Joel de los Santos says members of the National Hotel & Tourism Association (Asonahores) are in touch with public health authorities to rent around 1,500 rooms located in closed hotels. De los Santos, who is a former president of Asonahores, says the offer is to use hotels in different areas of the country. He said the proposal is for these to be used for the isolation of persons as they wait to be tested and/or for the results of the tests, and also for those with mild conditions that need to be in isolation. He said Asonahores has asked the Ministry of Public Health to inspect these properties.
De los Santos said that 95% of hotels in the Dominican Republic are closed. He observed those still in operation are mostly city hotels that have fixed clients. Asonahores reported that the hotels that remain open are because they have guests. These hotels will be in operation until their customers leave:
Santo Domingo: Aparta Hotel Drake, W&P (BQ Santo Domingo), El Embajador Hotel, Quality Hotel Real, Weston Suites Hotel & Casino, Homewood Suites by Hilton, Catalonia Santo Domingo, Casas del XVI
La Vega: Hotel Pegasus (La Vega city)
Santiago: Hotel La Rotonda
Puerto Plata: Tropicana, Hotel Mountain View, Hotel Victoriano, Royal Swiss and Natura Cabaña.
Punta Cana: Westin Punta Cana, Barceló Bávaro Palace
Samaná: Cosón Bay & Residences
Resorts have shut down after air and seaports were closed to impede the spreading of the virus. “The hotels don’t have customers,” said De los Santos when interviewed on La Cuestion radio talk show on 1 April 2020. “We all have expectations that the hotels will reopen when the country and the world overcome this situation,” he said.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
Arecoa
El Caribe
Diario Libre
2 April 2020