Under Taiwan’s new quarantine rules, travelers must spend at least the first 10 days of a two-week isolation period at a designated hotel or a government facility. Unfortunately, booking a room is easier said than done.
Taiwanese wishing to return home for the Lunar New Year in January might feel that ‘home’ is a bit further away than usual this year. The reason for that - a lack of available rooms in quarantine hotels.
One Taiwanese student currently residing in the United States compares trying to book a room at a quarantine hotel to buying a concert ticket for the Taiwanese pop band Mayday - near impossible.
It may be surprising that booking a room for quarantine has become the biggest hurdle in coming to Taiwan. Surprising especially to those who are already fully vaccinated and keep hearing about loosening Covid-19 restrictions in Taiwan.
But one look at Taipei City’s quarantine booking system confirms it - not a single room available from January 3rd to 13th.
Hotel operators are hesitant to make more rooms available, as they fear oversupply once the New Year travel peak ends.
Chen Tsung-yen from the Central Epidemic Command Center says ministries and government bodies will make more accommodation available, in the form of dorms and hostels they manage. Three and a half thousand rooms will enter the central quarantine system in mid-November.
However, these facilities are scattered all over Taiwan, so they might do little to alleviate the shortage of rooms in high-demand places like Taipei, New Taipei, or Taoyuan. With holidays around the corner, less and less time is left to make sure that those wishing to return will have a place to stay.