The hotel group’s chief executive Gabriel Escarrer said: “Every day we see how healthcare professionals go out of their way to professionally and humanely fight the disease, and we want to offer them the excitement of looking forward to a well-deserved rest in a hotel of their choice when all this is over.”

The group which is based in Spain but has hotels in 40 countries said it will offer 10,000 healthcare workers combatting Covid-19 a two-night hotel stay, under the slogan “nights for your days”.

The company said this was “the biggest solidarity campaign in the company’s history, inspired by the most exceptional circumstances we have ever experienced”. 

Stays can be made in any hotel “as soon as the pandemic ends and the hotels in the chosen destination can resume business as usual,” the company said.

The “nights for your days” campaign runs until 27 April, with 2,000 free nights available every day. 

To request stays, Spain’s healthcare workers fill in a form on melia.com with all their details, and must show proof that they are healthcare workers when they check into the hotel they book.
 
The promotion will reserve 10% of stays for those healthcare workers currently working in the Melia hotels converted into hospitals throughout Spain; 13 hotels in total have been converted into hospitals or are being used for essential services in Europe.

These include Melia Luxembourg and Innside Manchester, which have remained open to support local authorities.
 
The group has 380 hotels in its current portfolio and pipeline under brands including Gran Melia Hotels & Resorts, Paradisus by Melia and ME by Melia.