Thailand: Pandemic forces Hotel JAL City Bangkok to postpone May opening

• Apr 22, 2020

Japanese hotel chain operator Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co has decided to indefinitely postpone its planned opening of a new hotel in Bangkok in May due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The operator said on its website that it has reviewed the situation and decided to push back the opening of Hotel JAL City Bangkok from May 8. It is the first JAL City brand hotel to be established outside Japan and has 324 rooms in a central location in the capital.

Thailand declared a state of emergency from March 26 through April 30 to contain the spread of the pneumonia-causing coronavirus in the country.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said at a press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday the government will discuss at a cabinet meeting next week whether it should end the measure on the scheduled date.

The Tokyo-based hotel chain operator temporarily closed the Okura Prestige Bangkok, a hotel under one of its other brands, from March 26. It delayed a plan to reopen from April 16 to April 30 due to the continuing virus outbreak.

“The reopening schedule may remain fluid as we need to make a judgment depending on the virus infection situation,” the operator’s spokeswoman said from Tokyo.

Okura Nikko Hotel Management is still hosting a small number of customers at the Hotel Nikko Bangkok, which is located adjacent to Hotel JAL City Bangkok.

“It is difficult for hotels to promote their facilities under the current condition,” the spokeswoman said.

Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1905095/pandemic-forces-hotel-jal-city-bangkok-to-postpone-may-opening