The solution to relieving the strain placed on hospitals as a result of the coronavirus could also be the answer to how hotels are able to stay commercially viable in the current climate, according to a new proposal.

Quest Apartment Hotels has offered up to 80 of its hotels as quarantine facilities to assist hospitals through the pandemic, having made the submission through the Accommodation Association of Australia.

Quest Founder and Executive Chairman, Paul Constantinou said the apartment hotel provider was well placed to support the federal government’s isolation and quarantine measures, given it was currently supporting more than 500 families across Australia by providing accommodation for corporate employees who had returned to the country.

At a glance: 

• Quest Apartment Hotels has offered up to 80 per cent of its hotels as quarantine facilities to assist hospitals with the coronavirus crisis.
• A submission regarding the proposal was made through the Accommodation Association of Australia.
• The accommodation provider is currently supporting more than 500 families across Australia by providing accommodation for corporate employees who had returned to the country.

“The injection of quarantine facilities into the health system will help remove some of the pressure on our hospitals," he said.

“When experts talk about flattening the curve, it’s about making sure hospital beds are available to the people who need it most.

“Quarantine facilities can be used to isolate people and open up our hospital beds to more serious cases. The scale of isolation is unlike anything we’ve ever seen, so we must open up our hotels during this emergency.”

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Quest NewQuay that’s currently being used as a self-isolation facility by Quest’s corporate clients. Source: Quest Apartment Hotels

With occupancy levels over the coming months expected to drop below 10 per cent, shifting focus from corporate travel to public health is also a necessary step for hoteliers.

Tourism Accommodation Australia CEO Michael Johnson told WILLIAMS MEDIA the potential of hotel accommodation to assist in the situation extended beyond providing self-isolation space.

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Tourism Accommodation Australia CEO Michael Johnson. Source: Tourism Accommodation Australia 

"The other side of it is possibility of hotels acting as 'medi hotels', where operators work in conjunction with the health department and the government to provide rooms where people can recover," he said.

"It would be for people who had been through the worst of it but were not yet ready to re-enter the community. 

"It's a great opportunity for hotels to act as save havens, which they have been known to do over the years." 

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