Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur the 5 star hotel situated along Jalan Sultan Ismail facing Quill Mall, has announced that it will temporarily close its doors until Dec 31. The move was made as a result of the difficult times the hotel has been going through due to the impact caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

“Due to the Covid-19 situation, business has been negatively impacted and as a result we have had to make the difficult decision to temporarily close the Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel as of June 22,” the hotel stated.

The hotel further stated to Business Today Malaysia (a sister publication under Reach Publishing) that the closure may extend depending on future circumstances.

Just last month, The Four Points by Sheraton Sandakan hotel in Sabah had also announced that it will be closing down and will be terminating the services of its employees by the end of May.

The Covid-19 impact had resulted in a string of hotels across the nation face closure either permanently or temporarily due to the lack of tourism as a result of the lockdown imposed. Concerns among the industry is the lack of tourism and foreign travelers returning despite the ease in restrictions.

While regulations for border easing is still under discussion, experts argue people will only take to leisure travelling once the vaccine is made available, and that could take another 6 months to a year.