When Quarantine Hotels are Full, Some Go Home: A Booking Agent’s Inside Story

March 2, 2021 Marsha Mowers

“I was iffy about discussing the issues surrounding hotel quarantine, but since I could give my perspective based on anonymity I was willing.”

That’s a very strong statement from someone who is booking travellers into quarantine hotels. 

Things haven’t been going smoothly for the federal government’s mandatory hotel quarantine measures, which took effect Feb. 22. From missed meals to shoddy hotel conditions to lack of bottled water for hotel guests, there’s been no shortage of stories in the news about angry travellers. 

Now you can add one major problem to the list: quarantine hotels are sometimes full and can’t accept new guests. These travellers are instead being sent home to quarantine, while those who successfully booked a room pay for three nights in hotel quarantine and sometimes wait hours for cold dinners or skimpy breakfasts.

The booking agent we spoke to wished to remain anonymous for fear of losing their job. Their story is quite shocking, especially for those of us who work in the travel industry. 

Crazy first few days

“The first few days, people were calling, inquiring, as things were still up in the air,” the booking agent told Canadian Travel News. “We opened the phone lines a few days before the rules took effect on February 22.  There were not too many bookings at first, more inquiries, but later in the day we started getting the bookings. It was crazy, it was call after call after call. We were all losing our voices.”

The agent estimates the first few days, the bulk of travellers, about 85% of their calls, were coming from India. India is listed as second in the highest number of  COVID-19 cases around the world.

“It wasn’t specifically Canadians returning, it was ‘I’m calling for my sister to visit,’ and we started to question, ‘Why are these flights allowed in and yet they suspended flights to the Caribbean and Mexico?”

There have been reports that some arriving passengers didn’t have a room booked when they landed, which the new rules require. The agent said that’s not because they didn’t try. She explained that many travellers often used internet-based providers from another country to dial the 1-800 number they needed to call, but were often disconnected and faced long wait times.

“People were waiting ridiculously long times, and I’d say give me your call back number and before I could get that, the line would go dead.  There’s apparently a cut off on how long you could hold, and even if it was answered, sometimes it would still cut off.”

“A lot of travellers were calling from internet-based phone services and we’d try to call back, except the number wasn’t valid because they’re not calling from a regular phone number.”

No room at the inn

Hotels then started to sell out. The combined pre-booked traffic, along with those who had no choice but to book on landing, meant there wasn’t a way to accommodate all travellers in the hotel quarantine.

“When we sold out, we would speak with Public Health and then Public Health would speak with the Quarantine Officers and the people were allowed to go home.

Why is it that some people have to book hotel rooms but if there are no hotel rooms, you’re letting these people go home?

It defeats the whole purpose of people staying in hotel rooms, that’s what I’m more upset about than anything.”

The agent also said check in time at the hotels is the standard 3 pm, which means that travellers arriving outside those hours have to gather in a room together, sometimes up to 50 people at a time, or wait in the lobby. Another complicating factor is that checkout times are so variable. Some travellers may get their test results in the first day and leave. Availability is very much on a spur of the moment basis.

Call volume has slowed down, likely due to the fact Service Canada is now pre-screening calls for the agents.

Our source jokes that the pre-screening is just to “keep out the media.”

Although call volume is down, a quick check of the Toronto Pearson website finds a large number of international flights are arriving today (March 2). Which begs the question, “Do Toronto quarantine hotels have room to accommodate all these travellers?” 

“The main concern for me is to monitor travelers better, maybe with a bracelet or in the follow-up calls,” our booking agent said.

“But don’t take our rights away. If some people are allowed to go home because you don’t have room (at the hotel), then everyone should be allowed to go home.”

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