Many hotels were closed this Northern Spring when Covid-19 was rapidly spreading around the world. I was the last guest to check out at two hotels before they closed their doors.
Most hotels have reopened, although there are still some that haven’t. I made two reservations for a stay in Paris later this month (fully cancelable and not prepaid) a week ago and was surprised to receive a hotel closure email from Hilton yesterday.
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Reservation confirmation from last week:
Cancellation from Hilton yesterday:
Conclusion
This was my first hotel booking since April that was affected by closure or suspended operations. I am not sure if this hotel reopened during this summer or the closure merely continues.
I made two reservations for the same dates, and the Hilton appears to be staying open (and the rate had just dropped – saving me 20 euros).
Hotels generally stay open if they can reach 10 to 15% occupancy because they then lose less money than by closing. When you close a hotel there are expenses too and reopening will be challenging (no forward-looking bookings and travelers may have switched their hotel preferences).
Paris just instituted new rules for the next two weeks to try slowing down the spread of Covid-19 that has flared up lately. This could mean an even more challenging environment for hotels to operate in.