A CONSUMER activist wants the authorities to uphold the basic rights of consumers by ensuring they get fair value when staying in hotels and homestays.
Penang Consumer Protection Association president Datuk K. Koris Atan said hoteliers should make every effort to ensure a person’s stay is as hospitable as possible, including extending proper in-house staying hours.
"There have been too many complaints from inhouse guests that their stay is marred by late check-in hours on the pretext that the rooms are not ready, and they were forced to check out at noon. This is unfair to consumers."
If they check in at 5 pm despite arriving at the hotel at 2 pm, then they should be allowed a late check-out allowance, he said.
Especially if they are paying rates for peak stays such as during a public holiday.
Koris said that he supports the assertion from Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who stated that hoteliers should offer guests a full 23-hour stay to improve customer satisfaction.
The Sarawakian leader highlighted this proposal in a post on his Facebook account calling for hotels to adjust their check-in and check-out times to allow for nearly a full day's accommodation.
"I advocated for this change during a recent meeting with hotel industry association representatives in Parliament. I'm also looking to engage with the Human Resources Ministry and the Home Minister to address staffing shortages this modification might necessitate," he said.
Koris said that consumers have been made to pay unnecessarily by the incompetency of their hosts, who imposed upon them to check in late but to check out early.
"It is unfair if the travellers haul in long distances, only to be disallowed to check because the rooms are not ready when they are tired from their extended journeys."
Koris said that hoteliers may be facing staffing shortages but they must learn to manage the situation better, perhaps by increasing wages so locals would be enticed to work domestically instead of seeking their fortunes overseas.
He also lent support to Tiong, who stated that the 23-hour policy is common internationally, with check-in typically at 2 pm and check-out by noon or 1 pm the following day, without compromising cleanliness or quality.
Koris also urged hoteliers to invest in automation by allowing mobile check-ins and to rechannel their human resources on menial tasks such as room cleaning.
Perhaps incentives can also be accorded to hotel guests such as offering them future discounts if they upkeep their respective rooms well instead of thrashing it until the housekeepers are forced to allocate more time to clean up the rooms, he said. - October 30, 2024
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