One of the industries that hard hit following the outbreak of Covid-19 was the Hospitality Industry. Australian Hoteliers and accommodation operations seek a lifeline from the government as costs and loss of jobs rendered the industry virtually unsustainable.
An alarming statistic has confirmed how heavily the hotel sector has been affected by COVID-19, and the industry seeks a lifeline.
Hotel and accommodation operators have sought for help, claiming COVID-19 has slashed occupancy rates in CBDs by half.
Parliament’s COVID-19 committee on Thursday also heard “anecdotal evidence” of significant job losses in the sector after the end of “JobKeeper” scheme.
Tourism Accommodation Australia chief executive Michael Johnson said the industry had no federal or state safety net to cope with the impact of snap lockdowns.
“This has a devastating financial, emotional, and mental cost to businesses and workers,” he said.
“Many workers have found alternative employment in other industries less exposed to the impacts of COVID-19.”
Strong recovery
Australia has recorded a strong economic recovery from COVID-19, and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Thursday noted that 200,000 more people than initial estimates had found work.
However, Mr Johnson said 15 per cent of workers in the hotel sector in NSW had been laid off since March, adding to the 25 per cent let go at the beginning of the pandemic.
Cuts had come mainly from administrative roles that operators could no longer justify. Nevertheless, the sector faced “dire” shortages in kitchen and frontline food skills, he said.
“So we’ve got this huge need for people. On the other side of it, we’ve had some highly skilled people that have left and gone to other industries,” he said.
Mr. Johnson stated that in Sydney and Melbourne’s CBDs, which were heavily reliant on corporate travel, occupancy rates were around 50 per cent.
“The concern is that if (people) do travel and there is a shutdown, they then get restricted or placed into a quarantine environment,” he said.
“We’re still seeing a very, very slow recovery of corporate travel, and the corporate market makes up a huge proportion of our domestic travel.”
Australian Hotels Association ACT general manager Anthony Brierley said unemployment was at “virtually 100 per cent” in the sector at the beginning of the pandemic.
“We’re still seeing a very, very slow recovery of corporate travel, and the corporate market makes up a huge proportion of our domestic travel.”
Until the Leisure Sector returns to normal and regain its businesses at pre-pandemic level, the Sector needs substantial incentives from the government. Although the Sector will rebound, the recovery seems to be slow.
