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The Last COVID-19 Patient Leaves Melia Hotel in Palma de Mallorca

Spain was one of the European countries that had more coronavirus cases, and so the country’s health system required help to reduce the pressure. The hospitality system didn’t stay aside – local hotels offered their space to be converted into hospitals. Melia’s hotel in Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, was no exception. The hotel became a subsidiary of the Son Llàtzer University Hospital in late March.

Since that time, the hotel provided beds and services for 66 patients diagnosed with COVID-19. As the pandemic slows down in Spain and the country steadily returns to normal life, there is no need for extra hospitals anymore. On May 17, the last patients were discharged from the Melia hotel in Palma. The medical staff, the deputy director of Son Llàtzer University Hospital, the management of the hotel-hospital, and the general management of the Meliá Palma Bay applauded the successfully recovered people.

For sure, this was a completely new page in the history of the hotel and something that the employees and management couldn’t imagine. Nowadays, the hotel calls this one of the most valuable experiences in the history of Melia Palma Bay. The hotel played a crucial role in helping the capital of Mallorca to battle the deadly virus. The efficient work of medical and hotel staff helped to limit the spread of the infection.

Naturally, it is not easy to turn a 258-room hotel into a hospital, and so all preparations were made quickly due to the help of the Balearic Islands’ government and Spanish Army. A total of 105 beds with oxygen supply were installed in the hotel. Furthermore, there were 24 ICU beds but, thankfully, none of them were needed. The hotel worked closely with the medical staff and tried to assist them in every possible way. To thank the health workers who were at the battlefront and worked restlessly to save people’s lives, Melia Hotels International gifted two free nights to all medical staff who worked at the Palma hotel. The health workers can spend these free nights at any Melia hotel of their choice whenever they want.

For the hotel, this was also a valuable experience as the post-COVID-19 period requires a special approach and new health protocols that provide safety for hotel guests and employees. As travel slowly resumes in the country and business starts scheduling events and meetings, the Melia hotel in Palma is prepared to work in “the new normal”.

24.05.2020

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