Delhi: Covid-19 checks in, hotel industry in a fix

NEW DELHI: Greesh Bindra of The Suryaa had gone to court over the state government decision to turn hotels into Covid-19 care centres attached to private hospitals. After the court asked hotels on Monday to begin the process of conversion into

medical facilities

— the next hearing in the case is slated for July 29 — Bindra said that he supported the decision, but staffing such a facility was a concern for hotels.


Bindra, vice-president, operations, at The Suryaa, pointed out that hospitality professionals were not hospital caregivers and hotels were in no way designed and built as hospitals. None of his staff and the hotel departments such as housekeeping, front desk, security and technicians are trained in medical protocols required to deal with the highly contagious Covid-19.

He has requested a few days for the conversion into a hospital because he needs 75-80 workers to be present at any time to manage operations. Most of them, he explained, panicked on hearing that they would henceforth be dealing with Covid-19 patients, and the workers’ union has expressed concerns about risking families to the infection.

Delhi government

had advised hotels in the city to admit Covid-19 patients with normal symptoms, and in case of their condition turning severe during their stay, to transfer them to hospitals. Under the order, the hospitals will provide doctors, nurses and medical equipment, while the hotels are to provide rooms, housekeeping, disinfection and fooding services at a fixed rate.

With non-compliance attracting penal action, hoteliers represented by Confederation of Indian Industry National Tourism Committee had written to deputy CM Manish Sisodia expressing concern at the ‘sudden’ requisition of hotels for Covid-19 treatment, pointing out no notice were sent to hotels or inspections of premises for suitability as a medical centre carried out before issuing the order.

Speaking to TOI about the letter, the hoteliers observed that stadia and indoor exhibition halls were better suited as medical facilities. For one, they said, hotels do not have the right kinds of beds, oxygen support in rooms or even appropriately sized elevators for patient transport. The hotels weren’t knowledgeable about disposal of hazardous biowaste that a Covid centre entailed. The banquet halls and rooms as well as the interiors, construction, air conditioning, carpeting, toilets in banquets and the panelling across rooms would hamper efforts to turn them into a treatment facility.

Hotelier Kapil Chopra, who also runs NGO Charity Beds, which informs people about availability of beds in city hospitals, described such orders as panic reactions. He said the focus should be containment of the infection, the only way for this being through

contact tracing

and quarantine. He said the coronavirus statistics are rising drastically and this needed the government to start meticulous contact tracing to reduce infection numbers, without which a large number of beds would still prove inadequate.

“A hospital using a neighbouring hotel to accommodate patients is understandable,” Chopra said, “but hotels in Aerocity being requisitioned for Apollo Hospitals many kilometres away makes no sense.” He said that requisitioning hotels would not help the government in fighting the virus, it should rather augment the existing health facilities.

Jean-Michel Cassé, COO, Accor India & South Asia, reiterated that a hotel was not designed to be a hospital. He said their associates were not prepared for such utilisation of the properties. Cassé noted that many other states had contacted them to extend institutional quarantine facilities as a part of Vande Bharat Mission bringing Indians home from abroad, but not for use as a hospital. No other hotel in Accor network across the globe, he emphasised, was transforming into a Covid-19 facility.

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