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That the state pays for your stay in a hotel sounds like a utopian social dream, but here in 2020 this possibility is completely real. The dark side of this “offer” is that you will have to test positive for coronavirus.
The idea for the new measure, launched by the Minister of Tourism, Mariana Nikolova, foresees that quarantined families and sick patients will be housed in unoccupied hotels, instead of in field hospitals. And even beyond the first glance, this sounds like a logical proposition, one of the few measures that doesn’t immediately arouse a desire to make up jokes and taunts on the subject.
Of course, it is not a native invention, it is used successfully in Spain and Italy. There is a possibility that it will be successfully implemented in our country, if all the questions it inevitably raises are answered in advance.
The main thing is that it is mostly a measure of economic support to the tourism industry, and only then aimed at patients with COVID-19, although it saves them the cost of isolating themselves so as not to endanger their families, for example.
The hotels will not do it for charity, but will be paid for by the state.
It is clear that the hotel industry suffered damage in the summer. Tourism around the world collapsed in 2020 due to the virus and the closure of borders, so that our country’s hotels were at the mercy – and rather of the courage – of Bulgarian tourists. With the tightening of measures and the growth of suitcases, there is a considerable risk that this unpleasant trend will continue and affect the revenues of the branch also during the winter season.
Hotels have the resources (vacant rooms, much more comfortable and pleasant than field hospitals, and the state needs) places to house quarantined people. And this is where the interests of the two intertwine, as state money flows into hotels.
The devil is in the details, so the question is which hotels? Or rather whose hotels?
Will there be a selection of hotels, what will it be, what criteria will they have to meet? They are questions whose answers are important not only for the people who will be staying in these places.
The second point is whether the same hotel will accommodate both quarantined people and unique guests. If so, this raises a number of questions about the organization around accommodation and its control to prevent a person suffering from COVID-19 from infecting another visitor to the same hotel. The risk is not only the accommodation, but also the service of both groups of guests.
We know that in our country any measure can work in theory, but the problem comes when we come to the issue of control. And this is where the unknowns become many.
The aforementioned risk of transmitting the virus to the hotel itself will have many hotels wondering if they are willing to take the risk, especially as the accommodation of quarantined people can have a demotivating effect on other potential visitors to a hotel. The desire of hotel doors to comply with quarantine and the intention to isolate themselves will depend on how willing the state is to pay for it.
We would like to believe that there is no hotelier in Bulgaria who can try to win more from their quarantined guests by offering them “additional services”, but at their own expense and at higher prices.
Television: 5 cams per day. Internet – 10. Did you forget your hair dryer? About twenty, then we have to disinfect it …
The reality of “free sunbeds and umbrellas” by the sea teaches that the spirit of profit should not be underestimated.
And again, the idea is not bad, it will be bad to implement without clearing up all the ambiguities. Otherwise, there will be an overflow of financial resources from the State to a branch, without clearing all the possible risks and inconveniences for some of those involved.
The biggest controversy is not even related to the idea of self-isolation in hotels, and when you realize that in the situation of increasing cases of COVID-19, the Ministry of Tourism announced another initiative: winter sports for good Health.
In other words, “don’t hide from the virus, go skiing.” Why? So as not to delay the winter seasons. Otherwise, we will have to send Sofia’s patients to Borovets and Pamporovo, but locked in their rooms all day. And hardly anyone will be satisfied.
