Following the rising number of quarantine hotels violating terms of accreditation, the Department of Tourism (DOT) reiterates that there are only 15 accredited accommodation establishments (AEs) in Metro Manila that are allowed to operate for staycation as of Tuesday (Jan. 5).
These are Grand Hyatt Hotel, Makati Shangri-La Hotel, Okada Manila Hotel, Shangri-La at the Fort, Nobu Hotel, Joy Nostalg Hotel and Suites Manila, EDSA Shangri-La Manila, Solaire Resort, Hyatt Regency City of Dreams, Nuwa Hotel City of Dreams, The Peninsula Manila, Aruga by Rockwell, Sheraton Manila Hotel, Hilton Manila, and Hotel Okura Manila.
Other AEs not in the list are either operating as quarantine hotels, which are banned from accepting guests for leisure purposes or may not be in operation at this time.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat had earlier cautioned DOT-accredited hotels currently used as quarantine hotels to refrain from accepting guests for staycation purposes amid health risk.
The appeal is also aimed at AEs without Certificate of Authority to Operate for Staycation (CAOS) and tour operators and other non-staycation enterprises that continue to post invitations or make false, deceptive and misleading claims or statements for the purpose of soliciting business from clients through the use of social media to carry its advertisements, according to DOT.
“We would like to correct the misperception that all four- or five-star rated accommodation establishments (AEs) can operate as staycation hotels. For such a hotel to accept guests for leisure purposes, it has to apply for a Certificate of Authority to Operate as a Staycation (CAOS) hotel,” Puyat said.
“With the authority is the responsibility to strictly adhere to the minimum health and safety guidelines. One has to pass the rigid inspection to ascertain that measures and systems are put in place and diligently practiced on a daily basis. It cannot, above all things, concurrently operate as a quarantine facility,” she stressed.
To recall, City Garden Grand Hotel, the hotel where the January 1 killing of Philippine Airlines flight attendant Christine Angelica Dacera happened, is a 4-star hotel. However, the tourism chief told the Manila Bulletin that the hotel is not included in the list of establishments that can cater staycation guests as it is still operating as a quarantine hotel up to now. The agency has also issued a show cause order to the management to explain possible violations.
Puyat said that with the new COVID variant posing as an additional threat, the DOT will be on heightened alert and will have zero tolerance for even the slightest violation of health protocols.
“Lives are on the line and our economic recovery depends on everybody being responsible. Let us all perform our duties well. Each has an important role to play in managing this crisis,” she said.
Meanwhile, the agency advised the public to check the status of the establishment before booking.
The AEs that have already been inspected for quarantine purposes are found in this link: http://quarantine.doh.gov.ph/facilities-inspected-as-of-december-21-2020/.