Hong Kong News
Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Saturday, Feb 22, 2025
Real, Diverse, Unbiased.
Industry fears business decline as designated quarantine hotels back to normal operations
Government-designated quarantine hotels have resumed regular services as the entry quarantine measures relaxed to the "0+3" format on Monday. The industry was concerned that business income might continue to drop by 20 percent.
Chan Wun-yin, the association manager at the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, claimed in a radio programme today that the eased arrangement showed little attraction to inbound travellers while most Hongkongers tend to chase oversea trips.
She added that the overall hotel room demand would drop sharply. She predicted the occupancy rate of hotels would remain low before the entry arrangement eased to "0+0", citing business travellers who were the main customers previously for quarantine hotels.
"Many hotels will offer promotions for accommodation or dining to maintain their turnover," Chan said.
The industry hoped the government would pay for the anticipated loss of the hotels as the contract of the quarantine hotel scheme - which was scheduled to end on October 31 - was ceased in advance.
According to the contract, the government will provide the remuneration for one month if the occupancy rate of hotels fails to reach 50 percent.
A clear timetable for removing isolation policies should be drawn up as soon as possible for the industry to prepare and recruit staff, said Chan. She added that a sudden relaxation to "0+0" will make it difficult for hotels to cope with a large number of visitors to Hong Kong.
On the first day of relaxed entry quarantine measures, the city logged 4,034 new Covid-19 patients, including 188 imported cases and 12 deaths on Monday.
She added that the overall hotel room demand would drop sharply. She predicted the occupancy rate of hotels would remain low before the entry arrangement eased to "0+0", citing business travellers who were the main customers previously for quarantine hotels.
"Many hotels will offer promotions for accommodation or dining to maintain their turnover," Chan said.
The industry hoped the government would pay for the anticipated loss of the hotels as the contract of the quarantine hotel scheme - which was scheduled to end on October 31 - was ceased in advance.
According to the contract, the government will provide the remuneration for one month if the occupancy rate of hotels fails to reach 50 percent.
A clear timetable for removing isolation policies should be drawn up as soon as possible for the industry to prepare and recruit staff, said Chan. She added that a sudden relaxation to "0+0" will make it difficult for hotels to cope with a large number of visitors to Hong Kong.
On the first day of relaxed entry quarantine measures, the city logged 4,034 new Covid-19 patients, including 188 imported cases and 12 deaths on Monday.
