New Measures To Curb Quarantine Hotel Room Scalping

The government on Friday announced measures to stop quarantine hotel rooms scalping, saying hotels should verify guests' real names and that they pay in full when booking a room.

In a statement, the administration said it decided to implement the measures with immediate effect after talks with the hotel sector.

It added hotels shouldn't let travel agents block book the rooms without supplying details of the guests.

The agents should also be required to list the breakdown of fees on the customer's receipt, and hotels should ensure agents charge the same rate as listed on the government website, the administration said.

The government said it will not tolerate any kind of scalping activities and will take appropriate follow-up action if non-compliance cases are found.

Meanwhile, it said three more hotels will take part in its quarantine hotel scheme from August to October, providing some 900 additional rooms.

A total of 24,000 rooms in 65 quarantine hotels would be available for inbound travellers to undergo quarantine during the three months.