KUALA LUMPUR — Hotel associations have panned the suggestion made by Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing for 23-hour stays for guests, describing it as impossible and misleading.
Datin Christina Toh, president of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH), who attended a meeting of industry representatives with Tiong on October 17, said those at the dialogue had told Tiong his idea was not feasible.
She said the minister was informed that it was global practice in the industry for standard check-out ties to be between 11am and 12pm, while standard check-in times are between 2pm and 3pm.
Toh added that hotel rooms cannot be made immediately available for check-in by the next guest as cleaning crews need 20 to 30 minutes to clean each room.
“(Plus) after the Covid-19 pandemic, everyone has been mindful of sanitation and hygiene, and we (hotels) need to take care of all these things by making sure that the rooms are clean,” she told Scoop when contacted for a response to Tiong’s suggestion.
Tiong made his proposal on Facebook, urging hotels to adjust their check-in and check-out times to allow for nearly a full day’s stay. He said he had pitched this to hotel industry representatives at their recent meeting, telling them at 23-hour stays were common internationally.
Meanwhile, the Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association (MyBHA), which also participated in the meeting with Tiong, said the minister’s proposal would “mislead” the public into believing that they could check it for such a duration of time.
MyBHA president Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel echoed Toh on the time needed for housekeeping staff to clean rooms, adding that in the case of smaller budget hotels, staff also have to deal with other operational aspects such as taking delivery of laundered items which may come in late from laundromats.
“While we have some stock of these items, we could not afford to buy more due to less profits hotelsare making nowadays,” he said.
Michiel added that the hospitality sector is currently facing a shortage of staff, which can sometimes contribute to perceptions of unfavourable check-in and check-out schedules.
Toh, meanwhile, urged Tiong to state which international hotels offered 23-hour accommodation, noting that such offers are usually only made during promotional campaigns.
“It can be arranged if, one, they are able to have the cleanliness policies in place, and two: it is assumed they have a business policy that states that they can run 100% at any point of time.
“But again, this one goes back to the business operation, as well as the objectives and needs of each of these hotel properties,” she added.
Toh told Scoop that MAH and other hotel industry groups which attended the October 17 meeting with Tiong will be issuing a written response to the minister.
The issue was a topic on social media last month when netizens complained about “unreasonable” 4pm check-in and 11am check-out times. Some social media users went to the extent of calling for a boycott of local hotels. – October 20, 2024