Taipei Times
Date: Feb 13, 2018
By: Wang Chun-chi and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Hualien hotels have seen more than 80 percent of their Lunar New Year reservations canceled since the magnitude 6 earthquake jolted the city on Feb. 6, Hualien County Commercial Hotel Union president Chen Yi-feng (陳義豐) said on Sunday.

“Some hotels even lost 95 percent of their guests for the period and several are considering putting their employees on leave for the Lunar New Year to cut their losses,” he added.

An average of 200,000 people typically visit Hualien during the holiday, but the quake might reduce that number by half this year, people in the local hospitality industry said.

With establishments countywide closing their doors so that they can make repairs, many hotels have no option but to offer their guests free rescheduling or let their employees take the holiday off to reduce overheads, they said.    [FULL  STORY]