DOT approves 35 hotels that can host quarantine, non-quarantine guests
File photo shows the pool area of Grand Hyatt Manila. (Photo by Stella Arnaldo)
THE Department of Tourism (DOT) has approved a number of quarantine hotels to offer guest services even to non-quarantined guests.
As of June 15, there are 35 hotels that have been granted multiple-use status, of which 13 are in the National Capital Region, three are in Central Luzon, 18 are in Cebu, and one in Davao. A list provided by the DOT showed staycation hotels are included in the count, as they can allot quarantine rooms as well.
In the NCR, these hotels are Grand Hyatt Manila, Edsa Shangri-la, Sheraton Manila Bay, Shangri-la at the Fort, Marco Polo Hotel, Conrad Manila, Fairmont and Raffles Hotel, Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Seda BGC, The Bellevue Hotel, Diamond Hotel, Novotel Manila Araneta City, Citadines Bay City Manila. The first four are also certified as staycation hotels.
DOT Undersecretary for Legal Affairs Edwin R. Enrile clarified to the BusinessMirror, “For [multi-use hotels in] NCR, where we are still GCQ (general community quarantine), they still cannot accept leisure guests unless [they are certified] as staycation hotels.” There are 3,166 quarantine rooms available from these multi-use hotels in the NCR, and 2,661 rooms for non-quarantine guests.
Biz guests, social events
According to DOT Administrative Order No. 2021-004 dated May 12, 2021 and signed by Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat, aside from the usual individuals required to undergo mandatory quarantine, multi-use hotels are also allowed to accept “business guests and participants in essential meetings and social meetings and social events as defined as regulated by the DOT and Department of Health.”
Asked how the DOT can ensure there would be no co-mingling of quarantine and non-quarantine guests, and business guests will not bring their families for leisure stays, Enrile acknowledged, “Of course, we won’t be able to continually monitor them, but we expect that hotels will follow rules on guests at least during check-in.”
He also underscored, the agency is keeping a close watch on properties that have already violated DOT regulations on health and safety protocols in the past when they were just quarantine hotels.
Earlier, Romulo Puyat had been adamant about not allowing quarantine hotels to accept non-quarantine guests, citing medical experts that Covid-19 infections may rise as there are no guarantees the guests won’t mingle with each other.
Read more: Business Mirror