Outsiders quarantined in Hong Kong hotels, be careful not to be slaughtered by profiteers

Because of the strict Wuhan pneumonia clearance policy, there are very few flights to and from mainland China, or even zero. As the anti-epidemic measures of the Hong Kong SAR government have been slightly relaxed in recent months, many mainlanders from foreign countries have traveled north through Hong Kong. After being quarantined in hotels in Hong Kong for seven days, they transfer to return by air or land. According to Hong Kong's "Ming Pao" report, the number of "mainland tourists" and "other tourists" entering Hong Kong Airport in May increased from an average of about 9 and 15 a day respectively in April to an average of 15 in June. 995 people and 151 people. July is the summer vacation. I believe more people want to return to China, including Hong Kong students. https://bit.ly/3AbKwlt

This not only greatly increases the demand for isolated hotel rooms in Hong Kong, but it is even more difficult for Hong Kong people to find a room. In Hong Kong, the government has listed a list of designated quarantine hotels, ranging from less than 1,000 yuan to five-star hotels. Passengers are free to choose and book their own rooms. Of course, the cost is also paid by themselves. The safest way is to book directly with the hotel. (Government website https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/designated-hotel-booking-status.html )

Rooms are hard to find, not only because the number of rooms is insufficient, but also because the desired hotel has to have rooms available for seven consecutive days, and it is also in line with the isolation period, which makes it even more difficult to find a room.

Therefore, if it is not necessary, such as visiting relatives who have not seen each other for a long time, or for important work needs, Hong Kong people do not go to foreign countries, so as to avoid difficulties when they return to Hong Kong at their own expense, which is completely uncomfortable. If you really want to travel abroad, you should book a quarantine hotel first, and then book a flight ticket to ensure that there is a hotel available on the day of arrival. Some Hong Kongers who can't book affordable hotels sigh that they can only wander outside until they have a room.

Due to the high demand for isolated hotel rooms, there was speculation, and some rooms were speculated to 5,000 yuan a night, several times the original price. The government therefore required tourists to book rooms with their real names at the end of June, in the belief that it would prevent speculation and ease the tight supply of quarantined hotel rooms, and tourists would not have to pay sky-high prices. https://bit.ly/3zZOlJW

What about the reality?

A mainland traveler told me recently that a mainland travel agency booked a Hong Kong quarantine hotel room for her for seven days. The single room cost 12,800 yuan, or more than 1,800 yuan per day, and the double room size was the same. The seven-day quarantine cost 24,000 yuan, or 3,428 yuan per day, and the average per person per night was 24,000 yuan. With more than 1,700 yuan , she booked a double room and lived with her colleagues. The price of her hotel is four or five-star hotel, but her hotel is in To Kwa Wan District, Kowloon City. She also said that the room is an economy room with a small area. She showed me the phone conversation with the mainland travel agency, and I knew it.

I asked her if the price was booked with real name, she answered yes, she showed me her mobile phone and passed the passport and other information to the travel agency, and the money was also given to the travel agency. She showed me the receipt she received on her mobile phone, with the name of the travel agency that booked the room, and the payment had been fully paid. In fact, travelers can book rooms directly on the official website of the hotel they want without paying any handling fee .

Later, I checked on the Internet, and it was a small hotel that has been in business for about ten years. It was one of the government-designated quarantine hotels. Some travel websites listed Samsung. The official website states that three meals are included from at least HKD 650 per day, and people of different nationalities are welcome to book and stay.

Check the website of the government-designated quarantine hotel. The daily price of the hotel is 650-1,150 yuan. In other words, if you stay in a cheap room for seven days, you will need to pay 4,550 yuan, and if you stay in the most expensive room, you will pay 8,050 yuan, but the mainland tourist Paid $24,000!

Check the traveler reviews on multiple travel websites, in addition to convenient transportation, many restaurants around, and open high-rise landscapes, some people say that there are cockroaches in the room, no wardrobe, only hangers, soundproofing, and it is rare to say that the toilet cannot sit on the toilet. Top feet, the room is still clean and so on.

Mainland tourists book a room in mid-July and come to Hong Kong for quarantine at the end of July. It is indeed difficult to find a hotel in such a hasty situation. If the travel agency charges some fees, it is understandable, but the difference should not be multiplied! Whether the difference is all in Out of the travel agency’s pocket? Did the hotel benefit, or was it in the dark?

On June 24, the government announced three measures to prevent speculating in hotel rooms, stipulating that " hotels must ensure that anyone booking a hotel room adopts the 'real name system'... and ensure that travel agents collect guests' hotel room fees in accordance with what is stated on the government website. The stated fees are the same. ” However, the case of mainland travelers proves that the new measures cannot completely prevent guests from being ripped off. According to what I have searched, the chairman of the hotel concerned is a representative of the tourism industry organization, so he should be familiar with the situation in the industry and be able to correct the wrong trend in the industry.

According to the guest's comments on the travel website who have stayed at the hotel, the posters and other promotional materials of the hotel mostly use simplified characters. We Hong Kong people have seen the location and layout of the hotel, and we know that the hotel is mainly targeted by mainlanders.

The hotel is located in To Kwa Wan, which is one of the grass-roots areas in Hong Kong with relatively cheap prices. There are many new immigrants and ethnic minorities living in the area. Some mainlanders or people who have good relations with the mainland do business and specialize in mainland tourists, especially tour groups. Eight to ten years ago, many low-cost mainland tour groups came to Hong Kong, many of which were "piggy tours" or shopping groups, that is, travel agencies arranged a large number of shopping trips, and many merchants were located in To Kwa Wan District.

A mainland tourist paid 24,000 yuan to book a double room for seven days of isolation. This price can be used to live in a four- or five-star hotel in Hong Kong, but the one she stayed in was definitely not.

When the vaccination rate has been greatly increased and the virus has not caused serious consequences, the Hong Kong SAR government still insists on isolation, which is angry with people and directly drags down the income of the tourism industry. Therefore, there is a perception in the market that the isolation policy only benefits isolation hotels, because they must There are customers.

Some people say that if isolating hotels is a good business, why do other hotels still not do it even though they know there is a huge demand? The Ovolo Hotel is a mid-range hotel, known for its style and kindness, and has a good reputation. It is very popular with foreigners, the person in charge said. , The cleaning and disinfection of the isolation hotel is very expensive, and the work procedures are more complicated, so the income and expenditure are only considered to be reconciled, and they may withdraw from the isolation hotel plan later.

My analysis is that after two years of exploration, even if there are highs and lows during the period, high-end hotels have mastered the preferences of local guests and would rather focus on staycation, which has less risk than isolation hotels, and has a greater assurance to protect the image of the hotel - in case hotel If there is an outbreak of the epidemic or an accident with a guest, the reputation will be damaged. Thinking about the death of Zeng Jiang, how can you not mention the Kowloon Hotel - and it has complete autonomy. The mid-to-low-price hotels that mainly focus on low-cost group tours and low-spending tourists have no way of attracting local tourists and need income. They can only be isolated hotels that do not worry about the source of tourists, like the "hotel" where mainland tourists live.

Why are the good-looking hotels still used as quarantine hotels? I guess they do not have enough facilities for staycation. When business activities are also limited by the epidemic measures, such as: conferences, team activities, there are not many options left, and these hotels mainly attract budget There are limited business travelers, so it cannot be compared with traditional five-star hotels. The government may also deliberately negotiate with some four- and five-star hotels, knowing that Hong Kong always needs some better isolation hotels to meet the requirements of some residents, and five-star hotels are willing to help after weighing it.

It must be emphasized that not all the low-cost isolation hotels are of poor quality, and some also attach importance to goodwill. One of the group's isolation hotels, in addition to the smaller rooms, has good reviews for other hardware and services in the room. Based on my search and the experience of my friends, the biggest problem of isolation hotels under 1,000 yuan is that the room is small, followed by small windows, old, or the WiFi speed is not fast enough. There are few hotels, and the more unconditionally attracting local guests, the more they need to be isolated hotels to maintain their income; hotels and middlemen such as travel agents even have the opportunity to make a lot of money, foreign tourists who are unfamiliar with the situation are most likely to be slaughtered ; black- hearted merchants don’t care Goodwill, I don't expect any customers to come back voluntarily and make a fortune.