Asian hotels keep Sars at bay as bookings fall

Hotels in southern Asia are finding ways to cope with the killer-flu-like virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), that is sweeping the region.

Hotel group Shangri-La is providing staff, guests and suppliers making deliveries in its Hong Kong hotels with surgical masks to protect them from the spread of the virus. Employees caught coughing or sneezing are sent to a clinic to be diagnosed and sent home on sick leave until they are fully recovered.

"It's a double whammy for the region," said a spokeswoman for Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, whose 39 hotels in the Asia Pacific region have already been hit by a drop in long-haul travel due to the Iraq crisis.

Since mid-March Shangri-La's overall occupancy figures in Asia have fallen by eight percentage points, and it forecasts a 15% fall in April. The decline will be most severe at its hotels in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Taipei and Singapore.

The group has increased its cleaning schedules, with special attention to gym equipment, and imposed a special air-filtration servicing cycle.

Hilton International, which has seen a downturn at its hotels in China and Singapore, has set up systems with local authorities and hospitals to deal with suspected cases and introduced new routines for handling linen and laundry.

Staff at Le Méridien's hotels in the region are similarly being urged to seek immediate medical attention if they feel unwell, and to strictly observe hygiene practices, especially when handling food.

The number of British Airways flights to the Far East plummeted by 25% in March, compared with a 10% drop in flights worldwide caused by the Iraq war and the general economic slowdown.

Flights to the region are likely to fall further after warnings last week from both the World Health Organisation and the UK Government's chief medical adviser against travel to Hong Kong and the Guangdong province of China.

The SARS virus has already prompted the cancellation or postponement of major conferences by the likes of the World Economic Forum, Intel and General Motors in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Taipei and Bangkok.

To encourage bookings, Shangri-La has waived its cancellation charges. Hilton has redirected its marketing towards domestic and regional trade, which it says is "largely unaffected" by the epidemic; and Le Méridien is working closely with tourism authorities, convention bureaux and airlines throughout the region.

Travel bans to southern Asia

A survey of 180 corporations by the USA-based Business Travel Coalition has found that 27% are banning travel to Asian countries because of SARS, and another 8% are considering a ban.

Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and Vietnam are the key areas being shunned. Smaller numbers are also boycotting Taiwan, Thailand, all South-east Asian countries and Canada, which has a large number of confirmed SARS cases.

The corporations surveyed averaged 31 round trips to Asia each month.

UK Health warning

The UK's Public Health Laboratory Service issued this statement last week: "Based on information currently available from the World Health Organization, areas in which local chains of transmission of SARS are or may be occurring are Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China and China, Guangdong Province. The UK public is strongly advised not to travel to these areas. This advice is being reviewed daily, and this travel warning may be extended to other countries later."

• Five "probable" cases of SARS had been reported in the UK by Monday (7 April).

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 10 - 16 April 2003