Prague's first COVID-19 quarantine hotel is now welcoming guests

Prague's first-ever contactless COVID-19 quarantine hotel opened this week, offering individuals and families a safe place to quarantine when they contract the virus.

The Czech Inn Hotels chain now offers a location for COVID-positive guests with mild symptoms to shelter away from family and friends, without worrying about who they will infect.

The opening comes amid a week of record-breaking daily increases in new coronavirus cases across the country.

The four-star hotel, Legerova 9, already has its first guests just days after opening.

"Yesterday we accommodated the first three guests," Petr Chábera, marketing manager for Czech Inn Hotels, told Seznam Zpravy. The company operates more than 2,200 rooms in 23 hotels across Prague. "They are mostly people from the middle or upper middle class."

The entire process is contactless for guests looking for a spot to shelter away from loved ones. Guests will book their room through the website or through the phone; when booking, guests will convey anything they may need during their stay.

When you arrive at the hotel, the check-in process is all virtual through a screen at the reception. The key will be in the door at the room.

During your stay, you'll communicate with hotel staff virtually. Food delivery can be arranged, as can the delivery of other needs. Laundry is provided behind the door as well, though guests have to make their own beds.

The hotel also has a doctor on call, and a hospital stay can be arranged, in case your health worsens.

If guests want to order meals from outside the hotel, staff will bring the food to your room.

There's only one catch: guests can't leave the hotel room during their stay.

Once the guest checks out, the room goes through a one-day disinfection process to make sure it is entirely clean. In addition, hotel hallways are regularly disinfected.

The length of stay will depend on how long it takes each guest to recover from the virus.

The rooms are affordable, too: standard rooms start at 1,000 CZK per night, or 1,200 CZK if you're looking for breakfast. You can upgrade your room to a business class room for 1,5000 CZK. If you need an apartment-style room for your family, you can book that for 2,000 CZK and up. You can opt to pay more for half board, full board and laundry service.

The new COVID hotel is just one of the ways that the Czech Inn Hotels group is adapting to the new pandemic reality.

"The idea for the hotel fell at a meeting last week, and after the announcement of the state of emergency, we implemented it immediately," Chabera told Seznam.

The hotel chain said they plan to expand their COVID hotel concept if the demand is there.

"In case of further interest in COVID accommodation, we will expand the offer with other hotels. We are also ready to support the state in expanding the bed capacity for the sick," Jaroslav Svoboda, the company's managing director, said in a statement.

Over the summer, the hotel group transformed part of their hotel rooms in Prague 2, 7 and 10 into apartments for Prague residents. The rooms are used by people who need short-term and medium-term accomodations at affordable prices.

"Although rental prices in Prague have fallen, there is great interest in this accommodation," Chábera said. "Maybe because we offer it from CZK 6,500 per month, which is a good price for many customers even in a highly competitive environment. So far, the greatest interest is in the Hotel Uno in Prague 10, where we have currently noticed interest from students leaving the dormitories of Charles University."

In the meantime, the group's hotel in Prague 1 remains open and ready to welcome tourists.

The hotel group also plans to make some of their rooms accessible to elderly and aging people in need of housing.