Cape Town - The hospitality industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 outbreak, forcing many hotels and guest houses to close while some have had to work with skeleton staff.
Executive director of the President Hotel Jeremy Clayton said: “Our doors are effectively closed. We have a small, skeleton staff looking after some guests who were unable to be repatriated to their country. We made the decision not to let anyone go. Many people have provided the staff with short time and pay them half, and they get a top-off payment from the UIF. We are talking millions that this will be costing us.
“We are doing a lot of research with regards to this, so we are expecting a significant recovery. We still see bookings coming through. And people are optimistic.”
The hotel has four guests that could not get return flights back to their countries due to the coronavirus lockdown. Photographer: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA)
The tourism industry, in particular, is expected to suffer.
The Taj Hotel said in statement: “We are closely monitoring the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) updates from the World Health Organisation and government agencies. In light of the current situation our pool, gymnasium, salon, spa and wet areas will be closed. Restaurants will operate at the hotel, but may also be closed during certain times of the day. We request you to check with the team at the hotel for further details...”
Chairperson of the National Accommodation Association of South Africa Rosemarie van Staden said: “The impact is devastating because everyone is out of business and salaries won’t be paid this month.”
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