Grand Park Orchard Responded to Long Queue for Staycation Guests; Said Guests Were Told to Wait Elsewhere Instead of Queuing

Yesterday, Singaporeans waited for hours in a long queue, but this time, they weren’t happy about it.

See, it wasn’t for a Hello Kitty-themed product or for an iPhone.

It was simply to check in at a hotel. 

On Saturday (12 Dec), some guests who had used their SingapoRediscovers tourism vouchers to book a stay at Grand Park Orchard found themselves waiting up to 7 hours to check in.

Facebook was soon flooded with aggrieved guests posting negative reviews of the hotel, as well as pictures of the guests, who were packed together like sardines.

One criticism that many customers shared was a lack of initiative on the part of the hotel’s staff members, as guests weren’t informed of how long they had to wait to get checked-in.

Well, now the hotel has responded.

Long Queues Due to Surge in Bookings

Grand Park Orchard explained that the long queues on Saturday were due to a surge in bookings in the past few days.

And in other news, ice cream is cold, and bubble tea is delicious.

To be fair to the hotel, the spokesman who issued a statement on Sunday said that it received an “overwhelming surge in last-minute bookings over the last few days”.

The spokesman said the hotel had tried to reach out to its guests “to stagger the check-in times but it was a challenge to reach all of them”.

This is why the check-in process was smooth on Sunday (13 Dec), because of the staggered check-in and the queue management system, reported ST.

Guests Were Told to Wait Elsewhere Instead of Queuing

According to Ms Tan Yen Nee, hotel and sector manpower director at the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), 14 safe distancing ambassadors and enforcement officers from STB were deployed to Grand Park Orchard on Saturday at 7.34pm.

They assisted the hotel staff in managing the crowds and ensured that guests were keeping a distance of 1m from each other.

Police officers also arrived on the scene to ensure law and order.

Crowds started to disperse at 8.05pm, after the guests were told to wait in one of the function rooms as part of safe-distancing measures.

The hotel also tried to disperse the crowds by encouraging guests to wait in a holding area or in the restaurants instead.

“We understand that many guests didn’t want to leave the queue,” the spokesman said.

The hotel had also offered guests the option to shift their bookings to other dates or move to its sister hotels, according to the spokesman.

“Deeply Apologetic”

The spokesman added that the hotel was “deeply apologetic” for the inconvenience caused.

Ms Tan said STB has followed up on the incident with the hotel’s management.

“(We) understand that they have taken steps to resolve the issue and assist affected guests,” she said.

Singaporeans will certainly think twice now before using their tourism vouchers to book a staycation.

Featured Image: Facebook (Kife Wee)