Practical challenges in making a hotel a hospital

Hotel owners say that an order has recently been implemented by the state government to extend the hospital service by hotels because of the increasing cases of coronavirus epidemic in New Delhi but doing so is much more than what was ordered The work is challenging and the industry is doing its best to cope with the challenges related to the lack of medical facilities and beds.

On Tuesday, the government sent a notice to Delhi-based hotels under the Disaster Management Act, stating that they should be connected to hospitals and should be prepared for the symptoms of infection and patients being quarantined. Till now, Taj Mansingh Hotel in New Delhi has received notice to give facilities to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. The list also includes ITC-run Hotel Sheraton (Max Smart), Hotel Crowne Plaza (Batra Hospital), Hotel Surya (Indraprastha Apollo), Hotel Siddharth (BL Kapoor Hospital) and Hotel Jeevitesh (Sir Ganga Ram).

The Hyatt Hotel chain has received notices for several locations in New Delhi, but no changes have been made so far. Nearly 40 hotels in the NCR region have received such notices, but they have not yet been converted into hospitals.

A spokesperson for Accor Hotels declined to comment. Marriott International did not respond until the news was published. The Oberoi Group also declined to comment.

In a recent interview with an economic newspaper, a top official expressed displeasure over the Delhi government's plan to convert one of its hotel brands into a hospital as the hotels were not designed to be hospitals. He said that several other states had approached him to be used as a quarantine center as a part of the Vande Bharat Mission, but not to use it as a hospital. No other hotels in Acor's network around the world are being converted into a Covid center.

A spokesperson of IHCL said that they are working with the medical community to support them in the fight against the epidemic and make arrangements for medical personnel to stay in hotels and provide food. The spokesperson said, 'We collaborated with governments across the country to serve the hotel as a quarantine facility. However, renovation work was started at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi before the lockdown, due to which the notification related to it could not be implemented and it could not be molded to patients and doctors. Mold is inappropriate. IHCL is committed to supporting the medical community and government bodies to fight the epidemic and will continue to support them in this challenging time. ' Deepak Haksar, the former CEO of ITC Hotels and advisor to CII's National Committee on Tourism, said, 'We sent a detailed note to the government following the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, stating that we have allowed the Delhi government to open the hotel Felt the need to give but keeping the hotel connected to hospitals and away from operations would mean a complete ban on activities. ' Haksar said that according to the court's decision in the Surya Hotel case, hotel use is allowed for symptomatic and early-stage patients but there are many ambiguities.

He has set a maximum limit of Rs 5,000 for five-star hotels which includes food and GST and is quite unfair for hotels. As per the order, for three and four-star hotels this limit should not exceed Rs 4,000. He says that there is no clarity on GST and that the bills for the rooms to be used will be paid directly by the hospitals and the hospitals will be paid by the sum assured. This means a delay in payment.

There is also a need for clarity on who will pay for PPE, biomedical systems, and staff training, says Haksar? He also questioned the selection of hotels located 10 km from the hospitals.

Managing Director of Sarovar Hotels and Resorts Ajay Baqi said that hospitals charge fees on behalf of hotels and pay hotels as per their convenience. He said, 'We should be allowed to collect our fees ourselves. Why should we run after hospitals? If we are ready to perform our duties then we need practical answers to the questions to handle these situations. '

The two lake hotels will be used as health facilities. One as a testing center, while the other has received a notice to be connected to a hospital. He said, 'We have no problem because it is the time of the epidemic and it is needed today. This issue has been raised about some practical challenges. They cannot interact with patients without training the hotel staff. Also, many of these workers are reluctant to work with hospitals. So the staff shortage must be met by hospitals. '

However, the experience of hotel chains in interacting with other state governments has been very smooth. Suhail Kalampalli, chief operating officer of Fun's Hotels and Resorts, said the company's Ahmedabad-based hotel is serving as a care center for mild-symptomatic Covid patients. He said, "Patients pay for themselves and we are allowed to take direct deposit." Haksar points out that sports facilities and large stadiums would be preferable as potential options for hospitals to serve as backups, where more than a week to establish medical facilities with thousands of beds and ventilation facilities according to German style. Will not take.