By now you may have heard that staycation-goers hoping for a relaxing weekend at various hotels in Singapore have had to queue for hours just to check-in.
Many guests reported waiting times of up to five hours as hotels were inundated with Singapore residents eager to enjoy a local getaway.
One of the hotels to experience long queues was the Grand Park Orchard where guests took to Facebook to complain that little to no information had been provided by the hotel about the waiting times, with one guest reporting that they'd waited more than four hours before being attended to.
In response to Mothership's queries, Grand Park Orchard’s spokesperson said that the hotel was "deeply apologetic for the inconvenience caused.”
The spokesperson added that they have since reviewed their processes to prevent similar circumstances from occurring.
"The hotel remains committed to the safety and comfort of our guests and have updated our procedures which include working with our travel partners to facilitate pre-booking of staggered check-in times and implementing a queue management system so guests will be contacted when it is their turn to check-in."
The check-in process at the hotel today was described by the spokesperson as "smooth" after the implementation of the new procedures.
"Overwhelming surge"
"We received an overwhelming surge in last-minute bookings over the last few days and had tried to reach out to our guests to stagger the check-in times but it was a challenge to reach all of them," explained the spokesperson.
The hotel had taken measures to disperse the crowd by encouraging guests to wait in the holding area or in the restaurants.
However, many guests did not want to leave the queue.
They also offered guests the opportunity to shift their staycation dates or stay at one of the Grand Park Orchard's sister hotels instead.
According to the spokesperson, guests who check-in later will be accorded later check-out times.
Guests with existing bookings can reach out to rsvn.gpor@parkhotelgroup.com to arrange a check-in time and plan their stay prior to arrival.
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Top image from Kife Wee and Grand Park Orchard's Facebook pages