Domestic outbreaks of COVID-19 this month have cast a shadow over the business outlook for hotels and restaurants as cancelations rose ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday, the high season for the industry.
Formosa International Hotels Corp (FIH, 晶華國際酒店集團) said that 5 percent of bookings had been canceled at its restaurants and 10 percent at its banquet facilities, while some year-end banquets are being postponed until after the Lunar New Year holiday.
Additionally, 13 percent of room reservations had been canceled for this month and next, mainly by independent domestic tourists, while reservations by group tours had not been affected.
FIH, which operates the Regent Taipei (台北晶華酒店), Silks Place (晶英酒店), Just Sleep Hotel & Resort (捷絲旅) and independent restaurants, said that companies could postpone their check-in dates or distribute room vouchers to employees to allow them to visit its properties later this year.
The latest cancelations have had a limited impact on its business, it said.
LDC Hotels & Resorts Group (雲朗觀光集團) last week announced that it would close its Chateau de Chine Hotel (翰品酒店) in Taoyuan on April 30 and also look for other uses for its property in Hualien County.
LDC said the decision was made in line with its strategy to change its focus to the high-end lodging and property management market, rather than growing the number of its rooms and properties.
LDC has sold the property in Taoyuan to Share Hope Medicine Co (盛弘醫藥) for NT$1.18 billion (US$42.6 million), it said, as border restrictions would continue to affect hotels reliant on foreign business travelers for the third consecutive year.
The group, which has maintained its workforce for the past two years, said it would help affected employees to seek work at other properties or companies.
The Grand Hyatt Taipei (台北君悅大飯店) said that about 10 to 15 percent of its room reservations had been canceled.
The hotel in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) said its banquet facilities had previously been fully booked ahead of the Lunar New Year, but it received a cancellation valued at NT$2 million at the weekend.
However, the nation’s largest hotel by the number of rooms is looking to achieve an occupancy rate of 60 percent this year and expects the market to emerge from the pandemic in the second half.
Caesar Park Hotel Banciao (板橋凱薩飯店) in New Taipei City said escalating domestic infections had weighed on its room bookings, with about 20 percent canceled.
Gloria Hotel Group (華泰大飯店集團) said that about 15 to 20 percent of its room reservations had been canceled and it is offering discounts to entice potential guests.
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