Hotels could be the next to help the healthcare industry combat the coronavirus pandemic

Adam Harris and Richard Castle, founders hotel industry software provider, Cloudbeds,  recently unveiled a new initiative called #hospitalityhelps, where property owners and operators can connect with healthcare workers to provide access to their facilities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“With each passing hour, we face an ever more acute shortage of available beds for the sick, and for health professionals who are fighting coronavirus,” Harris, CEO of Cloudbeds said in a press release.

“At the same time, we are seeing many lodging providers reducing occupancy or sitting empty altogether.”

• See also: 
  • Here’s what the world’s biggest attractions look like right now (PHOTOS)
  • US airline executives pen letter to Congress for fast action on financial aid
  • UK enters three-week lockdown to combat coronavirus

While there is a decrease in demand, Harris explains, why not put those vacant areas to good use?

#hospitalityhelps wants to run a similar program to one being enacted in Quebec, Canada, and will act as a liaison between Cloudbeds’ hotel clients and industry partners and government healthcare services to aid those most in need by making more beds available for patients.

“Beds are needed as field hospitals, for quarantine, for social distancing, and for our health professionals who are being called into action from all corners of the globe,” the company explained in a call to action directed at its clients and published on its website.

According to Harris, the response to the initiative has been staggering, with many hotels responding within minutes of the project being announced on March 22.

“This is a time when all of us must take action to do what we can to avoid reaching an unprecedented breaking point in our health care system,” Castle, president and COO of Cloudbeds said in the release. “It doesn’t make sense that patients in need of beds should be without them when there are hundreds of beds available around the corner.”

Owners and managers of hospitality facilities who are interested in making their locations available can visit the hospitality helps section on the Cloudbeds website.

Government and healthcare companies directly combatting coronavirus on the front lines are encouraged to contact [email protected] for an immediate response.

“We have a team of people working around the clock to help alleviate the strain by mobilizing the hospitality community,” Castle continued.

“As communities continue to act urgently to prepare, we hope that leaders in hospitality and other industries will step forward to support them.”