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Letters | Regulate prices of quarantine hotel rooms, not least for long-suffering returning Hongkongers
- Readers discuss the issues around Hong Kong’s quarantine hotels and whether evidence supports the city’s continued pandemic restrictions
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I arrived back in Hong Kong on July 10 with my wife after an expensive protracted stay overseas because of circumstances beyond our control. First, kudos to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu for removing the flight ban.
I also applaud his decision to review and hopefully revamp the draconian rules in place for incoming travellers. If nothing else, preferential treatment must be given to all Hong Kong ID card holders.
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When being shepherded to my hotel, I couldn’t help but wish I had the backing of a powerful government that would instruct all clients to only buy goods and services that I and a handful of my friends and associates could provide and also not regulate the prices we charged. This is basically what has happened with Hong Kong quarantine hotels.
They have a monopoly on all incoming passengers and are free to charge what they deem fit. Hotels where I would not spend even HK$800 (US$100) per night are now charging upwards of HK$4,000 per night and they are still fully booked until at least the last week of July. The government needs to regulate pricing so this price gouging can be stopped.
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Having said that, there are still a few hotels that have maintained their pre-quarantine prices, but those are few and far between. Please consider the plight of the regular Hongkonger. We have already suffered during the last three years. It’s time to end this.
Deepak Mirchandani, Jardine’s Lookout
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