The Hospitality industry around the world is pitching in to alleviate the crisis.

For the hospitality industry, the financial blow of COVID-19 has been immediate—and painful. While tourism and travel grind to a halt, many hotels are shuttering locations and laying off thousands of employees; those still open are nearly vacant. Yet, in the midst of a public health crisis, hotels could become an important part of the relief.

As the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic hit much of the world over the last few weeks, hotels have begun to turn vacancies into an opportunity.
Hotels as Hospitals
In the United States, concern over a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospital capacity has government officials looking for alternatives: across the country, cities are considering plans to convert hotels into hospitals.
This effort, which would ease the burden for overcrowded ICU units and hospitals, has already been implemented in countries like Spain, where the death toll rose to 1,000 last week. According to Al-Jazeera, hotels like Ayre Gran Hotel Colon in Madrid have opened to COVID-19 patients; Spanish authorities report there are 60,000 more hotel rooms across Spain ready to go.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers, which has started scouting locations in New York City, would likely implement something similar to Spain, drawing up plans to quickly turn hotels, dorms, and convention centers into makeshift hospitals with quarantined areas and medical equipment—should they have to. The harsh reality underlying these plans is that cities, especially hard-hit ones like NYC, San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, fear they won’t have enough hospital beds and medical care to host infected patients.
Hotels for Medical Workers
STAY Camden in London is taking action ahead of government intervention. The brand is now offering up its apartment-like lodgings to any medical workers looking for a place to quarantine. With an offer to host medical professionals for up to a month (for now), the apartments, with full kitchens and laundry, come with specialty care packages as well. Dotan Weiner, COO of LABS Collective, the UK-based hotel group, calls the opportunity to accommodate those working to fight COVID-19 “a privilege.”
New Orleans, a city that relies heavily on tourism (and has been hit hard by the virus), hotels offer incentives for those affected. The Higgins Hotel at the National WWII Museum offers a special weekly rate for partners and families of medical workers who are looking for a safe place to quarantine. Nearby, The Quisby, a hip, revamped hostel on St. Charles Avenue, offers up discounted rooms to traveling nurses and medical professionals coming to town to aide in efforts. The Quisby and others across the United States look to foundations like Hotels For Hope, an initiative from The American Hotel and Lodging Association that connects healthcare workers and government agencies with hotels across the country.
Serving You, Serving Each Other
Members of the hospitality industry are known innovators. Now they’re using those creative efforts to help each other, and others in need. Beyond hotels, there are the distilleries that use their raw materials to make hand sanitizer; foundations that pay restaurants to feed on-duty medical workers, and bars and restaurants that provide free meals for laid-off service industry workers.
So, while you’re stuck at home, like many of us are, check out some resources that give to bars, restaurants, hotels, and their employees, as well as some simple ways to individually support the places you love until it’s safe to do it in person again.