Forget ringing down to reception or those beloved buffet breakfasts - changes to hotels are likely to be significant when they open their doors again next month.

If current relaxation of lockdown regulations continue as planned, guests should be able to stay in rooms from Saturday July 4.

But expect plenty of changes.

Rooms won't be cleaned every day of your stay and meals will likely be left outside your bedroom door.

Daniel Sangiuseppe is director of Castlewood Hotels, a family-run firm which operates the Burlington Hotel in Folkestone and Abbots Barton in Canterbury under the Best Western brand.

His teams are running through a host of steps to ensure customer and staff safety - but admits it will be a different experience.

"It's all about limiting physical contact," he explained.

"We'll have online check-in and check-out, there will be plexi-glass screens at reception and lobby computers will be removed.

"We're looking at using What's App to contact guests at the hotel and we'll use that rather than getting them to use the phones in their bedroom.

"When it comes to food and drink, we're looking at limiting menus.

"We know we can't do buffets for the foreseeable future, so the big breakfast buffets are out of the picture but we could do a carvery behind a screen so it can be served.

"While we're waiting for that information from the government, we're working on a grab and go breakfast, or a room service option where staff will bring food to a room, knock on the door and leave it outside on the floor. The customer then eats in their room and afterwards let us know they're finished, leaves it outside and we collect it.

"In the bedroom area, non-fixed decorative elements like scatter cushions, or throws, will be removed. Pens will be removed and we'll be replacing our mugs and glasses for disposable ones."

He was speaking during a webinar for the tourism and hospitality industry hosted this week by the Federation of Small Businesses.

He adds Best Western has decided rooms will not be serviced for those staying more than one night - unless requested by customers - and rooms will only be entered by staff on check-out.

"There's a big long list of deep cleaning required every time a guest checks out," he adds, "like wiping down the remote controls and the phones and other touch point areas."

Even toilets in public areas present challenges. Hand dryers will be disconnected and replaced by disposable hand towels while swimming pools are closed for the foreseeable future and the use of lifts limited.

To add to the financial headaches, hotels are also facing fundamental shifts in core areas of their trade.

Groups arriving on coaches are unlikely to return any time soon, while a question mark continues to hang over whether the normally lucrative Christmas party market will emerge unscathed.

It is estimated one in 10 people in the county are employed in the hospitality or tourism sector - which in turn generates close to £4billion a year for the local economy.

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