Healthcare workers allowed to stay free at Badhoevedorp hotel

The Corendon Village Hotel in Badhoevedorp, the largest hotel in the Benelux, is offering free rooms to healthcare workers in the Amsterdam region who need it. When the hotel received a request from OLVG nurse Kimberly Wip for a room, the founder of the Corendon company immediately said to do it, Corendon hotels director Martin de Boer said to NOS. "We have apartments that are empty anyway, so make sure they can sleep there."

Kimberly Wip is delighted to have somewhere to stay. "I live with my grandmother, she is over 70 years old, Given the situation I now have to stay elsewhere," she said to the broadcaster. "I considered going to friends, but in this situation you don't want to infect others. I then very brutally sent an email to several hotels explaining my situation. This response stood out."

Cardiologist Niels Wijkstra is also staying at the hotel. "I moved in with my mother because she needs care. When corona broke out, I didn't think it wise to be close to her every day. Family members are also afraid of getting sick, friends are difficult because of irregular shifts. Here in the hotel is ideal for me."

The coronavirus brought travel to a near halt and therefore means a difficult period for the hospitality industry. The Corendon Village Hotel in Badhoevedorp has 680 rooms which are usually 98 to 100 percent occupied. "Now it is so quiet," De Boer said.