Cebu hotels offer rooms as private isolation units

CEBU, Philippines —   Some hotel rooms in Cebu are now converted to private isolation rooms, to make use of idle accommodation facilities.

In an interview with HRRAC president Alfred Reyes yesterday, he said more hotel properties have committed to offer their rooms as isolation facilities to provide patients alternative choice for isolation accommodation, aside from the government-managed facilities.

For this particular program, HRRAC and individual hotel management are closely working with the Department of Health (DOH) in making sure that hotels’ staff remain safe while accepting asymptomatic COVID-19 positive patients, Reyes clarified.

Based on initial meetings with hotel owners and decision makers, Reyes said most hotels are open to committing part of their accommodation portfolio to house asymptomatic COVID-19 positive individuals.

So far, there are three hotel properties with over 100 rooms combined, which are accepting guests for isolation. More rooms will be added in the coming days, Reyes added.

Another 200 to 300 hotel rooms will be added in the next few days, as soon as proper coordination and safety protocol administered by DOH will be in place.

Depending on the category of the hotel, per day charge would range from P2,500 to P5,000 with corresponding packages, probably food, access to fast internet connection, among others.

This move was strongly pursued by hoteliers to sustain their business amid very low room revenues since the onset of the pandemic.

According to Reyes, this business diversion is seen to help hotels retain their workers, instead of streamlining them.

He said there are individuals, especially those who can afford, and prioritize comfort who are willing to invest for a hotel isolation option.