Thai hotel association seeks reopening, funds
The Thai Hotel Association has demanded that the government reopen the country to foreigners, especially since occupancy in hotels is almost zero, with some small operators being forced to close up. The association’s chairman said the government should consider specific countries or cities and come up with promotions to bring back tourists. She added that operators in the tourism sector were also finding it difficult to take loans, and called on the government to set up a fund to assist.
Asia-Pacific leads industry in monthly strides
Global regions continue to accrue negative months of profitability, with Asia-Pacific the exception, after two consecutive months of positive gross operating profit per available room (GOPPAR), according to July profit and loss data from HotStats. And though global performance data is still well off from the year prior, monthly strides are being made in most key performance metrics. As COVID-19 continues, hotels, especially in downtown urban markets, find themselves in a waiting game. Meanwhile, properties in secondary, tertiary and resort markets have found some success.
The ‘Qatar Clean’ program
The Qatar National Tourism Council launched the “Qatar Clean” program in hotels across the country to reassure international visitors. The multi-phased program, created in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health, was rolled out in May and June this year for phase one of Qatar’s reopening plan. Hotels that meet the requirements are then certified “Qatar Clean.” Since its introduction, nearly 100 hotels have been certified, with more being reviewed.
What frequent travelers want
A new national survey commissioned by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) shows that a number of improvements to health and sanitation protocol at U.S. hotels would have considerable impact on the comfort levels of guests staying there. The top three priorities among frequent travelers staying in hotels during the pandemic are: face coverings for employees (87%, a lot/some impact) and guests (85%), suspending daily housekeeping of rooms (86%), and utilizing technology to reduce direct contact (85%).
