From 'work from hotel' to screen for gamers, hotels and cinemas trying to survive

 

With the country's international borders closed since March and tourism dollars from abroad all but evaporated, the hotel industry has been among the hardest hit during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The turbulent year has claimed a long list of hotels, including iconic ones which have been household names in their local communities for decades. 

Amid the dire situation, hotels have been finding creative ways to sustain their operations.

For the lucky ones, they have secured arrangements with the government to serve as quarantine hotels.

While they are not raking in big bucks, it helps to cover some of their operations costs.

For others, they have no choice but to be creative.

Several hotels have in recent months started offering "Work From Hotel" packages.

Many hotels are offering people who are tired of being cooped up at home to work at their hotel lobby with free flow of coffee, while others are offering up rooms for people to work in, albeit at a steeper rate.

Some of the hotels are even throwing in free lunch, internet and even parking.

Among some of the hotels that have promoted such services online include The Royale Chulan, Impiana Hotel and Seri Pacific Hotel.

Other hotels have even turned to offering cleaning services. One such hotel is the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

"Enjoy peace of mind and leave the cleaning duties to us. Engage our highly trained housekeeping colleagues to make up your house," it said in an advertisement.

The hotel, which describes itself as a "luxury five-star hotel", is offering the service to properties located within a 10km radius of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre.

Hotels are not alone in trying to find ways to survive. Another hard-hit business is the cinema industry.

Last month, Golden Screen Cinemas and TGV began offering gamers space to rent in order to game on the big screen.

Despite the efforts, Malaysian Association of Film Exhibitors (Mafe) announced that cinemas will temporarily shut nationwide, beginning this month, after the industry players struck an agreement to take the collective action. 

They said this was necessary for the industry's long-term survival.

The airline industry, too, has been fighting for survival.

Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Malindo Air are among the airlines that have seen debt-structuring efforts and layoffs as they try to keep afloat. 

The Malaysian-based airlines are not alone in their trouble as the global airline industry is struggling.

But some have also found novel ways to sustain their businesses, such as a "flight to nowhere" - taking off, spending time in the air, and landing back at the same airport.

Australia's Qantas and South Korea's Asiana are among the airlines that have provided such services.

Singapore Airlines had mooted a similar service but later decided to offer an on-tarmac service following concerns about the environmental impact of "flights to nowhere".

Its first round of sales for the "plane on tarmac" dining experience were sold out within 30 minutes.

Tickets went from RM150 for economy up to RM1,800 for suite class. - Mkini