Overbooking practices also alleged
The Beijing Imperial Palace in Macau has been granted three more months to complete repairs on the property, which was ordered to close in July due to fire safety concerns, according to the Macau Business Daily.
Last summer, the Macau Government Tourism Office said the Taipa hotel “committed serious administrative irregularities and failed to carry out essential fire safety measures.” Code violations included blocked exits and an inadequate number of fire extinguishers. Officials accused the management of “posing a threat to public safety” and “harming the image” of Macau’s tourism industry. By September, the hotel still had not begun repairs on the property.
At the time, MTGO Director Helena De Senna Fernandes said she was not prepared to extend the deadline, and warned if the six months passed without the work being completed, the property would have to close for good. Now the property has until January 11 to finish the repairs.
The hotel, home of the Greek Mythology Casino, is also in the hot seat for allegedly overselling hotel rooms and bilking 30 travel agencies of more than HK$250 million (US$32.2 million), Macau Travel Industry Council President Andy Wu Keng Kuong said last summer.
Travel agencies from Macau, Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland are among the plaintiffs, along with some travelers who booked rooms at the hotel. Wu said management at the property promised to give the members of his group about 700,000 hotel rooms for HK$250 million from 2014 to this year, but only 599 rooms were available each day.
