Quarantine period cut short, hotels told to refund 7-day fare to returnees

NEWDELHI: Following complaints that some hotels, used as temporary quarantine centres, were not refunding seven-day advance money to travellers from outside the country once the Centre cut down the institutional quarantine period from 14 days to seven, the union home ministry has written to chief secretaries of all states to intervene.

In a letter on Tuesday, union home secretary Ajay Bhalla instructed chief secretaries of all states to ensure that the hotels process refunds without any delay. On Sunday, the ministry had revised its guidelines to cut short the mandatory institutional quarantine for passengers arriving from abroad on flights operated under the Vande Bharat mission—a massive repatriation exercise being conducted by the government —to seven days from the earlier 14-day period.

According to the revised advisory, people could choose to spend the second week of quarantine at their homes. But the ministry received complaints that several hotels had already charged 14-day rent from guests and were refusing to return a week’s advance rent.

Earlier, guidelines on May 5 had mandated a 14-day institutional quarantine followed by 14 days’ isolation at home for all the returnees. Despite the latest SOPs, several hotels are not returning the seven-day fare to passengers who arrived before the Sunday guidelines.

Bhalla wrote, “It has been brought to the notice of MHA that Indian nationals who were quarantined in hotels after their return from abroad were made to pay advance for 14 days. Since they can now leave for home quarantine after seven days, the amount paid by them for the remaining seven days needs to be refunded to them, which some hotels are refusing to refund.”

The second phase of Vande Bharat will end on June 13.