Regent hotel to resume opreation in August

The Regent hotel is among the few businesses whose doors are still closed four months after the devastating floods that paralyzed the city earlier this year.

The hotel plans to resume business in August.

"The reopening of the hotel was postponed after we discovered that the damage was more extensive than we first thought," said the hotel's general manager, Fazal Samad. The hotel management initially planned to reopen in May.

The hotel's three water-damaged power generators are one of the reasons for the postponement.

Samad said all 725 hotel employees were working normal hours even though the five-star hotel had yet to reopen.

About 90 percent of the workers were undergoing training while others, such as cooks, security guards and maintenance workers, work as normal.

Employees were seen doing sports, training or just walking around the compound.

Maintenance man Indra said he still received his basic wage plus a service charge that totaled about one-half of the amount he received before the hotel was forced to close.

The Regent's occupancy rate hovered at 70 percent before it closed on Feb. 2. Local guests accounted for 50 percent of the occupancy rate. -- JP