Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, cancellation of bookings has been noticed in many airlines and hotels all around the world. As a commitment to guests, LILY hotels has offered more flexibility in cancellation and date change for their guests. LILY hotels in a press said that they believe it is a difficult time for any guests to commit dates to travel and to book but confirm travel dates during a later stage. It was noticed by many hotels including Lily that many of their guests chose to postpone their stay for a later date.
At the end of March, Maldives closed its border for incoming tourists. Airlines have followed and cancelled many of their flights to bring tourists back to country. As a result, Lily beach resort & spa had 22 guests since mid march. The 22 guests are pampered from morning to night by 200 employees on the island.
Many Maldivian employees were able to return to their islands to join their families, but as far as expats are concerned, they have the same problem as our guests; just no flights. Because there has been no new guests or staff to foot step on the island for more than 2 months, and of course no suspicious cases in our resort, we do not feel the constraints that families around the world have in terms of social distancing and being locked down; we are locked down but on a beautiful island. “
In a press release by Lily Hotels
Resort management has taken part in some of the celebrations with guests, notably for the 13th birthday of one of the guest. Celebrations were held at a beach barbecue dinner and enjoyed with Bodu Beru dances and bond fire. Other guests bought presents for the lucky birthday boy and the resort upgraded the family to the Sunset Water Villa.
This peculiar situation has made us become even more flexible and creative because it is not so common to have guests in your resort for more than 2 months and somewhere, we need to entertain them more than what we would normally do when they are here for one or two weeks. They are concerned about the situation back at home, and it is also our responsibility to try to make them “forget”, even if it is only for one evening, what the world is going through.
In a press release by Lily Hotels
While most of the resorts have commenced with new safety standards, Lily hotels also reassured the importance of safety and security of their guests. The resort has implemented new standards to ensure guests travel safety and provide maximum flexibility as the situation of Covid-19 continues to evolve.
In consultation with Ministry of Health and local public health authorities, Lily Hotels further increased the frequency of cleaning public areas (including lobbies, door handles, public bathrooms, FO, Resto, Recreation areas etc.) and have continued the use of hospital-grade disinfectants and increased the deployment of antibacterial hand sanitisers. The resort has also informed in continuing to adjust food and beverage service in accordance with the current food and safety recommendations.