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Tourism minister urges hotels in Malaysia to adopt 23-hour stays to enhance guest satisfaction, says staff shortage solutions underway

Federal Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has advised hotel operators to modify check-in and check-out times so that visitors can stay a minimum of 23 hours each day.

Tiong said that on October 17, he met with representatives of various hotel business associations in Parliament and personally voiced his position.

He understood that hotel operators were worried about guests staying longer, especially because of staffing shortages that make cleaning and room preparation more time-consuming.

I also committed to directly communicating with the Home Ministry (KDN) and the Ministry of Human Resources (Kesuma) to help address the issue of staff shortages and satisfy customer stay times.

He posted on Facebook yesterday, saying, “Therefore, I promised hotel operators that I will assist them in negotiating with Kesuma and KDN to facilitate the hiring of foreign workers.”

According to Tiong, the hotel sector does not currently have a preference when it comes to hiring foreign workers, and the workforce is impacted by the extremely small number of source nations that are permitted to provide foreign labour.

“I’ll talk to the appropriate departments as well to resolve this problem. This involves making it easier for hotel companies to hire foreign staff directly, bypassing middlemen.

A 23-hour stay per day is typical overseas, he said, with visitors arriving at 2 p.m. and departing at midday the following day or no later than 1 p.m.

“The cleanliness and quality of the accommodations are unaffected by this common practice.”

Tiong noted that this issue is not just about industry profits, even though hotels may wish to reduce expenses and increase revenues by not providing such long stays.

Additionally, customers want to believe that the services they receive are worth the money they pay. Otherwise, their stay will be disappointing, demonstrating that the hotel puts financial gain ahead of customer satisfaction.

According to him, consumers who spend money naturally want to do it in a worry-free manner, and if they are satisfied with their purchases, the operators will undoubtedly be thrilled with increased revenue.  

Furthermore, I have directed my ministry’s National Academy of Arts, Culture, and Heritage (Aswara) to assist in the establishment of training programs that offer instruction in hotel room preparation and cleaning, with certificates awarded upon successful completion.

“This will improve hotel service quality and efficiency and improve Malaysian tourism’s professional image,” he said.

Tiong noted that the absence of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and the unrestricted number of visitors are other issues brought up by hotel operators. These issues have resulted in loud problems that have impacted the peace and quality of the stay.

He stated as follows: “I brought up the subject of short-term rental homes in the Cabinet meeting this morning (yesterday).”

“Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi will chair the Cabinet Tourism Development Committee meeting, where this issue will be further explored.

“To strategize and resolve this issue, my ministry will collaborate with other ministries, including the (Federal) Ministry of Housing and Local Government (#KPKT).” The Borneo Post

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