The Accommodation Association of Australia (AAoA) has sprung to the defence of the Travelodge Sydney on Wentworth Avenue, after the NSW Government moved 366 returned overseas travellers out, and removed the property from the quarantine program.
Guest complaints, alleging cockroaches, unclean linen and hairs in the rooms, were denied by the hotel. ABC News quoted a spokesperson for the hotel saying: “The Travelodge Sydney has strict protocols in place around COVID-19 cleaning and these have not been brought into question by the NSW authorities.”
The AAoA backed this up, saying Australia’s hotels, “including those supporting the Government’s mandatory Isolation Program” were committed to the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene.
“There has been not one safety breach that the hotel [the Travelodge Sydney on Wentworth Avenue] has been notified of,” AAoA chief executive Dean Long said.
“If there has been an issue which resulted in the decision to rotate the hotel out of the Isolation Program, the hotel needs to know so that it can make sure its frontline team members are safe.
“The hotel was one of the first hotels to step up and volunteer to support the Government’s mandatory Isolation Program. Since March, it has hosted around 2000 rooms. During that time there has been a mountain of compliments and just a handful of complaints which, when bought to the hotel’s attention have been dealt swiftly and in a safe manner.
“During that time there have been a number of audits on security personnel which the hotel has not been involved in. A hotel site inspection with police and health authorities was conducted on July 28, and the hotel was deemed compliant and retained on the isolation program.
“Where guests have raised concerns upon check-in, the hotel has immediately addressed them; while the property is an older property, standard rooms are 20-22sqm, which is standard for a four-star hotel room.”
Long called for greater transparency from Government and authorities “to assist participating hotels continue to safely accommodate guests and keep team members safe”.
He said a combination of 4-star and 5-star properties volunteered to participate in the program to support returning travellers – and he added that “isolation stays are not a hotel stay”.
On other points, Long said:
- Participating hotels are vetted by the NSW Government and must maintain a minimum standard;
- Wearing of PPE including by security guards is overseen by police;
- Catering is provided by an external company that is contracted by the NSW Government – ie complaints about food should not be directed to or at the participating hotels;
- Rooms are rotated, rested and cleaned to an enhanced protocol between stays. Where there is a positive case, the room is cleaned by a specialist cleaning contractor to a mandated NSW Health protocol;
- Hotel staff have and will continue to go above and beyond to make these mandatory stays as comfortable as possible however in order to keep both guests and staff safe, hoteliers are not able to deliver their normal hospitality
- We understand that people don’t like being forced to isolate for two weeks on returning to Australia but we also need everyone to recognise the tremendous effort and commitment of hotel staff who are also on the frontline, supporting returning travellers, as well as medical professionals choosing to isolate in hotels to keep their families safe, plus the most vulnerable in our community;
- The level of consumer acceptance has changed noticeably since the introduction of the requirement that consumers must self-fund their two-week isolation stay.
- Of the $3000 that consumers pay, the participating hotels receive an agreed nightly rate of around $120. The rest is used by Government to cover the costs of isolation including catering, security and medical staff.
The NSW Police Force issued the following statement on Tuesday, without mentioning the name of the hotel:
The NSW Police Force conducts regular audits and reviews of hotels used in the hotel quarantine operation to ensure a high standard of delivery for all travellers required to quarantine at hotels for the minimum 14-day period as instructed by NSW Health.
Hotels that do not meet the expectations are rotated out of the hotels roster. On Tuesday 25 August 2020, NSW Police ascertained that one such hotel did not meet the expectations required as part of the quarantine program and a decision was made to relocate all 366 guests to another, more suitable accommodation.
The relocation operation commenced this afternoon and is expected take around 12 hours to complete.
The health, safety and comfort of all quarantined travellers remains a top priority for NSW Police.
The NSW Police Force continues to work closely with NSW Health to ensure hotel quarantine operations comply with the highest standards, including having robust infection control measures in place at all quarantine facilities, with support from the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission.
Health staff are present in hotels managed by NSW Police and additionally health hotel quarantine was established early in NSW and is managed by NSW Health (for people with COVID-19, suspected COVID-19 or those with a clinical condition which makes being in a police hotel inappropriate).
Regular audits are undertaken of infection control practices and police officers, security guards and other staff on site are guided in the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by clinical staff at the hotels. These measures have been guided by the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission, based on national and international best practice.
Since the operation began on Sunday 29 March 2020, police have been operating up to 20 hotels, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In total, more than 50,000 people have entered mandatory quarantine in NSW Police-managed hotels, with 4185 people currently in 16 hotels across Sydney.
It has been an incredibly successful operation, which has dramatically reduced the transmission of COVID-19 throughout the community.
