Demand for the Hotel for Heroes program, which houses working health care employees and first responders in free hotel rooms, was so great in its first week that it outstripped supply.
Program organizers made some modifications, including limiting workers to seven-day reservations, and the program is back on track with more than 870 room nights already reserved. Facilities, which were allotted rooms based on their size, also were asked to voluntarily give back rooms that they didn’t need.
Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, said, “There’s been incredible demand and interest for these rooms. While the hotels were very generous, the demand that came in initially outstripped supply. We’ve put guidance in place, and we’ve put a limit in place on how many nights each person can access rooms.”
Raethel said Kaiser workers were given access to rooms after a skilled-nursing agency on another island gave up some of its allotted rooms.
“Different institutions have different needs. We were fortunate to be able
to give Kaiser an additional allocation because some rooms were given up,” Raethel said. “We are incredibly appreciative to have this opportunity for workers to have some time to themselves. We recognize this is an incredibly challenging time for the hotel industry.”
Many Hawaii hotels
have temporarily closed. It was a sign of the times that the state’s largest property, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, temporarily suspended operations Monday.
Developed by the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Hawaii Lodging &Tourism Association, the Hotel for Heroes program is a way to make use of the extra rooms while giving back to the visitor industry and the community.
Program hotels on Kauai, Maui, Hawaii island and Oahu with approved reservations are compensated
$85 a night from state tourism funds.
The program doesn’t take anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or has to quarantine. It also doesn’t allow anyone to tag along on the reservation, which is for working professionals who need assistance. New partnerships with Domino’s and Enterprise also have provided some participants with an opportunity to get free pizza and rental cars.
“These rooms are not for vacation. They are for working people who need to decompress and socially isolate themselves from their family situation,” Raethel said. “When they are in the rooms, they are required to self-isolate. There are not there to enjoy amenities or hang out at the gym.”
Raethel said the program also provides a chance to get more sleep for those with long commutes or those working lengthy shifts.
Honolulu Fire Department Battalion Chief Kevin Mokulehua said the program will be a boon to the department’s 1,000 or so active workers.
“We’ve been receiving a lot of interest in the program and have seen a steady increase since it started,” Mokulehua said. “Our firefighters are working hard responding to hundreds of calls a day in partnership with EMS. We’re responding to many emergency incidents to fires, rescues, hazardous materials and medical incidents, which are about 60% of our calls annually and especially with COVID-19 have increased.”
Mokulehua said HFD is practicing good hygiene and social distancing, but even so, “there’s always this thing in your mind that I’m going home and I want to keep the family safe.”
The program should help to reduce the number of HFD first responders who are setting up tents to isolate from their families, he said.
