Huge demand expected for hotel replacing Penny’s Bay

The chairman of the Hong Kong Union of Employment Agencies, Thomas Chan, said he expects demand to be huge for quarantine rooms at a newly-designated hotel on Lantau, which will replace the Penny’s Bay Quarantine Centre as an isolation facility for foreign domestic helpers coming to Hong Kong.

Penny’s Bay will stop taking reservations for helpers from Monday, as officials said it is needed amid the onslaught from the Omicron Covid-19 variant.

Speaking on an RTHK show, Chan said rooms at the new quarantine hotel, Regala Skycity, are more expensive than those at Penny’s Bay, increasing the burden on employers.

But he said the additional cost won’t deter employers, as they just want their domestic helpers to arrive in Hong Kong as soon as possible.

Chan said it’s good that the Lantau hotel will provide around 100 more quarantine rooms than before.

He said he also learnt that officials will announce details of a fourth quarantine hotel for helpers in the coming days.

Employers and agents can start booking rooms at the Regala for arriving helpers from Thursday.