It’s been over four months since hotel leisure stays in Singapore became possible again, with five hotels kicking off the ‘staycation movement’ back on 9th July 2020. In the first month alone, 200 hotels gained approval and opened for staycation guests, however in the three months since then, only 30 additional properties have joined the list.
That’s a significant slowdown, partly because many hotels remain committed to contractual agreements to act as government facilities, accommodating stay-home or quarantine guests in the fight against COVID-19.
Another factor to consider for most of our readers is that of the 30 hotels approved in the last three months, only 11 of them have been in the luxury or mid-range category, with practically two-thirds being budget hotels, typically of little interest to staycation-goers.
Recently in fact there’s only been one luxury hotel added as an option, the Andaz Singapore, with the PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering, Vagabond Club and Sheraton Towers perhaps being the only notable mid-range options joining the fold in recent weeks.
Christmas will bring at least five new options
Luckily the upcoming Christmas and New Year period, not to mention Chinese New Year following in February 2021, is the perfect temptation for many hotels to dust down the cobwebs (or wind up their government facility agreements) and take advantage of local holiday demand.
While Christmas and New Year in Hong Kong isn’t necessarily off the cards for Singapore residents, the new Air Travel Bubble between the two cities will now remain firmly parked while Hong Kong works to address its ‘fourth wave’ of COVID-19 cases.