Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, has launched an initiative to support courageous medical staff. As a key player in the communities in which Centara operates, the pioneering hospitality firm is providing complimentary hotel rooms and meals to carers in need of accommodation and food.

Five-star Centara Grand at CentralWorld in Bangkok has started to host doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff from the Police Hospital since 1st April 2020 and will continue to do so until the situation improves.

In addition, Centara Muscat Hotel Oman has offered 120 rooms to the Omani government as a serviced venue for people in need to quarantine for 14 days with food delivered three times per day.

Medical staff are at the forefront of effort to protect the wellbeing of all people, often working extremely long hours and travelling long distances to and from the hospitals in which they are working. Centara’s core idea behind the project is to save the time and energy of medical staff as much as possible by offering convenient access to food and accommodation so that they can return to work as refreshed and recharged as possible.

“Centara Hotels & Hotels supports medical staff in any way we can”

Thirayuth Chirathivat, CEO, Centara Hotels & Resorts

“As a hotel operator, the best thing we can do is to offer rooms and meals to those who are working tirelessly for the wellbeing of all people. This is why we are opening our hotels to them. We hope this humble contribution will alleviate some of the stress and strain of their work by ensuring they can get rest near work without having to commute long hours and can return refreshed. We are by their side,” he added.

According to local needs and regulations, more initiatives may take place in other territories where Centara operates.

Centara Hotels & Resorts supports social distancing and the Thai government and global initiatives to stay at home. The company also recently introduced a high-quality delivery service to take food to people’s homes during the crisis.

The group has implemented the following safety measures in the hotels that remain open: social distancing arrangements, installation of additional hand washing hand sanitising stations in public areas of hotels and resorts and in common areas frequented by guests and employees; expanded employee training in transmission prevention, which incorporates guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO); notices in public areas to inform guests about the situation and protective measures they can take; frequent periodic sanitising of common areas within each property, including food preparation areas, restaurants that remain open and common guest areas; and providing updates to guests on the situation as needed. In addition, thermal scanners check the temperature of guests and visitors; those with high fever or other symptoms may undergo additional screening. When checking in, all hotel guests are also asked to fill out a questionnaire enquiring about their prior trips.