Agreed - however I was correcting the incorrect 'no legal obligation to do so' assertion.
[/lecture]

Looks like the entry restrictions into Qatar were updated, now only permitting Qatari nationals to enter (and 14 day self quarantine):

"Under the instructions of the Qatar Government, effective immediately, entry to the State of Qatar will only be allowed for Qatari nationals, who will be required to enter quarantine for a period of 14 days.Passport holders of other nations will no longer be granted entry from March 16, after which the restrictions will be reviewed. Passengers with onward connections through HIA will be accepted for travel and Qatar Airways’ global network will continue its operation for transit passengers as normal, subject to entry restrictions at their final destination. Cargo operations remain unaffected."

I am planning to fly from IST or SAW to the US during the summer with QR and unfortunately, long layovers are unavoidable.
Do you think that Qatar would resume its stopover program in July?
Otherwise, does QR still offer a free room at the airport hotel on unavoidable long connections?

Any recent experiences on recent DOH transfers are welcome?
By the way, is the First Class Lounge ( Emerald ) still open and accepting Sapphire pax?

Thank you, everyone, in advance.

There key problem is if Qatar is going to be open when you travel. If it is, there's every reason to imagine the stopover programme(s) will work as before.

But if they don't, or if for some reason you don't qualify, a blessing of doha is exceptionally cheap transport and good value hotels in every class. The holiday Inn is a $5 uber from the airport and usually costs around $60/$70 a night (and no taxes to pay!): international 5-stars around twice that, (but some quite a bit more).

If you can't enter the country you'll be stuck at the airport. The hotel there has limited capacity - and if the airline is giving out any rooms there, they'l be very choosy about who gets them. And they'll be crazily expensive for regular use. The first-class lounge is small but comfortable enough: if it's open, then Emeralds are welcome.

Depends what you mean by "Airport hotel" -- there is an airside hotel very close to the lounges, but I'm not aware that QR ever puts passengers there. The Oryx Rotana is a hotel about a ten-minute drive from the airport, and in my experience that's where QR puts passengers flying in F or J who qualify for the STPC program. Usually, that hotel also participates in the +Qatar voluntary stop-off program.

Note that DOH normally has five lounges:

• Al Safwa First Lounge
• Al Mourjan Business Lounge
• Qatar Airways First Class Lounge
• Qatar Airways Business Class Lounge
• Oryx Lounge

The Al Safwa is much nicer than the Al Mourjan, which is much nicer than the Qatar Airways First Class Lounge, which is nicer than the Qatar Airways Business Class Lounge. I'm not sure exactly where the Oryx Lounge fits, but it's not nicer than the Al Mourjan.

The Al Safwa is available to anyone flying in QR F (even regional F), and passengers can pay a (hefty) upcharge to access it instead of one of the other lounges. It has an order-off-the-menu dining room, and fully private rest suites with a bed, shower, toilet, and TV.

The Al Mourjan is available to anyone flying in QR J , and passengers can pay an upcharge to access it instead of one of the other lounges. It is quite large, with a second-floor buffet restaurant, multiple lounging areas downstairs, a sandwich restaurant, a family room, a game room, etc.

The Qatar Airways First Class Lounge is available to OneWorld Emeralds flying any OneWorld airline, but if an Emerald is flying QR J, the Al Mourjan is much nicer. The Qatar Airways Business Class Lounge is available to OneWorld Sapphires flying any OneWorld airline. The Oryx lounge access seems to be for Emeralds, Sapphires, and anyone flying OneWorld F or J.

See the QR lounge page, and the OneWorld DOH lounge page. The latter notes which of these lounges are currently closed due to COVID-19 shutdowns.

Thank you for your answer,

As far as I know and as far as I experienced, passengers who have a forced long connection ( no shorter connection than 10h ) could request a free hotel room at the Oryx Airport Hotel or a city hotel for free ( other than the Discover Qatar thing ); the desks are located at the east and west transfer security checkpoint before security. Obviously, the airport hotel option is subject to availability and if not they drive you to *3 or *4 hotels in DOH ( other than those offered for the STPC )

By the way, I am aware of how the lounges work. As someone has reported in April ( not sure here in FT or elsewhere )

- The Business Class Lounge is closed, all Sapphire and Emerald pax is welcome to use the First Class Lounge
- Al Safwa is closed, First Class passengers could instead use Al Mourjan

I was still wondering if the situation is the same at the moment.

I am personally unaware of the airside transit hotel ever being offered as part of either STPC or +Qatar. (I'm not saying it was never offered, just that I have not heard of it having been offered.) The Oryx Rotana, as I noted, is the most commonly offered hotel for F and J passengers. As far as I am aware, the STPC program chooses the hotel, and doesn't let passengers pick. The +Qatar program does, of course.

My apologies; from your question I thought you weren't. Glad that's not the case.

I assume that we have good news on the Discover Qatar program.
I guess that probably it would be mandatory to go directly to the hotel, stay at the hotel until you leave for the airport and go to the airport directly.

The Discover Qatar website mentions that their page would be updated within the next 24 hours about the policies.
https://www.discoverqatar.qa/welcome-home/

It now says

Further information will be available on 14 June.

does anybody have an idea what those changes will be ? I have a reservation at the transit Hotel for an insane $290/night. Would love to change that to a city hotel but would need to cancel by June 14th, 7AM EST ( 2PM Qatar time ) to avoid cancellation fees. Thank you

Edit: website says

Welcome home with Discover Qatar – information on booking your hotel for mandatory quarantine is currently being updated.

May be I misunderstood. Looks like it is only for people returning to Qatar and have to go into mandatory quarantine ?

That's how I interpret it.

I assume that we would see a further update on stopover hotels soon.

Assume or hope?
I would buy a ticket for 2021 travel today if QR had a policy to allowed a free flight change that coincided with a Doha stopover.
Alternatively, and perhaps preferably, allow flight bookings for a Doha stopover that can be altered to a direct transfer if Qatar was still not open at that time. Then the wait would be for hotel availability, with flights safely in hand.

Qatar hasn't been a happy place with regards to COVID. The conditions in some of the communities of migrant workers was less than ideal in ensuring social distancing, though there was no transmission from its direct neighbours - a rare advantage of the political isolation it is still living through.

Opening up is likely to be awkward, given the pent-up demand for travel to and from the sub-continent and beyond.

But clearly opening up is going to happen, though it's probably best to expect this to come hedged with restrictions. I wouldn't imagine re-establishing extended stop-overs for tourists an immediate priority for the government.

But who knows? We'll just have to be patient.

arrived in DOH today from ORD in J. No transit hotel even for J passengers. So I had to pay for it myself. OK - got a decent fare in J for $1650 roundtrip to FRA and wasn't really thrilled with the idea of spending 16 hrs in the lounge. So happy camper

However, once done (clearly associated with health and safety), a want for numbers is assured. Given QR is Qatar, and its recent policies for gaining patronage in an ever-changing environment, I'm surprised not to see one based on my suggestion.