Limburg hotels luring guests by offering restaurant meals in lockdown

Hotels in Limburg are pushing the boundaries of the coronavirus rules by luring customers with promises of restaurant meals. Most hotels offer packages of cheap or cheaper rooms in combination with a dinner, De Limburger reported after surveying 15 hotels.

During the current partial lockdown, catering establishments are closed except for takeaways. Hotels are exempted from this, as they still need to feed their guests.

These hotel campaigns are "contrary to the idea of the corona rules," Antoin Scholten, mayor of Venlo and chairman of the Noord-Limburg security region, said to De Limburger. "On the other hand, the cabinet ignored the advice to keep restaurants open, and I understood that advice. Infections mainly take place in cafes, not in restaurants."

According to Scholten, the emergency ordinance does not give him authority to act against these hotel campaigns. "But it will be discussed in the national Security Council on Monday."

Last week, Michelin star restaurant Joelia in Rotterdam was under fire over a similar campaign offered with the Hilton Hotel located next to it. It stopped the action due to the negative media attention.

Amsterdam hotels reported that they are increasingly faced with young people partying in hotel rooms now that bars are closed.