Hotel liaisons with mystery guests

Staff reporters

The Island Pacific Hotel near the Liaison Office headquarters in Sai Ying Pun has not shut down but has signed a long-term lease with an "institution" for its staff members to stay, the Sino group said last night.

The Sino group added that the hotel has suspended operations to make necessary preparations and adjustments.

The group also said it has communicated with customers who had booked hotel rooms, but did not reveal the identity of the organization.

Michael Li Hon-shing, executive director of the Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners, made the clarification after the four-star hotel put up a sign that it suspended operations over the weekend - fueling speculation that it had permanently closed.

The hotel under the Sino Hotels Group, which took part in the Hong Kong Tourism Board's Staycation Delight program, has also quit the program. Citizens noted the sudden change after a notice stating the hotel operations had been suspended was posted outside its gate.

The Sino Hotels Group's website said the Island Pacific Hotel is one of the group's properties but the name of the hotel has disappeared from the group's hotel list.

The website and the Facebook page of the Island Pacific Hotel were also shut down.

A staff member said the hotel suspended its operation at Saturday and had been contacting customers to return their money.

But he added that customers who booked the hotel rooms through a third-party platform would need to contact the platform for the refund.

The staff also said the suspension of hotel service had nothing to do with the pandemic and the reason would be announced by senior executives later.

Li told The Standard yesterday that the hotel was not closed. Instead, the whole hotel has been rented by an organization.

"Island Pacific is not closing down. It only suspended operations as an organization needs a lot of rooms for its staff and it does not want them to live in different hotels, so the organization rented the whole hotel," Li said.

But Li did not say which organization rented Island Pacific. He added that all hotel staff members are still working there.

"It is under normal operations - only it does not open for other people except the organization which rented the hotel," Li said.

The 29-story hotel was opened in 1999 and provides 328 rooms for customers, including 320 guest rooms and eight deluxe suites. It was also the designated hotel for the 2009 East Asian Games.

The hotel had taken part in the Tourism Board's Staycation Delights program, which allows people who spend HK$800 or more at eligible retail or dining outlets to enjoy HK$500 off during their stay.

The Tourism Board said yesterday that the hotel was struck off the list last Friday and no customer had booked rooms at the hotel through the program.