SASKATOON -- The Park Town Hotel is one of many Saskatoon hotels offering discounted rooms for healthcare workers and travellers looking to self-isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Somebody had to step up and get going with this. We’re a local hotel, we’ve been here for the last 60 years, and it was important for us to support the local community,” general manager Salil Kulkarni said.

The hotel industry has taken a huge hit as a result of more and more people staying home and travel restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19.

“We have no guests coming into the hotel, people are scared of walking in,” Kulkarni said.

So, his hotel wanted to use this time to offer help to people in need of a place to stay.

This includes doctors and nurses who want somewhere to stay in between shifts to protect their families and loved ones from the virus.

Kulkarni said a floor is reserved for these frontline workers.

Staff have also dedicated a separate wing of the hotel to international and domestic travellers who need to self-isolate for 14 days.

Kulkarni said those guests can pick up their room keys outside and come into the building through a separate entrance without going through the lobby.

Hotel staff and housekeepers do not have any physical contact with these guests and are able to leave cleaning supplies and essentials like toilet paper outside their rooms on a chair.

Guests are also kept one room apart from each other, according to Kulkarni.

As of Wednesday, the hotel is charging $35 per night for healthcare workers and $69 per night for people in quarantine.

Kulkarni said this is significantly lower than the Park Town Hotel’s typical rates.

The Hilton Garden Inn and Travelodge Hotel in Saskatoon as well as the Country Inn & Suites in Regina are offering similar discounted services during this time.

Frontline healthcare and emergency services workers can stay at any of these hotels for two weeks or more for $30 a night, according to Lynn Flury, corporate director of marketing for Airline Hotels.

“That’s basically our cost for operating that room. So, we’re not intending to make any money on that offer. Our intention is to say we have a product, if that product is in need, then we can offer it,” Flury said.

Kulkarni echoes this sentiment and said it’s not a “money-making scheme,” but an effort to help the community during a time of need.