Drive-in hotels still reeling from pandemic's impact, but Victoria Court says all health protocols in place

THE multibillion-peso drive in the hotel industry has been one of the hardest hit industries by the Covid 19 pandemic, affecting thousands of employees who have lost their jobs, on prolonged temporary lay-offs, or working under drastically reduced weekly working schedule.

This does not even include yet the different suppliers of the industry in various areas and whose businesses have also taken a big hit.

Even as the Department of Tourism, with the concurrence of the Interagency Task Force for emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has already allowed the reopening of hotels under limited conditions, drive-in hotels have yet to receive a go- signal to resume full operations except for long term clients.

The fact is, drive-in hotels can observe even stricter regulations by the very nature of its operating systems including check-in procedures and housekeeping protocols for the utmost protection of its guests.

Victoria Court Group, one of the leading players in the industry, shared how they ensure the health and safety both of their employees and guests, from pre check in all the way to post check out, including food ordering.

"We have very limited contact with guests; for one, we do not have lobbies or elevators where they can get exposed. Guests have their own garages, they simply accomplish the health declaration forms on line, their temperatures are taken, with social distancing observed at all times, then are immediately directed to their rooms." explained VC Chief Operating Officer Sam Pineda.

He added that all their rooms are sanitized after use by UV lights with all critical areas and items like the telephones, tables, door knobs, menu lists, mini refs, jacuzzi, slippers, and toilets cleaned, dried, and sanitized, and "all the rooms have their own automatic alcohol dispensers while our cleaners wear complete PPE'S ."

Used linens are placed in individual plastic bags, wrapped, then brought to the dirty linen area for spraying with disinfectants, left for 24 hours and then are picked up by the laundry contractor.

When it comes to food orders, disposable food containers are used for safety. Upon checking out, guests just have to scan the QR codes inside the rooms with the option of paying on-line via G-cash, coins.ph, grab pay, and other E-wallets like we chat, ali-pay, pay maya, even bank transfers and credit or debit cards to minimize further contacts.

"We believe that with all these safety measures and health protocols being strictly observed, perhaps it is time for the DOT to re-evaluate its assessment of drive-in hotels. On our side, we are fully committed to cooperate with the government agencies concerned on any additional requirements if given the clearance to resume full operations, "concluded Pineda.