IT all boils down to this: guests checking into top-tier hotels actually experienced an overnight stay of up to 21 hours, give or take a few minutes, not the industry standard of 23 hours.
In petitioning hotels to provide those extra hours, as is standard practice in many countries, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing reasoned that the longer stay wouldn't compromise cleanliness or quality of service but would enhance value for money.
Hotels won't acquiesce to Tiong's reasoning, claiming the three-hour lag time is needed to clean and prepare rooms for the next guests, even though housekeepers can prepare a room in less than an hour.
The issue lies in the shortage of staff, in an already tight labour market affecting other hospitality industries too, like transportation, food and beverage and travel services.
To be fair, hotels exercise discretion in permitting later check-out times without prescribing to the 12pm deadline — if there's a lull.
For now, hotels hire foreign workers to meet the crunch. While it may improve workforce knowledge and service culture, migrants pose a language barrier and culture shock.
That's not all. Hotels contend with shifts in the global economy, struggle to upgrade outdated technology, have difficulty in working out sustainable practices and face an imbalance between supply and demand.
The biggest spanner in the works may well be the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, flooring arrivals, slashing occupancy rates and suppressing average room prices, even as supply increases.
Compounding the issue is the hotel sector's inadequate business continuity plan in emergencies.
Then there's high-pressure competition: a hotel's attractive deal for a single night with attractive perks thrown in will immediately be counter-offered, most likely by the hotel next door.
Tiong, in understanding the hotels' predicament, which makes the ideal 23-hour stay impractical, has pledged to iron out the issues with the relevant ministries.
Here's the critical issue: hotels are down in the pecking order for foreign worker permits after the plantation, construction and service industries.
It is a chicken-and-egg dilemma: not getting prioritised means few housekeepers and even fewer hotel stay duration, which hotels want to provide.
Should the government legislate a law to get that 23-hour hotel stay, now seen as a vital cog in the tourism industry?
It's unpredictable, but as a short-term concession, the government could allot a decent percentage in foreign worker permits.
At the same time, hotels have to invest in comprehensive training programmes, competitive wages, positive work environment and career growth opportunities.
They should be technologically-driven with automated check-in/check-out systems and smart rooms.
Of course, more creative marketing and promotions, reinforced by better safety and security, can satisfy the guests' experience, to maintain this RM4 billion ringgit industry.