Metro Manila hotels run out of rooms on long quarantine

HOTELS in Metro Manila are running out of rooms as balikbayans continue to arrive, and stay longer for the government-mandated 14-day quarantine.

“We’re averaging about 70-percent occupancy right now because of the balikbayans [homecoming Filipinos]. Even more so, now that they are required to undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine,” said Hotel Sales and Marketing Association President Christine Ann U. Ibarreta in an interview with the BusinessMirror.

There are 21 countries on the travel ban, including the United Kingdom and the United States, from which arriving passengers will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine, regardless if they receive a negative RT-PCR test result.

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“The problem is, because of the 14-day quarantine, we are running out of rooms here to host the inbound travelers, which is why some of the arriving passengers are now being booked in hotels outside of Metro Manila,” said Ibarreta.

“Many of them [balikbayans] said, they still want to come home to the Philippines [despite the longer quarantine]; they just want to visit their families here,” she added.

Since the travel ban is supposed to be until January 15, many are still hopeful they will be able to come home. “Only a few hotels have actually received cancellations,” she noted.

Quarantine facility choices

Of the estimated 10 million Filipinos living and working abroad, about 2 million live in the US as of 2018, according to the Migration Policy Institute. These make up most of the balikbayan market now.

Ibarreta said hotels that are specified as “stringent facilities suitable for quarantine” are allowed to accept the guests who have to isolate for 14 days, but paying on their account.

“So when these planes arrive bearing passengers from countries included in the travel ban, the DOT [Department of Tourism] staff at the airport will verify if the passengers have hotel bookings, and if these hotels are considered stringent facilities. If these are not stringent quarantine hotels, the passengers will be offered the government facility for free. They also have the option to book the [stringent] hotel of their choice, provided they shall shoulder the expenses,” she explained.

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The Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ), under guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases, classifies hotels into two types:  stringent quarantine hotels (for Filipinos and foreigners arriving from high-risk countries with massive infections) and mandatory quarantine (for those arriving from countries not high risk or not included in the travel ban).

As of December 21, BoQ has inspected 28 hotels designated as stringent quarantine facilities in Metro Manila, Tagaytay, and Batangas. Stringent quarantine facilities outside of Metro Manila include Summit Ridge and Quest Hotel in Tagaytay, and Microtel Hotels in Batangas. There are 228 hotels for mandatory  quarantine in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Laguna, Cavite, and Tagaytay. 

A ‘painful’ call

Not on the list of BoQ’s quarantine facilities, is Canyon Woods in Lemery, Batangas, where a group of passengers who arrived from the US and South Korea on December 29, were allegedly brought by the Philippine Coast Guard for their 14-day quarantine. Published reports quoted a few passengers who complained that said hotel had no running water and other basic infrastructure as a quarantine facility.

Meanwhile, Tourism Congress of the Philippines President Jose C. Clemente III said the travel ban on 21 countries “is painful, but it’s the government’s call. It’s not easy to balance safety and health vis-a-vis economics, so it’s a difficult situation.”

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He added, “We can only hope that a solution is found as soon as possible, but this is the nature of the pandemic. Some may not agree with the new restrictions, but it is what it is. Better to err on the side of caution at this juncture.”

Based on the reports, TCP has been getting, Clemente said, “Balikbayans are again disappointed,” being unable to come home to reunite with their facilities. Usually, December and January are peak months for balikbayan arrivals.

Just last December 7, balikbayans and their foreign spouses and children were allowed to come home visa-free.

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Article and Photo originally posted by Business Mirror last January 5, 2021 12:00am and written by Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo. Minor edits have been made by REBPH to cater to its own readers.

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