More than 20 randomly selected child-friendly hotels do not meet government safety regulations, the Executive Yuan’s Department of Consumer Protection said on Tuesday.
In September and last month, the department inspected 24 hotels advertised as child-friendly in New Taipei City, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Hsinchu, and Yilan and Hualien counties, where it found fire safety issues, sanitation concerns and playground problems at many of them, it said.
Twenty-one of the hotels did not meet the government regulations for the management of playgrounds, consumer protection officer Kao Tzu-chung (高賜忠) said.
Thirteen failed building safety management inspections, six failed fire safety management inspections and seven did not meet sanitation management standards, he said.
However, Hoya Resort Hotel in Kaohsiung and Landis Inn Chuhu in Hsinchu passed all five categories of the inspection, consumer protection officer Wang Te-ming (王德明) said.
Hotel Chateau Anping in Tainan and Kung Shang Design Hotel in Kaohsiung were found to have safety issues in four of the five categories, he said.
A stairwell at Hotel Chateau Anping was cluttered with items in violation of building safety management regulations, while emergency exits at Kung Shang Design Hotel were not functional and there were no fire extinguishers on the premises, Wang said.
The inspections were conducted by the department along with officials from central and local government agencies responsible for tourism, construction management and public health.
Under the Building Act (建築法), hotels that fail building safety management inspections are liable for a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 if they do not correct the problems within a designated time period, Construction and Planning Agency guidelines state.
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