AS COVID-19 continues to ravage public health and the economy, another iconic hotel bites the dust due to the unprecedented challenges faced.
Hotel Istana announced that it would cease operations on Sept 1 and has offered Voluntary Separation Scheme to its employees following the decision.
“We have arrived at the decision considering the present circumstances and all available options. We are left with little choice other than to proceed with this closure,” it said, in a statement signed by its general manager Noorazzudin Omar.
Last week, Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) told Sinar Harian that at least 120 hotels have shuttered temporarily or closed permanently due to the pandemic triggered economic downturn.
The closures have cost the nation over RM11.3 bil to date.
“The hospitality sector is among the worst affected and there is still no sign of a full recovery.
“We found that about 100 hotels have closed since last year, and this year, 20 more hotels have followed suit. These involve both temporary and permanent closures,” the association was reported saying.
In March, the popular Hotel Equatorial Penang closed down citing poor business conditions to due to the pandemic triggered economic malaise.
On that note, Noorazzudin said that Hotel Istana was also facing challenges from newly established hotels and serviced apartments, which has impacted their business, rates, returns and occupancy despite their best efforts to mitigate the situation.
“Even as quarantine hotel, we are incurring monthly operational losses. As such, after proper evaluation of the hotel and its viability, we have decided to cease operations.
“Our Human Resources will communicate with the employees on the exit formalities in more detail, in the next few days,” he added. – July 1, 2021.
