease control efforts will reduce your risk of catching or spreading COVID-19…COVID-19 outbreaks can be contained and transmission stopped, as has been shown in China and some other countries."
There are a small handful of COVID-19 in the state of Kansas, but none in central Kansas.
Keeping things in perspective - It has been two months since the disease appeared in the United States. As of March 16, there are 4,093 cases reported and only 69 deaths. Yes, the lack of adequate testing has caused under-reporting of people infected, but not the number of victims of COVID-19 is accurate.
And yes, the numbers will grow exponentially in the coming weeks, there is no doubt about that. However, we encourage you to really think about these numbers.
During the 2017 - 2018 flu season, over 1,500 people died every week for a total of over 60,000 deaths. There were no travel restrictions, no alarm, and most Americans didn't notice the death toll. During the 2018 - 2019 flu season, 34,000 people died.
Unprecedented measures have been taken to limit the spread.
An incredible number of sporting events, concerts, festivals…etc., have been canceled or postponed. In larger cities, restaurants and bars will be closed for eight weeks. All of these measures are to prevent large gatherings and limit the spread of COVID-19. Most recently Lindsborg's Friday Night Art Walk was cancelled as the request of the Lindsborg Community Hospital, partnered with the Salina Regional Health Center.
Most recently, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment recommended self-quarantine for travelers returning from California, New York, Washington State and international locations, as well as individuals who were on a cruise ship. Anyone who has visited Eagle, Summit, Pitkin and Gunnison counties in Colorado within the past week or in the future also should stay at home.
There is nothing safer than staying in your own home and not going outside. However, as you continue to enjoy your life, staying at one of our properties with your healthy friends is one of the safest vacations you can take.
Our top priority is to ensure that guests continue to stay in our properties, without fear or apprehension.
We take pride in the cleanliness of our homes. Since our inception, every property is professionally and scrupulously cleaned and disinfected for at least two hours after guests depart. You can literally rest assured that your vacation rental is as clean as it can be.
We ask our future and former guests to review our cancellation policy here:
If Guest(s) wishes to cancel his/her reservation, the deposit will be refunded as follows:
100% if canceled 30 days or more prior to Check-in
50% if canceled 15-29 days prior to Check-in
If guest(s) wishes to cancel his/her reservation 14 DAYS or LESS before Check-in Date, the lease payment will be forfeited, but the damage deposit and cleaning fee will be refunded if the guest(s) cancels his/her reservation prior to Check-In Date.
Insurance: The Owner strongly encourages the Guest(s) mitigate the potential loss of payment by purchasing optional Travel Insurance offered by a third-party provider such as https://www.squaremouth.com.
Another way to look at traveling during COVID-19 is this:
Follow the advice of the experts in your city and state.
Stay home with your family and loved ones.
Be sure reach out with love and care to your neighbors, friends and to people who you may not yet know.
But if you would like a quick getaway, please come stay with us.
But only if you're feeling well and if you are 100% confident that you will keep your reservation and not change your plans.
One way is to book just a small handful of days before you want to arrive. Our website allows for our guests select their check-in and check out dates to see which properties are available.
This situation is the most challenging we have faced in twelve years of operating vacation rentals. We have always done our best to treat guests like family, to have integrity, and to do the right thing. Our business has thrived because of that. We value you, our loyal guests, and no crisis will change us or our ethics.
Obviously this is an ever-changing situation and our policy will evolve. Our team members are people of faith and trust that this too shall pass. Please let us know if we can help you in any way. Email is the best way to communicate right now: lindsborgvacationrentals@gmail.com or 855-872-3487.
Thank you again for being delighted guests and loyal customers.
Coronavirus - Real-time data through Johns Hopkins
Coronavirus: Facts (not Fear).
A great friend from college spent his career providing counseling to missionary families in Asia, primarily Taiwan. Like me, he prefers to know the facts instead of being persuaded by fears that may be ungrounded.
Here is a link to Johns Hopkins' website with a world-wide map and data that is updated (see the lower left corner to see when the latest information was posted). Coronavirus COVID-19
While some may hesitate traveling, please consider visiting Lindsborg for its 10th Annual Våffeldagen on Saturday, March 21st!
What are the top 20 small towns to visit in 2020? Well, there's Moab and Eureka Springs and Carmel-by-the Sea and...Lindsborg!
MSN Lifestyle published the following recently online:
Want to visit Sweden but can't swing a trip to Europe? Then plan a trip to Lindsborg, Kansas, which is the next best thing.
Also known as "Little Sweden, USA," the town was settled in the spring of 1869 by a group of Swedish immigrants from the Värmland province of Sweden.
Unlike many other immigrant-founded towns, Lindsborg has managed to hold onto its Swedish roots, especially during its many festivals throughout the year like Våffeldagen (international waffle day), Svensk Hyllningsfest (a festival celebrating Swedish culture) and Millfest.
Make the time to visit the 1904 Swedish Pavilion, which was moved to Lindsborg after the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
Live out your childhood dollhouse fantasies at the Rosberg House, a beautiful Victorian Queen Anne home built in 1885 that now operates as a bed and breakfast (and Lindsborg Vacation Rentals, of course!).
When guests #bookdirect, they save $$$!
Here's why!
When guests book on large vacation rental websites like Airbnb, VRBO and TripAdvisor, they are paying substantial fees to use these sites.
Many of the best homes are not listed on these third-party websites. Lindsborg Vacation Rentals is listed on Airbnb, but has its own website.
We know the properties and the area better than anyone and can better match guests to our apartments and homes so our guests have better vacation experiences.
Guests can find out about special offers that cannot be found on the big websites.
Because we own these properties, we can better help guests optimize dates and budgets to fit their needs.
Guests with special needs and requests can work directly with us in a much more personalized way to guarantee an amazing vacation for their family or group.
