THREE hotels located in the tri-cities of Cebu have been converted into isolation hotels, the Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu (HRRAC) said.
Alfred Reyes, the new president of HRRAC, said this would complement the current inventory of quarantine hotels servicing returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
These isolation hotels will cater specifically to Covid-19 positive patients who have no symptoms. The quarantine hotels, on the other hand, are for international passengers who are swabbed upon arrival in Cebu and while waiting for their results, are required to stay in a hotel.
Reyes said the hotels are under the strict monitoring of the Department of Health. Safety protocols inside the isolation hotels are like the ones implemented in hospitals.
Reyes said two of the hotels are either one-star or two-star while the third one is a three- or four-star accommodation.
Rates per night in an isolation hotel range from P1,500 to P4,800 inclusive of breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“They (guests) have to pay it from their own pockets since this is a private establishment,” he said.
At present, there are about 25 transiting and quarantine hotels for ROFs and OFWs with a total bed capacity of 1,192. Of the 25, 10 of the quarantine hotels are in Cebu City while the rest are located in Lapu-Lapu City.
Cebu City-based quarantine hotels have a total of 706 beds while the Lapu-Lapu City hotels allocated 486 beds.
Reyes said the Department of Tourism has since issued an administrative order allowing hotels and resorts to operate under general community quarantine (GCQ) or modified GCQ either as quarantine or staycation facilities.
“There are 25 hotels and resorts that opted to be quarantine hotels, ranging from one star to four stars. In the staycation category, the majority of the members are from three- to five-star hotels,” he said.
Since foreign and domestic flights coming to Cebu are very limited, occupancy for staycation hotels stands only at five to 30 percent while quarantine hotels are averaging from 40 to 80 percent occupancy.
“We have to remember that this is depending on the inventory of the hotel and resort. Majority of the quarantine hotels are 99 rooms and below, whereas in staycation hotels, it’s a bigger inventory ranging from 100 and above. Occupancy has dropped dramatically compared to 2019,” he said.
Reyes said they are already collaborating with the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu as well as Cebu Province to spur local tourism.
“Things have been tough, but hotels are doing what they can to lure people, trying their best to make sure they’re still open, to make sure people still keep their jobs,” he said. (JOB)