MORE than 20,000 hotel beds have been made available for key workers amid the COVID-19 outbreak, according to trade group UK Hospitality.
Around 200 hotels – from national chains to single sites – across the UK will provide accommodation for NHS staff and other key workers deployed to areas of high need.
UK Hospitality said it has been liaising with organisations, including Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, to ensure front-line workers are supported.
The provision of 20,000 beds is in addition to the thousands of beds already made available by individual hotel companies.
Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: “It is very heartening to see so many hotels make themselves available to help host NHS staff and other vital workers. The hospitality sector has been devastated by the crisis and hotels have been forced to weather a huge blow. Many companies have already looked to help by providing beds and it is great that so many more have answered UK Hospitality’s call to provide support where it is needed most.
“Housing key workers in hotels that are otherwise sitting empty will, we hope, ease the strain on those services battling to tackle the spread of the coronavirus. It could also help save hotels at very real risk of going out of business and keep people in work at a time when many people’s jobs are at risk.”
