Abandoned Hong Kong Hotels Go Into Survival Mode as Virus Fallout Spreads
As hotel occupancy plunges to a single digit, Hong Kong's leadership toward one of its most important industries is being put to the test during the coronavirus crisis. So is the leadership of hotel CEOs in keeping their companies whole.
Hong Kong hotels these days are feeling forsaken not just by guests but government, which excluded them from a $4 billion (HK$30 billion) coronavirus relief package announced last week. Comparisons with Singapore add salt to the wound, with the Lion City seen as more empathetic towards hotels' plight and more forward thinking.
The Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, the Hong Kong Hotels Association, and independent hotel companies such as Ovolo Group have all lobbied for meaningful government aid that would help them survive and are waiting with bated breath if this will be forthcoming in Hong Kong's annual budget scheduled this week.
Hong Kong hotels last week were dismayed at being excluded from the $4 billion relief funding, about half of which would go to one-off cash injections to retailers, food and beverage providers, transport firms, students, the arts and culture sector, guesthouses and travel agents — no mention of hotels. The rest is largely for fighting the virus itself.
