Greek hotels to offer ‘quarantine holidays’ with designated sun loungers and dining tables per guest

HOTELS in Greece could enforce designated sun loungers and dining tables per guest for ‘quarantine holidays’ to ensure social distancing guidelines are followed.

Guests will only be allowed to use the restaurant and swimming pool seating given to them by the hotel which will also prevent cross-contamination.

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Reuters

Hotels in Greece are looking into new ways to keep guests safe, including designated sun lounger spots[/caption]

It will likely be met poorly by Brits who rush for the best sun lounger every morning, with families often caught putting towels down as early as possible.

Hotels are expected to open by June 1, initially for domestic travellers only, as Greece lifts their lockdown restrictions.

According to local media, other changes are also being considered.

Staff may leave towels and sheets outside of rooms to avoid going inside – resulting in guests having to make up their own beds.

Hotels are likely to operate at a maximum capacity rate of 50 per cent, with staggered dining times at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Reuters

Half capacity resorts, allotted dining times and the ending of buffet services are all being considered[/caption]

Guests can also wave goodbye to buffets, with many resorts looking at ending the shared dining option altogether.

The new measures are being considered amid fears that hotels in Greece could remain empty even if travel restrictions are lifted, due to other countries banning non-essential travel.

With flights also yet to resume, with limited flights to Europe until at least June, they fear that tourists will take months to return.

President of Corfu’s hotel association Charalambos Voulgaris told local media: “We are going to have very low occupancy rates. We don’t know if our hotels will open, when they will open, so we are right now on the brink of very hard times.”

Previous reports warn that 65 per cent of hotels could go bankrupt across Greece – a study by the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels found that 65 percent of hoteliers say that they are “likely” (46.6 per cent) to go bankrupt, with 18.3 per cent saying it was “most likely”.

Other islands face similar fears, including Santorini, Kos, Zante, despite them managing to avoid coronavirus cases altogether.

Greece has begun to lift its lockdown which was imposed six weeks ago to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

Hairdressers, florists and bookstores have reopened this week, with further measures including hotels opening by next month.

Schools, restaurants and bars will reopen later this month.