No licence will be issued for hotels or guesthouses in factory buildings for safety reasons, Secretary for Home Affairs Dr Patrick Ho says, adding 18 applications involving conversion of commercial buildings into hotels or guesthouses have been approved since July 2003.

Dr Ho told lawmakers today the Government's policy objective is to ensure the safety of the patrons of hotels and guesthouses and, at the same time, keep the necessary legislative and regulatory measures to a minimum. This lessens the operators' burden in complying with licensing requirements.

He noted the Hotel & Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance provides for a licensing scheme to ensure hotels and guesthouses comply with licensing requirements on fire safety, structural safety and sanitation, to protect tourists' safety. Site inspections will be carried out to ensure hotels and guesthouses comply with the requirements.

Since July last year, the Home Affairs Department has referred 19 applications involving conversion of commercial buildings into hotels or guesthouses to the Buildings Department for consideration, with one licence issued involving 15 rooms. Two other applications are still being processed.

There were 70 applications between July 2003 and June last year, with 17 licences issued involving 573 rooms. Two are being processed. The remaining applications were either rejected on the advice of the Buildings Department or withdrawn by the applicants.