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South China morning post
Coronavirus: Thousands of Hong Kong Hotel Bookings Disrupted by Government Decision to Designate Quarantine-Only Facilities
Thousands of hotel reservations for Hong Kong arrivals that need to undergo mandatory Covid-19 quarantine would have to be canceled or reorganized after the government dropped several popular properties off its list of designated facilities, industry experts say. service providers, and the government revealed on Friday an agreement to use 36 as quarantine facilities from December 22 to February 19 alone in a bid to halt the worsening of the fourth wave of Covid-19 infections. The list will not be able to receive regular guests, while those who are not on the list will have to stop accepting reservations for quarantine. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on great stories originating from China. Hotels represents a total of 12,132 regular rooms and suites available for quarantine, including at five-star properties like the Kerry Hotel in Hung Hom, WH ich previously did not allow guests to be quarantined, and the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Central, which It had only allowed selected guests to quarantine from lower-risk countries. The 1,001-room Four Points by Sheraton in Tung Chung, which was supposed to have its grand opening early next year, is also on the list. In an emailed response to the Post, the hotel said its facilities had passed an infection control inspection by the Department of Health and that its staff would adhere to relevant hygiene guidelines. “We look forward to reopening this property to guests and travelers in the future. , “it said.” In the meantime, we will continue to work closely with authorities. “In the meantime, some hospitality groups with experience handling quarantined guests were not selected. Ovolo Group, which has handled more than 1,500 travelers in quarantine of the United States, Britain, India and Singapore so far this year, he told the Post he was “disappointed” that most of his properties were not on the official list. The group said he had more than 8,000 nights of rooms reserved for quarantined stays between December and March 2021 that had to be canceled because Girish Jhunjhnuwala, founder and CEO of Ovolo Group, told the Post that the cancellations would result in a “substantial loss of revenue” for the hotel group, which had previously managed to capture the demand for quarantined accommodation. ” We will have to look for some kind of new business, because it has been difficult for us. We are surprised by this … government decision, because we had so many reservations [for] quarantined guests, “Jhunjhnuwala said. With more than 330 rooms in four hotels in Hong Kong, Ovolo Group’s occupancy rate was 78% in November, well above the industry average of around 50% during the pandemic. In-room fitness equipment, discounted laundry, and a special concierge service to help with errands, Ovolo’s pack was dubbed “The Queen of Quarantine” by the Tatler lifestyle media group. Hong Kong hotel quarantine measures too late for peak holiday arrivals? Matthew McKenzie, an Australian who has lived between Hong Kong and Shanghai for the past seven years, was among those struggling to find alternative accommodation for their family. -Your son was expected to return to Hong Kong from Britain at the end of January, and had booked his stay at Ovolo after reading positive reviews online. “I’m still in this shocked by the cancellation, to be brutally honest, “he said. . “I still can’t believe that the reservation I made two months ago is not being accepted.” Don’t let your guard down on coronavirus during the Lunar New Year, an expert warns McKenzie had tried to rebook his family’s quarantined stay at the Mojo Nomad in Aberdeen, the only Ovolo-owned property on the government-designated list. But the 79-room facility had already done so. She was concerned that she would not be able to find accommodation that would suit her young child’s needs, but Ovolo was not the only group to be snubbed. Silka’s three hotel properties under the Dorsett International Hospitality Group were also not on the designated list. Silka’s locations in Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Yau Ma Tei, with a total of 917 rooms between them, had been offering quarantined budget accommodation. since March. with rates as low as HK $ 5,180 (US $ 668) for the 14-day period. The Post has contacted Dorsett for comment. Michael Li Hon-shing, executive director of the Hong Kong Hotel Owners Federation, said on a radio show that the industry did not know what the government’s selection criteria had been, but understood that it had considered factors. such as, “if the hotel has experience in being used for quarantine in the past and the property’s air ventilation system.” The group of public housing blocks grows, Hong Kong registers 82 new cases of Covid-19 So far, he said, the budget options on the list, which represent about 80 percent of the total number of rooms, were receiving more bookings. . The service Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, who is responsible for coordinating the arrangement of the designated hotels, said on a radio show Monday that the 36 hotels chosen had until the end of the day to confirm whether they could start hosting guests in quarantine on Friday. Industry lawmaker Yiu Si-wing estimated that around 60 percent of reservations at designated quarantine hotels would go to operators in the HK $ 500 to HK $ 1,000 price range. plans to return to Hong Kong over the Christmas holidays, “Yiu said. Yiu played down concerns that hotels that did not previously handle quarantined guests would not be prepared to serve as designated facilities, noting that larger chains “They could easily move staff from other properties to help.” Health authorities are also in regular communication with hotels to make sure standards are in place. “More from the South China Morning Post: * Home for Christmas: Are Hong Kong’s hotel quarantine measures? Too late to peak holiday arrivals? * Hong Kong’s fourth wave: City views inbound traveler quota as a contingency for worsening coronavirus crisis * All arrivals except China will have to be quarantine in a hotel, says Hong Kong, as the city records 9 new cases of Covid-19 This article Coronavirus: Thousands of Hong Kong hotel reservations interrupted by the government’s decision to designate quarantine-only facilities appeared for the first time on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post, download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
