GEORGE TOWN – Hotels are slowly positioning themselves as household helpers as the movement control order (MCO) drags on for more than a year, with the latest instalment being the full MCO (FMCO). They range from laundry service, food deliveries to growing chemical-free vegetables.
The stylish G Hotel has resorted to offering drive-through laundry service to their customers. Operating daily, customers can drop off their bag of clothes for RM6 per kilogram for it to be washed and folded.
If the apparels need to be ironed, that is an extra RM1 each. Fill your dirty clothes into their value laundry bag at a flat rate of RM50 a bag. Your neatly folded laundry will be ready for pickup again the next day.
They are still running takeaways, and rooms are open for business travellers who are running essential services.
In the meantime, most hotels are expanding their takeaway and delivery menu, catering to almost all cuisines under the sun.
Iconic Hotel’s general manager Kevin Cheah told The Vibes that it is impossible to close down the hotel temporarily. This is because there is a major cost for hotels as 60% of the costs cover utilities and labour.
“On average, a three to five-star hotel needs an occupancy of at least 35% and above to cover the cost. Now we are running in the 10s.
“The food takeaway and delivery is just to cover as must as we can, although the profit margin is very thin. However, it gives our staff something to do, boosting their morale as compared to doing nothing,” he said.
The hotel has rolled out an expansive menu that covers all meals; from breakfast, lunch, teatime and supper. They are also offering dessert boxes, wine and cheese platters and Father’s Day cakes.
Other hotels are doing the same, falling back on their MCO “routine” with beach resorts like Rasa Sayang Shangri-La running their F&B promotions with rooms open for essential stay and business hotels.
Hotel Royal is promoting their breakfast and lunch F&B promotions by setting up a stall by the roadside. Cititel Penang is doing the same with a drive-through pickup of their western and local food fare.
Meanwhile, Penang Golf Club (PGC) is closed for the fifth time since the first MCO. It has resorted to selling freshly harvested organic vegetables from its farm to the public.
“We have been running our food delivery since March last year, depending on it to survive. We have expanded our offers to include vegetables planted here, along with frozen raw seafood and bread," PGC's marketing and sales executive May Valerie said.
“As most delivery vendors only deliver by area, we offer wider coverage, from where we are, at the south of the island to the north and even mainland.
“We also operate daily,” she said.
Instead of crowding the shopping malls and wet markets, the management told The Vibes that the public should make orders for local vegetables from their homes, as heading out will expose them to the virus. – The Vibes, June 9, 2021
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