Quarantine services: Hotels & Motels Association urges govt to increase rates

The representatives of Hotels and Motels Association have urged the government to increase rates for the quarantine services.

They made this request to the government after having a meeting with Muhammad Ahmed Waheed, president, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI).

The owners of three star and four star hotels of Islamabad/Rawalpindi and the Northern Areas said that hotels were extending their full cooperation to the government for making stay arrangements for the passengers coming from various countries, and stressed that the government should revise their current room rates fixed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as those were not feasible to run the affairs of the hotels.

Muhammad Akram Farid, president, Hotels and Motels Association Islamabad /Rawalpindi and Northern Areas said that three-star and four-star hotels in Islamabad were fully cooperating with the government in handling passengers coming from various countries, and were contributing their share in controlling the spread of the coronavirus, and the government should take immediate action to address the issues of the hotels.

He appealed to the administration to cooperate with hotels by revising their current fixed room rates on urgent basis.

He said the staff of hotels was providing regular services to passengers 24/7, but was also facing great risk as any coronavirus infected passenger could infect them as well.

He urged that in case any overseas passenger was tested positive for the Covid-19, he should immediately be shifted from hotel to hospital to save other passengers and hotel staff from infection.

He further demanded that government should abolish all taxes on the current income of hotels and give that tax exemption till the time the coronavirus issue is finally over.

Muhammad Ahmed Waheed said the cooperation of three-star/four-star hotels with the government for providing stay to overseas passengers in this difficult time was laudable.

However, he stressed that the government should increase room rate charges a minimum up to Rs8000 per night so that hotels might not suffer losses.

He said that to provide all required services to the passengers coming from various countries, all departments of hotels were operational due to which they had to pay staff salaries and pay utility bills.

However, it is not possible for hotels to meet their minimum expenses at the current charges being paid by the government.

He said that due to the coronavirus, stay of overseas passengers in hotels could prolong for many months, and urged that the government should engage hotel owners in dialogue to revise their rates in order to save them from further loss in business.