Hotels turn quarantine centres to stay afloat
NEW DELHI : The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic has battered the travel and hospitality industry, forcing hotels to shut down across the world, but some of them have adopted a model to stay in business – accommodate guests who need to quarantine themselves.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal earlier this month announced that hotels were earmarked to be turned into quarantine facilities in the national capital. In the Capital, five hotels – Red Fox, IBIS, Aloft, Holiday Inn and Pride Plaza — are catering to guests with some key adjustments. Located close to the international airport, they have set aside entries and lifts for those being quarantined.
The quarantined people are being kept on dedicated floors and only designated staffers are tending them. The Aerocity hotels also have round-theclock medical teams and a separate waste management team in place.
From just three occupants on the first day, the three hotels now have more than 602 people using the quarantine facility, officials said on Wednesday. Those quarantined are using 492 rooms, records with the city’s revenue department showed.
The government arranged 182 hotel rooms initially. “But, the occupancy really picked up on day three, and four. Gauging this, we arranged for a total of 525 rooms in Aerocity. Out of this, 385 are single rooms and 107 are double rooms. This is now the largest quarantine facility (paid or unpaid) in the country, beating the facility available in Jaisalmer, where about 500 people can be accommodated,” said Tanvi Garg, district magistrate (New Delhi).
The three hotels, on orders from the Delhi government, are offering rooms for “Category B” or “moderate risk” (an asymptomatic passenger coming from a Covid-19 affected country and/ or having other diseases and/or over 60 years of age) passengers at a flat rate of ₹3,100 (plus taxes) each per day. The package includes breakfast, lunch and dinner; two bottles of mineral
FOOD IS BEING GIVEN ONLY IN DISPOSABLE PLATES AND CLOTHES OF THE QUARANTINED GUESTS AT THE HOTELS ARE BEING LAUNDERED SEPARATELY
water per day; tea and coffee and facilities such as WiFi and TV.
Wednesday was 27-year-old Sudipto Chakraborty’s third day in quarantine at one of the hotels. “The arrangements are good. The food is delicious, except that it is sometimes delayed – like today. They keep it outside the room on the floor,” Chakraborty, who returned from Miami in the US on March 22, told HT over the phone.
Food is being given only in disposable plates and clothes of the quarantined guests are being laundered separately. “But, there is no clarity if the cost also includes laundry service. My 14-day quarantine ends on April 5, but I might have to stay longer since there is no way I can go to my hometown under the lockdown,” he said.
While every hotel has a medical team, comprising doctors from the Delhi government and the civic agencies, a clinical psychologist has also been deployed. The teams operate in three shifts to ensure 24-hour presence.
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, too, has ordered hotel quarantines. “The government will make hotel rooms available at lower tariff if someone is willing to pay to get quarantined,” he said.
Amid global fears of recession, the move is acting as a much-needed source of revenue, with some hotels also offering luxury packages. A hotel in Switzerland is offering quarantine facilities, including a $500 Covid-19 test.
“In the beginning of March, revenues dropped significantly,” Alexander Hübner, co-founder and chief executive of Le Bijou Hotel & Resort Management AG, told The Wall Street Journal.
With the Covid-19 packages, however, the revenue slide has slowed. In the Swiss hotel, according to WSJ, in-room treatments can be purchased a la carte: Covid-19 testing is available for about $500, twicedaily nurse check-in for about $1,800, and the round-the-clock nurse care for about $4,800.
DK Aggarwal, president, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “This extended assistance to the government by the hospitality sector will go long way in containing the spread of Covid-19.”
Dr Shankar Narang, COO Paras Healthcare, said: “At this time of crisis, the country requires quarantine facilities in large numbers. Hotels can be ideal for that. Some hoteliers have already offered their facilities for this great cause.”