Best Western offers 15,000 hotel bedrooms to NHS

Best Western Great Britain is offering 15,000 hotel bedrooms and more than 1,000 meeting rooms to help the NHS and local authorities through the coronavirus crisis.

The rooms are available for NHS staff, care workers, families, lower risk patients and the over 70s, to help take the strain off hospital wards and allow clinicians to treat the most vulnerable patients.

Andrew Denton, head of hotel services at Best Western Great Britain, said: "Since our offer to help at the weekend we have had an overwhelmingly positive response from our hotels. Local hospitals, councils and local authorities have also been in touch directly asking for help and today we are repurposing our technology and our call centre to manage the interest and the demand.

"We would love to plug our supply and support into the NHS system in a co-ordinated and organised manner. Every day counts now for people on the frontline of this crisis, so we want the NHS to know we are here to help.

"We would urge the wider hospitality industry to join our cause too. We are serious about helping reduce the number of deaths. 20,000 is too many. If our rooms and our support can be part of the solution that brings that figure down, then we will have done our job."

Best Western Great Britain is a membership organisation of approximately 270 independently owned hotels – the 15,000 bedrooms figure represents over 90% of the group's hotels.

Pictured: Best Western chief executive Rob Paterson

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