Pan Pacific Hotels giving away 25,000 free nights to Singapore healthcare workers

We’ve seen lots of airlines launch initiatives to recognise those involved in the fight against COVID-19, from Qatar Airways’ 100,000 free tickets for healthcare professionals to Singapore Airlines’ 30 million miles for frontline personnel. 

However, hotel initiatives so far (at least in Singapore) have mostly come in the form of room discounts. Don’t get me wrong; some of these discounts are extremely generous, but I can’t recall an out and out giveaway until now. 

Pan Pacific Hotels is giving away 25,000 free nights to healthcare workers

Pan Pacific Hotels Group has announced that they will be giving away 25,000 complimentary nights to staff from SingHealth, National Healthcare Group (NHG) and National University Health System (NUHS). 

These rooms are valid for stays from 1 December 2020 to 31 March 2021. 

Which hotels are participating?

These rooms will be available across six properties in Singapore, namely:

The Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Orchard and PARKROYAL Serviced Suites are not participating. 

There’s no word on how the 25,000 free rooms will be distributed across properties, but in any case, it’s interesting that the total value of the initiative has been pegged at S$6.5M. That works out to an average value per night of S$260 (though they’re probably using rack rates to calculate this figure?).

What do stays include?

All complimentary stays for healthcare workers will come with the following perks:

• Free breakfast
• 50% off dining at hotel-operated restaurants
• 30% off spa services at St. Gregory

Children under the age of 12 will stay for free, and all healthcare workers will receive a fast-track to the next elite tier of Pan Pacific DISCOVERY. No details have been given on how the fast-track program will work, but here’s how many nights are usually required for each tier:

Tier	Qualifying Nights
Black	30 nights
Platinum	10 nights
Gold	N/A

How do you book a room?

If you’re eligible for a free night, here’s how to go about securing your room (as per an email to Pan Pacific):

Pan Pacific Hotels Group will be issuing the complimentary vouchers directly to SingHealth, National Healthcare Group (NHG) and National University Health System (NUHS), and the selection process will be managed by each Healthcare Group internally. The vouchers will then be distributed by the three healthcare groups’ management to their healthcare associates. The stay vouchers will be distributed in September 2020, the exact date and process will be communicated by your HR office. Room reservations need to be made only after you have received the complimentary voucher

Other Pan Pacific initiatives for healthcare workers

Beyond the free nights, all healthcare workers in Singapore will receive 30% off the bill at any Pan Pacific Group Hotel restaurants in Singapore from 1 December 2020 till 31 March 2021. They will also receive a 10% discount on room rates at Pan Pacific Group Hotels worldwide, for bookings made by 31 August 2020. 

The 10% discount on room rates is already reflected when booking rooms online. Do note that members of the public can enjoy the same 10% discount by simply signing up for the free-to-join Pan Pacific DISCOVERY program. 

In addition, note that staycation packages for the public also include 30% off on F&B, so long as you’re a DISCOVERY member.

I’m checking with the Pan Pacific PR team what the incremental dining benefit is here for healthcare workers, and will update if/when I hear back. 

Conclusion

All in all, it’s great to see companies recognize healthcare workers in tangible ways, and hopefully this initiative spurs others to do likewise. 

Since the free rooms are in limited quantity, I’m hoping they’ll be prioritized for those lower down on the ladder. While there’s no doubt in my mind that doctors and management have been working as hard as anyone else, it’s the lower level staff who would benefit the most from this. A stay at the Pan Pacific might be a once-in-a-lifetime thing for an entry-level nurse or cleaner, for example. 

Well done Pan Pac.