Hotel guests 'slept on the beach' amid 'nightmare' Valletta power outage
Short-let operators report being inundated with complaints and demands for refunds
Valletta tourist accommodation operators have described a "nightmare" situation during the recent power outage to hit the capital, reporting guests sleeping on the beach and others ending their stay early.
Operators described being inundated with complaints and demands for refunds after the power cut, which lasted around 30 hours in some parts of the city, left electronic locks unresponsive and apartments and hotel rooms without lights or air conditioning.
Vast swathes of Valletta were left without power from Wednesday through to yesterday after a cable fault blocked the city’s main power supply.
The outage followed days of nationwide power cuts as Malta sweltered in record temperatures, leaving residents to endure sleepless nights or seek refuge with friends and family or at rented accommodation.
“It's an absolute mess – we've had guests leaving a hotel, then coming back after finding no alternative… Some have been understanding, but others have not," said one short-let accommodation operator.
"We've had customers sleeping on the beach after they returned late at night to find their electric lock not working," he said, noting that while electric locks were typically equipped with backup batteries, they were not designed to last the duration of the recent cuts.
And with only one staff member usually assigned to respond to overnight enquiries, the unplanned outages had left some stranded guests without assistance. He has since increased overnight staffing levels to meet demand should the cuts return.
The operator, who asked not to be named, complained that the outages had left his accommodation offerings unable to provide services such as breakfasts for guests, while the accompanying "huge number of power surges" had disrupted IT infrastructure.
Read the full story at The Business Picture.