Following the latest movement control order, hotels in Penang may face temporary or permanent closures in the coming weeks.

Malaysia Association of Hotels Penang chairman K. Raj Kumar stated that the situation for hoteliers appeared extremely bleak as MCO 3.0 would last until June 7.

“It is too early to say which hotel will succumb to the impact, but it is possible that this will occur after the holiday season, whether temporary or permanent.

“The nationwide MCO caught us off guard because many of us are still sorting through a lot of things.

“We have been suffering from continuous impact of the previous MCOs, ” he said.

Raj Kumar stated that many hotels were operating with two to five rooms per day this year, relying on the food and beverage business to offset losses.

“Without the ability to dine in, our food and beverage businesses will die, and even if hotels want to rely on room bookings, what business is there for us?”

“One or two room bookings for business travellers will not contribute to anything,” he added.

Raj Kumar stated that hoteliers were already at a breaking point, and he urged the state and federal governments to consider allowing hotels to offer dine-in with strict SOP.

“Statistics show that Covid-19 clusters emerged primarily from factories, and while hotels did contribute to the numbers, the percentage is small.

“It demonstrates that we have taken strict measures to ensure that SOP is followed. “We request that dine-in be considered,” he added.

Raj Kumar also urged the state and federal governments to consider vaccinating at least 30 percent of hotel employees.

“This industry is also important, and if we are not given attention, how will we recover and help the economy recover?”

“It's fine if the government is unable to immunise everyone in the industry. Consider those on the front lines, such as front-of-house personnel, housekeeping personnel, and food and beverage personnel.

“It is critical that the government engage hoteliers in discussions to help us survive. If the tourism industry fails, many people will be affected, and we will lose a lot of things, ” he said.