Hatba: “Downtown Hotels Are the Worst Affected by ‘Coronavirus,’ and We Will Not Close Them”
Dr. Mervat Hatba, Chairperson of the Holding Company for Tourism and Hotels, said that downtown hotels have so far been the most affected by the novel coronavirus because they rely primarily on foreigners, whose arrival in Egypt stopped after international flights were suspended. In a statement to Al Mal newspaper, she added: »Since the beginning of this month until now, bookings have declined by up to 30 …
Dr. Mervat Hatba, Chairperson of the Holding Company for Tourism and Hotels, said that downtown hotels have so far been the most affected by the novel coronavirus because they rely primarily on foreigners, whose arrival in Egypt stopped after international flights were suspended.
She added in a statement to Al Mal newspaper: »Since the beginning of this month until now, bookings have declined by up to 30 percent, noting that losses and mechanisms for addressing the crisis are being assessed.»
She confirmed that her subsidiaries, particularly those operating in hospitality and tourism, would suffer severe difficulty in providing salaries, noting that she hoped to obtain working capital from banks to meet wage obligations, especially since they lacked sufficient liquidity.
The Holding Company for Tourism has 7 subsidiaries: three in hospitality and tourism, and the rest in domestic trade, sound and light, tourism development, and tourism investment.
In a related context, Hatba said that all affiliated hotels are disinfected regularly in cooperation with management companies. There is also a device for detecting coronavirus, and the necessary tests are carried out on every new guest, with reports filed in cases of elevated temperature.
She confirmed that the companies’ administrative headquarters are also disinfected regularly by specialized entities that perform the task daily. The company has also implemented the prime minister’s decision to reduce staffing and introduce employee rotation.
In the same context, Hatba confirmed that her companies would not close their hotels or production units, noting that all the hotels operated during the height of the 25 January Revolution and no workers were laid off at all, and that they would also overcome the current crisis.
She continued that some subsidiaries, such as E.G.O.T.H., had resorted to closing administrative headquarters after reducing staff numbers in response to the prime minister’s decisions to limit the spread of coronavirus.