HOTELS READY TO RESUME BUSINESS
But they are not expecting much business for now, says industry chief
HOTELS are ready to reopen their businesses following the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), which allows some economic sectors to resume starting tomorrow.
Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) chief executive officer Yap Lip Seng said the soft approach comprising the gradual relaxation of restrictions was needed to prepare the tourism industry to “live with the new norms”.
“Hotels will not expect much business at this point in time, but we are looking forward to cater to sectors that are operating as they will need accommodation for their business-related needs.”
He said allowing hotels to operate was within the restrictions under the MCO, even though leisure travel activities were prohibited.
Based on the CMCO guidelines provided by the National Security Council (NSC), hotels are allowed to accommodate guests from important services, such as the oil and gas sector, the production sector with contractual terms with hotels and other government-approved sectors, such as frontliners.
Any sector and activity involving mass gatherings or bodily contact, or in environments where social distancing policies cannot be implemented are not allowed.
“We have prepared the guidelines even before the (government’s) announcement, which are based on the best practices and recommendations from experts all over the world, as well as hoteliers from other affected countries. These are updated accordingly based on the information released by NSC yesterday,” he said, adding that the guidelines had been circulated to hotels nationwide.
He said although hotel food and beverage (F&B) outlets were allowed to operate during the CMCO, hotels generally were not expecting much business for the outlets for now.
Yap said during the CMCO, hotel F&B outlets could offer à la carte dining, takeaways and food delivery, but Ramadan buffets were not allowed.
“Based on our recent survey, we are expecting an average occupancy of less than 10 per cent this month, approximately 16 per cent for June, and hopefully 20 per cent in July,” said Yap, adding that the average occupancy for the year would likely be around 25 per cent.
He added that as long as the MCO was in force and travel restrictions were in place, the projection for 2020 remained low.
“Hotels are struggling to stay afloat, burdened with high overhead and payroll costs with little or no revenue, and further challenged with a bleak outlook for the rest of the year.”
He said a reasonable recovery was expected only in the middle of next year and hotels were already planning ahead to survive this period by minimising losses.
Poto Travel and Tours founder and chief executive officer Ab Rahman Mohd Ali said it was too early for the implementation of the CMCO.
“The standard operating procedures (SOP) are still vague, especially for the tourism sector,” he said, adding that there was no rush for tour operators to get things rolling during the CMCO period.
He said since the CMCO offered limited movement with no interstate travel, there would be drawbacks for tour operators to restart operations.
“It would be a danger to the tourism industry if there was any violation to the SOP, which could lead to the pandemic striking again. It will probably take a longer time to control things if this were to happen.”
He said such a situation could upset the trust and confidence of domestic and foreign travellers.
Rahman said the tourism industry would be one of the last sectors to recover after the pandemic was over, especially for inbound and outbound travels.
“The risk of reopening the tourism sector in this country is immense at this period. I’m predicting that the industry will regain its performance by the end of the second quarter of 2021.”
By contrast, he said, domestic tourism was expected to reboot earlier in July and hopefully reach its peak by year’s end.
In George Town, state Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin urged hoteliers to adhere to conditions under the CMCO.
“It is critical to comply with the SOP by the NSC, which will be imposed on the premises, including regular sanitisation and cleaning of common areas as per the SOP,” he said yesterday.
“Hotel operators need a guideline of dos and don’ts to be placed at strategic points in hotels as a reference for guests and staff members. It is also very important for hoteliers to record information of staff, guests and all visitors as required by the SOP.”
Yeoh said every small effort went a long way in the fight against Covid-19.
“Even with the implementation of the CMCO, I want to remind everyone to remain vigilant with the precautionary measures as efforts are ongoing to contain the outbreak in Penang and the country.”