Hotel Taj Mansingh to be converted into Covid treatment facility

New Delhi: The Taj Mansingh in Delhi has been asked to convert itself into a Covid-19 treatment facility on Tuesday. The decision follows similar instructions to properties run by Accor, Hyatt, Radisson Hotels and the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) in the capital. Indian Hotels Co. Ltd’s Taj Mahal hotel was told to vacate all rooms by the Delhi government with immediate effect through an order dated June 16 and to place them at the disposal of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital as the capital’s infection and death counts rise. The Delhi High Court had upheld similar orders to two hotels—Hotel Surya and Crowne Plaza—on Monday. IHCL told ET that the Taj Mahal hotel is in the midst of renovation.CII Raises ConcernsThe renovation work began before the lockdown and is not habitable, especially by patients and doctors. The chain said it has extended all support to various states across the country during the Covid-19 crisis, including hosting medical staff and providing over 2 million meals.The order on the Taj, passed by the sub divisional magistrate of Chanakyapuri, is similar to those sent to other hotels requisitioning rooms, housekeeping, disinfection and food for patients. 76415916ET had reported that the Delhi government requisitioned several hotels through orders dated May 29. These include the Hotel Crown Plaza in Okhla Phase-I (Batra Hospital and Research Centre); Hotel Surya in New Friends Colony (Indraprastha Apollo Hospital); Hotel Siddharth at Rajendra Place (Dr BL Kapur Memorial Hospital); Hotel Jivitesh at Pusa Road (Sir Ganga Ram City Hospital); and Hotel Sheraton at Saket District Centre (Max Smart Super Speciality Hospital).Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal visited Hotel Surya on Tuesday. The hotel is now attached to Holy Family Hospital in Okhla after having originally been linked to Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Sarita Vihar, said Greesh Bindra, vice president of operations at CHL Ltd, which owns Hotel Surya.“We have to start with training as we can’t jump into something without training our staff,” he said.As per the Delhi government’s orders, patients will be charged a maximum of Rs 5,000 by five-star hotels and Rs 4,000 by four and three star hotels per day per person. “The charge shall be collected by the hospital and the hospital shall make the payment to the hotel,” the order said. Biomedical waste disposal will be the responsibility of the hospital, which will also provide hotel staff with protective gear and basic training. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) national committee on tourism and hospitality, which had earlier asked the Delhi government to reconsider its decision to convert hotels into hospital extensions, said that it has concerns about the criteria used to select properties. While it respects the high court’s decision, conversion of hotels is not the best solution, it said. “We are at a loss to understand how a hotel under renovation with rooms that are not habitable, including access to public areas, will be used by patients and doctors,” said Dipak Haksar, former CEO of ITC Hotels and advisor to the committee.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/3fx1wVv