Washington: A friend in need is a friend indeed. This old adage holds true for the Asian-American hoteliers who came to the rescue of Indian students stranded in the US in lockdown imposed in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The hoteliers have opened their property door to the needy students, offering free accommodation and, in some cases, food.
More than 6,000 rooms in nearly 700 hotels were offered to them since March as students started running out of stocks, fund and even roof. The Indian Embassy has been running a round-the-clock helpline for the students in the US, who number over 2,50,000.
Locations of these hotels in and around universities and colleges make them an ideal and safe place. Asian origin hotel owners from across the US have responded in large numbers to the call given by community leaders, who have roped in Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) for the purpose.
India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, said in a tweet, "It is heartening to see that Indian, Indian American and other hotel owners are coming forward to help people with accommodation in these testing times. Together we can overcome the fight against Covid-19!"
"Owners of Gujarati-origin as well as other parts of India, who own hotels and motels, have warmly welcomed students who sought help," said Vishwa Gujarati Samaj president C K Patel. Indian-American hotelier couple K K Mehta and Chandra Mehta have offered more than 100 rooms to Indian students at their two properties. These hotels are located near the Times Square and Barclays Center in New York City.
Other hoteliers said they have created a master list of the available hotel rooms, which was being constantly updated. Free accommodation would be allocated in coordination with the Indian Embassy and its consulates, they said.
The Indian-American hotel owners also responded to the rescue call of the US government as many states need rooms to shelter homeless and healthcare workers. The state of California has announced the $150 million Roomkey project to quarantine affected and suspected Covid-19 homeless people.
The state's initiative has set an initial goal of securing up to 15,000 rooms for this purpose and county partners have moved 869 homeless individuals most vulnerable to Covid-19 off the street, out of shelters, and into isolation. It can be seen as a silverline for the industry hit by recession. But for some, the arrangement has just added to hardship give the government assistance is staggered.
