Note: Staycations have now been approved at a range of hotels across Singapore. See the latest list, including links to the best deals here.
Some positive news news today for those of you who have been going crazy at home in lockdown for what seems like weeks on end. While a trip to Bali, Tokyo or Taipei is still off the cards for the foreseeable future, hotels in Singapore will soon be able to accept bookings again, subject to individual approval.
This will hopefully begin unlocking staycation options all over the city.
Permission for hotels to accept guests for leisure purposes will be subject to compliance with Safe Management Measures, drawn up between the Singapore Tourist Board (STB), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Enterprise Singapore (ESG), and the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Staycations first became prohibited when Singapore entered its ‘Circuit Breaker’ measures on 7th April 2020, meaning it’s already been a long 13-week gap for the hotel industry.
Once properties are permitted to reopen, this should therefore coincide with a range of offers, with the hotels no doubt keen to capitalise on their only significant custom for some time.
Which hotels?
The STB has a dedicated page listing approved hotels for staycation bookings. Currently it is blank, but you may want to bookmark this one to see which hotels begin to appear on the list.
List of approved hotels for staycations
This page will hopefully also list the dates each hotel intends to reopen for staycation (leisure) visits.
Do note that the STB will take up to 14 days to assess each hotel’s application for approval, so the earliest staycation options will likely begin to coincide with the start of the city’s public school holidays – around 18th July 2020.
Facilities should be available
Your staycation in Phase 2 of Singapore’s progressive relaxation of lockdown measures should give you a full experience, with facilities like swimming pools, bars, restaurants and gyms open and available for use. Club lounges in hotels are already permitted to open.
These facilities will have to operate in accordance with the ‘Safe Management Measures’ mentioned above, including social distancing.
Deals
The Singapore Hotel Association has a special Staycation Deals page on its website which is also worth bookmarking. There’s nothing on there at the moment, however we expect the deals to begin appearing once approvals start to come through.
Click here for SHA’s latest staycation deals
Currently, hotels may only begin marketing staycation offers once they have been approved by the MTI.
Summary
With international travel still off the cards, a staycation is the next best thing. There are over 400 hotels in Singapore, so there’s certainly set to be no shortage of choice.
While not all of these properties will apply for approval or take bookings soon, since many are still dedicated to assisting the government with quarantine measures, we’re expecting a raft of deals to be announced for the many hotels that are waiting to reopen.
For those of us keen to travel after weeks at home, a staycation will be a great opportunity to enjoy a change of scenery even without leaving the country.
Which hotels in Singapore do you want to see permitting staycation bookings? Let us know in the comments section below.
(Cover Photo: Raffles Hotel)
Source: Today Online
How about Hotel in Geylang? Like a budget hotel just for staycation?