As quarantine measures ease for more travellers, hotels serving as isolation facilities adapt

REOPENING AND TOURISM RECOVERY

The five-star Westin Singapore, which only houses guests on stay-home notice, told CNA that “well-calibrated, gradual” opening plans will allow the hotel to reopen in the near future and accept other bookings.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts, which runs properties such as Grand Copthorne Waterfront, Orchard Hotel and M Hotel, said dedicated facilities are still needed for travellers who cannot serve their quarantine at home.

This includes those with recent travel history to Category IV countries, such as Bangladesh and India, as well as other travellers who do not have a suitable place of residence to serve their stay-home notice.

The group has six hotels in Singapore, and four are being used as SDFs.

The Singapore Hotel Association, which represents 160 hotels, also said that the gradual reopening of Singapore’s borders “signals a positive step towards tourism recovery and good cause for optimism in 2022”.

International tourism contributed more than 90 per cent of hotel revenue in Singapore before the pandemic, said the association’s president Kwee Wei-Lin.

“While Singaporean residents and permit holders may choose to serve (their stay-home notice) at home, most transient international travellers will continue to seek hospitality services that Singapore is renowned for.”

DOES THE VTL SCHEME CHANGE THE GAME?

Earlier this month, Singapore also announced it would lift quarantine restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers from more countries under the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) scheme, such as South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Under the scheme, vaccinated travellers can enjoy quarantine-free travel between Singapore and 11 countries. 

Mr Kevin Wee, a senior lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Business Management, said the VTL scheme is an important step towards the “normalisation” of travel.

“The numbers approved for VTL have been encouraging, with more than 2,000 on the first day of VTL applications – though more were longer-term travellers. However, VTLs cover both short-term tourists and longer-term travellers. The latter might not stay in hotels,” he said.

“VTLs will re-energise hotels, as they now have the opportunity to re-activate their procedures, systems and protocols to prepare to welcome international travellers.”

But it will take some time before visitor numbers recover to a level that leads to a meaningful improvement in hotel occupancy or to pre-COVID-19 figures, Mr Wee added.

The move away from stay-home notices for travellers will also give hotel staff “a bit of a morale booster”, as they have been juggling multiple roles during the pandemic, Mr Wee said.

“The return to normalcy (or the semblance of which) will definitely be welcomed by the industry, and I believe these face-to-face interactions with tourists will refresh and rejuvenate hospitality staff.”