Three more star-rated hotels in Metro Manila have been granted Certificates of Authority to Operate for Staycation (CAOS) by the Department of Tourism in a bid to revive the domestic tourism economy.
In an announcement posted by the DoT-National Capital Region (NCR), Sheraton Manila Hotel, The Peninsula Manila, and Aruga by Rockwell have been added to the roster of hotels which are now allowed to operate for staycation, making the total count to 13.
Other hotels which were initially granted with CAOS include Grand Hyatt Manila, Nüwa Hotel in City of Dreams, Makati Shangri-La, Okada Manila, Nobu Hotel, Shangri-La at the Fort, Solaire Resort, EDSA Shangri-La, Joy Nostalg Hotels and Suites Manila, and Hyatt Regency.
ButTourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat remains firm that hotels operating as temporary quarantine facilities cannot operate for staycation amid health risk.
Prior to check-in, hotels also require negative antigen test results to ensure the safety of hotel personnel and visitors.
Last October, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) gave the DoT the greenlight to allow 100 percent operational capacity for hotels, including staycation hotels, in areas under a modified general community quarantine (MGCQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ).