Coronavirus impact: Dubai hotel offers free stay for distressed families
Community initiative aimed at those who are struggling to make ends meet
Dubai: Families in distress in the wake of the pandemic are being offered a free week’s stay at the community hotel Zabeel House by Jumeriah, The Greens, to help them get things sorted as they deal with their challenges.
Luke James, general manager of the hotel, said, “Since we’ve reopened and welcomed back our regular guests, we’ve heard of several people going through quite a tough time given all the challenges of the last few months – we’re all one community and it’s only natural to help each other.”
He said the initiative is aimed at families who are struggling to make ends meet. “Maybe, the main bread winner has lost their job or taken on a big salary cut – there are so many challenges people are facing. We’re offering eight families in this position the chance to stay with us for free for a week,” he said, adding, “The only charge would be the mandatory Dh15 tourism charge per night for each room and through this, we’re hoping to alleviate some of the immediate concerns they may be facing.”
The offer was initially posted in a private Facebook group, following which it went viral. “We’re hoping it will spur other hotels in a similar position to offer the same, ultimately giving back to the community in a time of need, we literally are stronger together. We’ve already had partners like Coffee Planet, African & Eastern, Opaala and our sister hotel Jumeirah Zabeel Saray come on board to add value to our initial offer. It’s great to see the knock-on effect and we really hope it continues,” said James.